Utah State University is set to launch a new center this fall aimed at providing accessible digital materials to students with disabilities. Cynthia Curry, director of the National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction (NCADEMI), highlighted the center's mission to tackle longstanding accessibility challenges in education. She emphasized NCADEMI's role in ensuring that students with disabilities can effectively utilize digital educational materials.

According to Curry, traditional methods of producing educational materials often pose barriers for students with sensory, physical, and learning disabilities. NCADEMI, as a technical assistance center, will support educational agencies by conducting accessibility reviews of materials prior to distribution and by promoting effective creation techniques.

Funded by a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, NCADEMI is scheduled to open on October 1st. The initiative aligns with recent final accessibility rules issued by the U.S. Department of Justice for state and local government websites and mobile applications. Brenda Smith, principal investigator at the center, noted collaborative efforts with existing national programs, including Web Accessibility In Mind and the Center for Technical Assistance and Excellence in Special Education (TAESE), to aid schools in achieving compliance.

Smith emphasized that NCADEMI integrates the expertise of both programs, combining federal special education requirements with WebAIM's accessibility knowledge. Leaders anticipate that by the project's conclusion in four years, they will have significantly enhanced accessibility to digital educational materials across the education sector. They aim for the processes developed to be scalable and adopted nationally.