[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 203 (Monday, October 21, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56154-56156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22888]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 300

[Docket ID ED-2019-OSERS-0111]


Assistance to States for the Education of Children With 
Disabilities

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed interpretation.

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SUMMARY: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 
established the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) 
in 2004 to assist State educational agencies (SEAs) and local 
educational agencies (LEAs) to produce accessible instructional 
materials for students with print disabilities. The U.S. Department of 
Education (Department) issues this notice of proposed interpretation to 
clarify the definition of ``print instructional materials'' in section 
674(e)(3)(C) of IDEA to include digital instructional materials. This 
means that the NIMAC would accept digital instructional materials.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not 
accept comments submitted by fax or by email or those submitted after 
the comment period. To ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, 
please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to 
submit your comments electronically. Information on using 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``How to use Regulations.gov.''
     Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery: If you 
mail or deliver your comments about this proposed interpretation, 
address them to Tara Courchaine, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5054E, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 
20202-5076.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments 
received from members of the public available for public viewing in 
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara Courchaine, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 5054E, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-5076. Telephone: (202) 245-6462. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Invitation to Comment:
    We invite you to submit comments on this notice of proposed 
interpretation. See ADDRESSES for instructions on how to submit 
comments.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed interpretation by accessing 
Regulations.gov. You may also inspect the comments in person in Room 
3W104, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of 
8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each 
week except Federal holidays. If you want to schedule time to inspect 
comments, please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the 
Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who needs assistance 
to review the comments or other documents in the public record for this 
document. If you want to schedule an appointment for this type of aid, 
please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

[[Page 56155]]

Background

    The NIMAC was established under IDEA in 2004 to assist SEAs and 
LEAs in the production of accessible instructional materials for 
students with print disabilities. While discussing proposed changes to 
IDEA in the Senate, Senator Dodd, a co-sponsor of the bill, commented 
on the reason for establishing NIMAC stating ``. . . these important 
provisions will greatly aid blind and print disabled students by 
ensuring they receive their textbooks and other instructional materials 
in the formats they require, such as Braille, at the same time as their 
sighted peers.'' 108 Cong. Rec. S11, 656 (April 29, 2003). Similarly, 
the House report notes that, ``. . . the provision is intended to 
provide students who are blind or have other print disabilities with 
more timely access to instructional materials used in elementary and 
secondary schools.'' H.R. Rep. No. 108-77, at 98 (April 29, 2003). 
Within the legislation, the scope and duties of the NIMAC as the 
searchable online national file repository of K-12 print textbooks in 
the XML-based National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard 
(NIMAS) format are clearly defined, as are the key definitions framing 
its operations.
    These duties are:
    1. To receive and maintain a catalog of print instructional 
materials prepared in the NIMAS, as established by the Secretary, made 
available to such center by the textbook publishing industry, SEAs, and 
LEAs.
    2. To provide access to print instructional materials, including 
textbooks, in accessible media, free of charge, to blind or other 
persons with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary 
schools, in accordance with such terms and procedures as the NIMAC may 
prescribe.
    3. To develop, adopt, and publish procedures to protect against 
copyright infringement, with respect to the print instructional 
materials provided in sections 612(a)(23) and 613(a)(6) of IDEA. (34 
CFR 300.172(e)(1)(ii); 20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(2)(A), (B), (C))
    Under section 674(e)(3)(C) of IDEA, the term ``print instructional 
materials'' means ``printed textbooks and related printed core 
materials that are written and published primarily for use in 
elementary school and secondary school instruction and are required by 
a State educational agency or local educational agency for use by 
students in the classroom.'' During the 15 years since the NIMAS was 
created by Federal statute, the use of digital educational materials 
\1\ as a core component of elementary and secondary curriculum has 
grown significantly. Currently, the majority of States have digital 
learning plans and digital learning standards. In addition, State 
leaders have demonstrated a commitment to digital learning and the use 
of digital materials and to support personalized learning that meets 
the needs of all students.\2\ In fact, in 2014 Florida developed a 
five-year plan that requires all schools to move to digital 
classrooms.\3\ In a recent United States survey, 75 percent of 
classroom teachers expected digital content to replace traditional 
print textbooks by 2026.\4\
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    \1\ For the purpose of this notice of interpretation, the 
Department views ``digital educational materials'' as ``digital 
instructional materials.''
    \2\ State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). 
(2019). State K12 Instructional Materials Leadership Trends 
Snapshot. See https://www.setda.org/master/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DMAPS_snapshot_3.26.19.pdf.
    \3\ Florida's Digital Classrooms Program. See http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5658/urlt/0097843-fdoedigitalclassroomsplan.pdf.
    \4\ Harpur, Paul. (2017). Discrimination, copyright and 
equality: Opening the e-book for the print disabled. Retrieved from 
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2977629.
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    Currently, IDEA does not specifically address the inclusion or use 
of digital instructional materials, which were not as common when the 
law was originally enacted. At this time NIMAC does not accept digital 
instructional materials. This exclusion of digital materials 
unnecessarily and inappropriately limits access to such materials for 
students who are blind or visually impaired. The exclusion of digital 
instructional materials from the NIMAC also forces teachers to retrofit 
materials or provide alternate materials that are not equivalent to 
those available to peers without disabilities. Additionally, these 
retrofitted materials may not be provided to students in a timely 
manner or are of inconsistent quality. Consequently, students who are 
blind or visually impaired are potentially denied equal educational 
opportunity, comparable access to materials, and access to information 
in a timely manner by excluding digital instructional materials from 
the definition of print instructional materials. This is especially 
true for students in Pre-K-3, who require embossed braille to ensure a 
solid foundation in early literacy, as well as for older students who 
use braille (embossed or digital) to access academic content.
    Digitally formatted materials accompanied by technology have the 
potential to facilitate learning for all students. However, such 
materials will benefit students who are blind, visually impaired, or 
have other print disabilities only if they are available in accessible 
formats.\5\
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    \5\ Harpur, Paul. (2017). Discrimination, copyright and 
equality: Opening the e-book for the print disabled. Retrieved from 
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2977629.
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Proposed Interpretation

    Given the purpose of NIMAC, the trend toward digital instructional 
materials and resources, and the silence of the statute on the 
acceptance of digital files, the Department proposes to interpret the 
phrase ``printed textbooks and related printed core materials'' 
referred to in the definition of ``print instructional materials'' in 
section 674(e)(3)(C) of IDEA to include digital instructional materials 
that comply with NIMAS, because that is the primary medium through 
which many textbooks and core materials are now printed. The Department 
considers digital materials submitted to NIMAC to be in digital print 
format, which falls under the larger category of ``print'' and is 
consistent with the statutory language of section 674(e)(3)(C) of IDEA. 
The Department believes this interpretation to be aligned with the 
purpose of the statute, which is to provide timely instructional 
materials to students who are blind or have other print disabilities. 
Therefore, under this interpretation, NIMAC would be able to accept 
digital instructional materials submitted in a valid XML-based NIMAS 
format.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or portable document format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article
    search feature at www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through 
the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to

[[Page 56156]]

documents published by the Department.

Johnny W. Collett,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2019-22888 Filed 10-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P