[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37302-37306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12853]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 300

RIN 1820-AB56


National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education proposes to establish the National 
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS or standard) as 
required under sections 612(a)(23)(A) and 674(e)(4) of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Act). The purpose of 
the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and timely delivery of 
print instructional materials in accessible formats to blind or other 
persons with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary 
schools.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 12, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed standard to Troy 
Justesen, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5126, Potomac 
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2641. If you prefer to send your 
comments through the Internet, you may address them to us at the U.S. 
Government Web site: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Or you may send your Internet comments to us at the following 
address: [email protected].
    You must include the term ``NIMAS Comments'' in the subject line of 
your electronic message.
    Please submit your comments only one time in order to ensure that 
we do not receive duplicate copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Troy R. Justesen. Telephone: (202) 
245-7468.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding our proposal to adopt 
the NIMAS and to make your comments as specific as possible. Also, if 
appropriate, please identify the specific section or subsection of the 
NIMAS that each of your comments addresses and arrange your comments in 
the same order as the standard.
    We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed 
regulatory action. Please let us know of any further opportunities we 
should take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits in 
connection with this regulatory action.
    Please include the following with your comments: A description of 
the area of your involvement in special education or regular education, 
as well as your role, if any, in that area (e.g., parent, teacher, 
student, state or local administrator, or researcher) or other area 
(e.g., technology specialist, publisher, or software developer).
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about the standard in room 5126, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 
12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Comments

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this standard. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background

    States use electronic files from publishers of educational 
materials to produce accessible versions (e.g., Braille or digital 
audio) of these materials or contract to have accessible versions 
produced from these files. Because States have different requirements 
for these electronic files, however, publishers often experience 
increased costs for production, and States experience delays and 
inconsistencies in the materials produced.
    To facilitate the provision of accessible, timely, and consistent 
versions of print textbooks in the United States, the Department of 
Education funded the National Center on Accessing the General 
Curriculum (NCAC) at the Center on Applied Special Technologies, Inc. 
(CAST) to establish technical specifications for a voluntary national 
instructional materials accessibility standard. Beginning in November 
2002, NCAC convened a panel of 43 experts, composed of educators, 
publishers, technology specialists, and disability groups. The National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also participated on the 
panel. The panel held three public meetings in January, March, and June 
2003, and conducted extensive teleconference and online discussions.

[[Page 37303]]

    The panel developed, with consensus, a common standard for digital 
source files that can be used to accurately and reliably produce 
instructional materials in a variety of alternate formats using the 
same source file. This standard, known as the National Instructional 
Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS, version 1.0), provides a 
single, uniform format that can be used for the electronic files 
associated with instructional materials. The Department announced the 
establishment of the NIMAS as a voluntary standard on July 27, 2004. 
Additional information on the standard and the expert panel's report is 
available at http://nimas.cast.org/about/index.html.
    The purpose of the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and 
timely delivery of print instructional materials in accessible formats 
to blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary schools 
and secondary schools. The term print instructional materials is 
defined in section 674(e)(3)(C) of the Act, and the term blind or other 
persons with print disabilities is defined in section 674(e)(3)(A) of 
the Act.
    Under section 674(e)(4) of the Act, the NIMAS applies to print 
instructional materials published after the date on which the final 
rule establishing the NIMAS is published in the Federal Register. This 
notice proposes to establish the NIMAS and would amend 34 CFR part 300 
for purposes of complying with section 674(e)(4) of the Act. A separate 
rulemaking proceeding will be conducted to require States to adopt the 
standard. In this separate notice, the Secretary will propose other 
amendments to 34 CFR part 300, which will contain information and seek 
public comment on the requirement for States to adopt the NIMAS in a 
timely manner after it has been established by the Department, as set 
forth in section 612(a)(23)(A) of the Act.

Significant Proposed Regulation

    We propose to establish the NIMAS in our regulations by adding an 
appendix to 34 CFR part 300 that will set forth the technical elements 
and specifications for the standard. The proposed appendix is included 
at the end of this notice.

Executive Order 12866

Potential Costs and Benefits

    Under Executive Order 12866, we have assessed the potential costs 
and benefits of this regulatory action.
    The potential costs associated with the proposed standard are those 
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined to 
be necessary for administering this program effectively and 
efficiently.
    In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative 
and qualitative--of this regulatory action, we have determined that the 
benefits would justify the costs.
    We have also determined that this regulatory action would not 
unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
exercise of their governmental functions.

Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits

    The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) 
applies to print instructional materials required by State or local 
educational agencies (LEAs) for classroom use. Publishers, State and 
local educational agencies, authorized conversion entities, and 
students potentially will be affected by NIMAS.
    The adoption of the NIMAS is expected to provide long-term cost 
savings for publishers of educational materials. Currently, 26 States 
have laws requiring publishers to provide State or local educational 
agencies with electronic files suitable for converting print 
instructional materials into Braille versions. Depending on what 
requirements each State has enacted, publishers may be required to 
produce a conversion file in as many as 6 different file formats. This 
process wastes time and effort on the part of publishers and is 
unnecessarily costly. Adoption of the NIMAS means that publishers won't 
have to convert their materials to several different file formats.
    The NIMAS will supersede the different standards for source files 
currently used by some State and local educational agencies to produce 
accessible versions of textbooks. However, unless States and LEAs 
currently use electronic source files to produce their own accessible 
versions of textbooks, this will not result in any additional cost to 
these agencies beyond that associated with publishing new State rules, 
as needed, to implement the NIMAS. In most cases, States and LEAs 
currently contract with third party providers to take the electronic 
source files and convert them into accessible formats such as Braille, 
digital text, and digital audio. These third party providers may 
encounter some cost in adapting to the use of the NIMAS files, but this 
will be more than offset by the savings realized from only having to 
work with one format instead of multiple formats. In addition, these 
entities will not need to spend exorbitant amounts of time manipulating 
different types of files in order to convert them into accessible 
formats. Working with only one format is also a benefit for publishers 
of textbooks and will result in cost savings for these entities. Any 
cost to States and LEAs in moving to NIMAS should be offset by the 
increased speed in which they receive files and improved consistency 
and quality of the files received.
    The adoption of NIMAS is expected to be highly valuable to students 
who are blind or who have print disabilities because they will have 
access to accessible versions of textbooks in a timely manner. Current 
methods of converting print textbooks into Braille and other 
specialized formats are complex and time consuming, and the process can 
take months to complete. In many cases students who are blind or who 
have print disabilities now receive accessible textbooks and other 
instructional materials well after the beginning of the instructional 
period. The adoption of the NIMAS will improve both the speed of the 
process and the quality and consistency of books converted into 
specialized formats.
    The Act does not require existing textbooks to be converted to 
NIMAS. There also are no associated costs to prepare special education 
instructors to use or train others to use this new standard because 
teachers and other educational staff receive the books in their final 
accessible format. The method used to produce the book is not visible 
to the teachers or students, except that use of the universal standard 
is expected to speed the delivery of the books to the students and 
improve the quality and consistency of the texts.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that this proposed standard would not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. This proposed standard would largely affect States and State 
agencies or individuals. States and State agencies are not defined as 
``small entities'' in the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    The proposed standard does not contain any information collection 
requirements.

Intergovernmental Review

    This standard is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

[[Page 37304]]

Federalism

    Executive Order 13132 requires us to ensure meaningful and timely 
input by State and local elected officials in the development of 
regulatory policies that have federalism implications. ``Federalism 
implications'' means substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. The proposed standard may have federalism implications, as 
defined in Executive Order 13132. We encourage State and local elected 
officials to review and provide comments on this proposed standard.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 300

    National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), 
Special education, Grant programs--accessible instructional materials, 
Technology.

    Dated: June 24, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Secretary proposes 
to amend part 300 of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations as 
follows:

PART 300--ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH 
DISABILITIES

    1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1411-1420, unless otherwise noted.
    2. Appendix D is added to part 300 as follows:

Appendix D--National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard

           Technical Specifications--The Baseline Element Set
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Element                            Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            a. Document-level tags (required to be valid XML)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
dtbook...................  The root element in the Digital Talking Book
                            DTD.  contains metadata in 
                            and the contents itself in .
Head.....................  Contains metainformation about the book but
                            no actual content of the book itself, which
                            is placed in . This information is
                            consonant with the  information in
                            xhtml, see [XHTML11STRICT]. Other
                            miscellaneous elements can occur before and
                            after the required . By convention
                             should occur first.
book.....................  Surrounds the actual content of the document,
                            which is divided into ,
                            , and . ,
                            which contains metadata, precedes .
meta.....................  Indicates metadata about the book. It is an
                            empty element that may appear repeatedly
                            only in .
title....................  Contains the title of the book but is used
                            only as metainformation in . Use
                             within  for the actual book
                            title, which will usually be the same.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to Document
                            Level Tags and Required Tags in Appendix B,
                            (copyright)DAISY Consortium, 2002. http://nimas.cast.org/about/report /
                            index.html#appendixb.
--------------------------
                       b. Structure and Hierarchy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
bodymatter...............  Consists of the text proper of a book, as
                            contrasted with preliminary material
                             or supplementary information
                            in .
rearmatter...............  Contains supplementary material such as
                            appendices, glossaries, bibliographies, and
                            indices. It follows the  of the
                            book.
level1...................  The highest-level container of major
                            divisions of a book. Used in ,
                            , and  to mark the
                            largest divisions of the book (usually parts
                            or chapters), inside which level2
                            subdivisions (often sections) may nest. The
                            class attribute identifies the actual name
                            (e.g., part, chapter) of the structure it
                            marks. Contrast with .
level2...................  Contains subdivisions that nest within
                             divisions. The class attribute
                            identifies the actual name (e.g., subpart,
                            chapter, subsection) of the structure it
                            marks.
level3...................  Contains sub-subdivisions that nest within
                             subdivisions (e.g., sub-subsections
                            within subsections). The class attribute
                            identifies the actual name (e.g., section,
                            subpart, subsubsection) of the subordinate
                            structure it marks.
level4...................  Contains further subdivisions that nest
                            within  subdivisions. The class
                            attribute identifies the actual name of the
                            subordinate structure it marks.
level5...................  Contains further subdivisions that nest
                            within  subdivisions. The class
                            attribute identifies the actual name of the
                            subordinate structure it marks.
level6...................  Contains further subdivisions that nest
                            within  subdivisions. The class
                            attribute identifies the actual name of the
                            subordinate structure it marks.
h1.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
h2.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
h3.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
h4.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
h5.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
h6.......................  Contains the text of the heading for a
                             structure.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to the
                            Information Object references in the
                            Structure and Hierarchy section in Appendix
                            B, (copyright) DAISY Consortium, 2002.
--------------------------

[[Page 37305]]

 
                            c. Block Elements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
blockquote...............  Indicates a block of quoted content that is
                            set off from the surrounding text by
                            paragraph breaks. Compare with , which
                            marks short, inline quotations.
list.....................  Contains some form of list, ordered or
                            unordered. The list may have intermixed
                            heading  (generally only one, possibly
                            with ) and an intermixture of list
                            items  and . If bullets and
                            outline enumerations are part of the print
                            content, they are expected to prefix those
                            list items in content, rather than be
                            implicitly generated.
Li.......................  Marks each list item in a . 
                            content may be either inline or block and
                            may include other nested lists.
                            Alternatively it may contain a sequence of
                            list item components, , that identify
                            regularly occurring content, such as the
                            heading and page number of each entry in a
                            table of contents.
Hd.......................  Marks the text of a heading in a  or
                            .
note.....................  Marks a footnote, endnote, etc. Any local
                            reference to  is by
                            yyy''> [Attribute
                            id].
P........................  Contains a paragraph, which may contain
                            subsidiary  or .
sidebar..................  Contains information supplementary to the
                            main text and/or narrative flow and is often
                            boxed and printed apart from the main text
                            block on a page. It may have a heading .
cite.....................  Marks a reference (or citation) to another
                            document.
Dd.......................  Marks a definition of the preceding term 
                            within a definition list . A definition
                            without a preceding  has no semantic
                            interpretation, but is visually presented
                            aligned with other .
Dl.......................  Contains a definition list, usually
                            consisting of pairs of terms  and
                            definitions . Any definition can contain
                            another definition list.
Dt.......................  Marks a term in a definition list  for
                            which a definition  follows.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to the
                            Information Object references in the Block
                            Elements section in Appendix B,
                            (copyright)DAISY Consortium, 2002.
--------------------------
                           d. Inline Elements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
q........................  Contains a short, inline quotation. Compare
                            with , which marks a longer
                            quotation set off from the surrounding text.
strong...................  Marks stronger emphasis than . Visually
                             is usually rendered bold.
sub......................  Indicates a subscript character (printed
                            below a character's normal baseline). Can be
                            used recursively and/or intermixed with
                            .
sup......................  Marks a superscript character (printed above
                            a character's normal baseline). Can be used
                            recursively and/or intermixed with .
br.......................  Marks a forced line break.
line.....................  Marks a single logical line of text. Often
                            used in conjunction with  in
                            documents with numbered lines. [Include in
                            baseline element set. Use only when line
                            breaks must be preserved to capture meaning
                            (e.g., poems, legal texts).]
linenum..................  Contains a line number, for example in legal
                            text. [Include in baseline element set. Use
                            only when  is used, and only for lines
                            numbered in print book.]
pagenum..................  Contains one page number as it appears from
                            the print document, usually inserted at the
                            point within the file immediately preceding
                            the first item of content on a new page.
                            [NB: Only valid when includes id attribute].
noteref..................  Marks one or more characters that reference a
                            footnote or endnote . Contrast with
                            .  and  are
                            independently skippable.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to the
                            Information Object references in the Inline
                            Elements section in Appendix B,
                            (copyright)DAISYConsortium, 2002.
--------------------------
                                e. Tables
------------------------------------------------------------------------
table....................  Contains cells of tabular data arranged in
                            rows and columns. A  may have a
                            . It may have descriptions of the
                            columns in s or groupings of several
                             in . A simple  may be
                            made up of just rows . A long table
                            crossing several pages of the print book
                            should have separate  values for
                            each of the pages containing that 
                            indicated on the page where it starts. Note
                            the logical order of optional ,
                            optional , then one or more of either
                             or just rows . This order
                            accommodates simple or large, complex
                            tables. The  and  information
                            usually helps identify content of the
                             rows. For a multiple-page print
                             the  and  are repeated
                            on each page, but not redundantly tagged.
td.......................  Indicates a table cell containing data.
tr.......................  Marks one row of a  containing  or
                             cells.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to the
                            Information Object references in the Tables
                            section in Appendix B, (copyright)DAISY
                            Consortium, 2002.
--------------------------
                                f. Images
------------------------------------------------------------------------
imggroup.................  Provides a container for one or more 
                            and associated (s) and
                            (s). A  may contain a
                            description of the image. The content model
                            allows: 1) multiple  if they share a
                            caption, with the ids of each  in the
                            , 2)
                            multiple  if several captions refer
                            to a single  where each
                            caption has the same , 3) multiple  if
                            different versions are needed for different
                            media (e.g., large print, Braille, or
                            print). If several  refer to a
                            single , each prodnote has
                            the same .
caption..................  Describes a  or . If used with
                             it must follow immediately after the
                             start tag. If used with  or
                             it is not so constrained.
                           Usage Guidelines: please refer to the
                            Information Object references in the Images
                            section in Appendix B, (copyright)DAISY
                            Consortium, 2002.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 37306]]

1. The Optional Elements and Guidelines for Use

    Publishers are encouraged to apply markup beyond the baseline 
(required) elements. The complete DTBook Element Set reflects the tags 
necessary to create the six types of Digital Talking Books referenced 
in Section II and Braille output. Because of the present necessity to 
subdivide the creation of alternate format materials into distinct 
phases, the Panel determined that baseline elements would be provided 
by publishers, and optional elements would be added to the NIMAS-
compliant files by third party conversion entities. In both 
circumstances the protocols for tagging the digital files should 
conform to the ANSI/NISO Z39.86 specification. For this reason, the 
optional elements beyond the baseline set are included as an Appendix 
C, and content converters are directed to the DAISY Structure 
Guidelines (http://www.daisy.org/publications/guidelines/sg-daisy3/structguide.htm) for guidance on their use.

2. Package File

    A package file describes a publication. It identifies all other 
files in the publication and provides descriptive and access 
information about them. A publication must include a package file 
conforming to the NIMAS. The package file is based on the Open eBook 
Publication Structure 1.2 package file specification (For most recent 
detail please see http://www.openebook.org/oebps/oebps1.2/download/oeb12-xhtml.htm#sec2). A NIMAS package file must be an XML-valid OeB PS 
1.2 package file instance and must meet the following additional 
standards:
    The NIMAS Package File must include the following Dublin Core (dc:) 
metadata:
     dc:Title.
     dc:Creator (if applicable).
     dc:Publisher.
     dc:Date (Date of NIMAS-compliant file creation--yyyy-mm-
dd).
     dc:Format (=``NIMAS 1.0'').
     dc:Identifier (a unique identifier for the NIMAS-compliant 
digital publication, e.g., print ISBN + ``-NIMAS''--exact format to be 
determined).
     dc:Language (one instance, or multiple in the case of a 
foreign language textbook, etc.).
     dc:Rights (details to be determined).
     dc:Source (ISBN of print version of textbook).
    And the following x-metadata items:
     nimas-SourceEdition (the edition of the print textbook).
     nimas-SourceDate (date of publication of the print 
textbook).
    The following metadata were proposed also as a means of 
facilitating recordkeeping, storage and file retrieval:
     dc:Subject (Lang Arts, Soc Studies, etc.).
     nimas-grade (specific grade level of the print textbook, 
e.g.; Grade 6).
     nimas gradeRange (specific grade range of the print 
textbook, e.g.; Grades 4-5).
    And additional suggestion references the use of:
     dc:audience:educationLevel (for the grade and gradeRange 
identifiers, noting that Dublin Core recommends using educationLevel 
with an appropriate controlled vocabulary for context, and recommends 
the U.S. Department of Education's Level of Education vocabulary online 
at http://www.ed.gov/admin/reference/index.jsp. Using educationLevel 
obviates the need for a separate field for gradeRange since dc elements 
can repeat more than once. A book used in more than one grade would 
therefore have two elements, one with value ``Grade 4'' and another 
with value ``Grade 5.''
    A final determination as to which of these specific metadata 
elements to use needs to be clarified in practice. The package manifest 
must list all provided files (text, images, etc.). The package spine 
must reference all text content files in order. (Note: For purposes of 
continuity and to minimize errors in transformation and processing, the 
NIMAS-compliant digital text should be provided as a single document.)

[FR Doc. 05-12853 Filed 6-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P