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What is the AIM Consortium?

As part of a US Department of Education grant for the provision of Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) entered into a consortium project with the Center of Applied Special Technologies (CAST) and the states of Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Parts 1 and 3 of the consortium project provided for integrated activities with all members of the consortium and CAST . Part 2 of the consortium project allowed each state to develop focused state activities.

What are the focused state activities for LA?

Louisiana will focus on 3 areas:

1. Develop data management and tracking systems for administering NIMAS files and delivering instructional materials in accessible formats.

2. Develop and implement a plan for providing professional development designed to improve the capacity of LEAs to understand the provisions of Section 300.172 of Part B of IDEA 2004, identify students with print disabilities, determine which specialized formats and technology tools are appropriate for students with print disabilities, and acquire specialized formats and supporting tools to students with print disabilities.

3.Improve LDE communications regarding accessible instructional materials and NIMAS by developing talking points and a core message for sharing with others.

Who benefits from AIM?

1. Students who have difficulty reading and may need supports such as text-to-speech.
2. Students who need text transferred into alternate formats such as large print, braille or another language.
3. Students with visual difficulties who may require larger text, colored text, contrasting background or larger spacing between text.

Schedule of Professional Development on AIM-LA:

AIM Overview, AAC and All that Jazz Conference, New Orleans, LA- Feb 20-22

Presented by Joy Zabala, CAST AIM Coordinator

LA AT Summer Institute, Natchitoches, LA, July 16

AIM Strands presented by Joy Zabala, CAST AIM Coordinator, Donna Broussard, LDE

NIMAS overview presented by Jackie Bobbett, LDE

Contacts:

Louisiana Department of Education Region 6 LATI Center

Dr. Jackie Bobbett Charlotte Ducote

Donna Broussard 318-229-1925

225-342-3730

Support Materials For AIM Workshop
AIM_Decision_Making_Flow_Chart_for_Educational_Teams_Rev_19Nov08ver3[1]2.pdf
AIM IEP Team Responsibilities Vertical.pdf
NIMAS_Eligibility_FormDraft.pdf
Sorting Checklist.pdf
Sorting Through Handout.pdf
All of the above files in one package: zip format