CDS Director Beth Mineo leads a presentation on AIM at Lunchtime Learning

For students with print disabilities, accessible instructional materials (AIM) can be the key to thriving in class, CDS director Beth Mineo told an audience of parents, educators and state employees at “AIM for the stars,” the CDS Lunchtime Learning presentation held yesterday.

Whether by enlarging the print, switching the font or substituting an audio recording, AIM presents printed class material in alternate formats to enable students who have difficulty reading to access the content of their classwork. This is an accommodation mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. However, Mineo estimated that fewer than 10 percent of Delaware students who could benefit from AIM are receiving it.

As the director of AIM Delaware, a CDS-administered program funded by the Delaware Department of Education that produces AIM on request, at no charge, for all Delaware public schools, Mineo said she knew firsthand how few students are using AIM. She suggested educators may be afraid to request AIM for fear of violating copyright law or daunted by the volume of materials that would need to be converted. She also pointed to a lack of awareness about AIM.

However, Mineo noted efforts underway to overcome each of these obstacles. School districts have created a position – the digital rights manager – specifically to ensure no AIM violates copyright law. AIM Delaware exists to convert all needed educational material, regardless of the volume. And CDS has planned trainings to bring awareness of AIM and AIM Delaware to the “building level” – to educators who work with students every day.