IDEA 2004 requires states to provide timely access to required books and textbooks in accessible formats. The Iowa DE is encouraging districts to sign up qualified students with Bookshare, http://www.bookshare.org. Bookshare is free and serves students with print disabilities such as blindness, low vision, a physical disability or reading disability that is based on an organic dysfunction. Qualified students will have access to tens of thousands of books including textbooks from the NIMAC, educational reading, reference materials, fiction, newspapers and magazines. In addition, Bookshare offers free software applications that read digital books.
Additional information on next steps, instructions on how to join Bookshare, descriptions of student qualifications (NIMAS) and training opportunities are on the Heartland Web site at http://aea11bookshare.pbworks.com/.
