The Department of Education is inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2017 for Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities (ETMMID) — Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Children and Students with Visual Impairments and Print Disabilities.
The purposes of the Educational Technology, Media, and Materials for Individuals with Disabilities Program are to:
- Improve results for students with disabilities by promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology;
- support educational activities designed to be of educational value in the classroom for students with disabilities;
- provide support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the classroom; and
- provide accessible educational materials (AEM) to students with disabilities in a timely manner.
For FY 2017 there is one absolute priority. This priority is:
Educational Materials in Accessible Formats for Children and Students with Visual Impairments and Print Disabilities. The purpose of this priority is to fund a cooperative agreement to establish and operate a Center that will provide free educational materials, including textbooks, in accessible formats to eligible children and students— individuals who are:
- Blind, have a visual impairment, have a physical disability, or have a print disability;
- certified by a competent authority as unable to read typical printed material as a result of physical limitations (e.g., dyslexia, specific reading disability, and disabilities in which students are unable to manipulate standard books and materials); and
- enrolled in elementary or secondary schools (as defined by the State) or postsecondary or graduate schools.
AEM include, but are not limited to: Electronic text, braille, audio files, description, closed captioning, and tactile graphics.