Harvard Children's Initiative
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum
National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum
U.S. Office of Special Education Programs

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Policy, Property & Permissions:
A Discussion of Accessible Curriculum Materials

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Introduction

State and Local Agencies, under growing public and legal pressure to provide effective curriculum materials and assistance to students with disabilities, are increasingly demanding that textbooks and other curriculum materials be provided in accessible digital formats.

Federal and State Legislation

Emerging federal legislation (the IMAA) promoting a national file format and centralized distribution of digital textbooks would benefit everyone. As currently written, the provisions of the IMAA are deigned to supercede existing state and local requirements.

 

The K-12 Publishing Market: Revenue and Rights

"Home grown" duplication technologies and ready access to web-based distribution pose a significant challenge to rights maintenance; conversely, the same digital technologies promise to reduce costs and increase the viability of curriculum materials.

 

Content Distribution: Digital Rights Management, Methodology

Consider two distribution models for accessible textbooks for print-disabled students: web-based texbooks vs. fixed media (e.g.: CD-ROM) systems.

 

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The Berkman Center for Internet & Society
The Harvard Children's Initiative

Funding for the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum is provided by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education. OSEP has primary responsibility for administering programs and projects relating to the free appropriate public education of all children, youth and adults with disabilities, from birth through age 21. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Office of Special Education Programs and no endorsement by that office should be inferred.