New format will help handicapped materials be ready sooner.

Students with visual disabilities are already at a disadvantage but their problems are exacerbated because they often receive special resources like Braille and electronic books late.

Students who are blind or have print disabilities such as dyslexia, use electronic resources and computer software rather than traditional textbooks. The main barrier delaying the arrival of alternative resources is the numerous file formats, like PDF and Microsoft Word, into which published books can be transformed.

In response to this and NCLB, the U.S. Department of Education created a voluntary nationwide format standard, called the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard. It will distribute modern digital materials, including Braille textbooks, electronic textbooks to which; students can listen, and files to enlarge print for students with low vision.

"We would hope that once this is implemented, students will get what they need at the beginning of the school year," says Stephanie Lee, director of the DOE's Office of Special Education Programs. "The standard is part of an overall effort to make sure every child has the opportunity for a quality education."

NIMAS will be available for the 2004 school year, but it is up to each state to decide to adopt it. Districts should save money under NIMAS, Lee says, because now teachers can spend hours scanning textbooks to distribute to students with disabilities.