NIMAS Board voting results and consensus agreements reached are posted here to be made available to the public.  Most recent items will appear at the top of this page.

March, 2009: NIMAS Board Vote: MathML

The Board voted by a clear majority to re-draft the NIMAS Technical Specification to include MathML as a part of the required NIMAS Baseline Element Set. Details outlined below are also available in Word format.

Item:

Should the NIMAS Specification be re-drafted to include MathML as a part of the required NIMAS Baseline Element Set?

Rationale:

The current approach to mathematics in the NIMAS Technical Specification Version 1.1 is insufficient to address the access and learning needs of qualifying students with print disabilities. For more detail, see the supporting document NIMAS and Mathematics.

Item Detail:

• “Re-draft” in this context means to incorporate MathML requirements into the NIMAS Specification and to submit as a formal recommended update including these requirements to the Office of Special Education Programs prior to September 31, 2009.
• “Required” in this context means that all NIMAS filesets containing mathematical content (expressions, equations, and mathematic and scientific concepts) included in textbooks and related materials, and submitted to the NIMAC, must be marked up using MathML.

Outcome:

The Board voted by a clear majority to re-draft the NIMAS Technical Specification to include MathML as a part of the required NIMAS Baseline Element Set.

Supporting Reference Documents:

Introduction to MathML in DAISY in 10 Small Chapters by Michael Zacherle; Microsoft Word or MathML Introduction; HTML

Considerations:

MathML in NIMAS implementation needs to align with the W3C MathML recommendations (http://www.w3.org/Math/) and with the MathML in DAISY requirements (http://www.daisy.org/projects/mathml/) to the greatest extent feasible.

Next Steps and Anticipated Timeline:

• The NIMAS Standards Board, in collaboration with representatives of the MathML initiatives underway at the W3C and the DAISY Consortium, will establish a timeline for the period April, 2009–August, 2009, for re-drafting the NIMAS Technical Specification to include MathML.
• Once re-drafted, the updated NIMAS Technical Specification will be included in the report from the NIMAS Development Center to the Office of Special Education Programs in the Fall of 2009.
• It is anticipated that the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), in conjunction with other relevant agencies in the United States Department of Education, will determine the efficacy and appropriateness of the Center’s and the Board’s recommendations.
• Upon receipt from OSERS, the Secretary will consider the recommendations from the NIMAS Development Center and decide on the appropriate steps to take at that time.