Frequently Asked Questions

All textbook orders for the upcoming school year should be ordered by April 15 of the current school year if possible.  Order all textbooks titles you know that the student will require.  It takes a minimum of 4 months for new braille transcriptions and 3 months for production of large print/accessible files, sometimes longer during the summer peak order season.

LEA's do not have to pay for the materials received from the IERC. Materials are provided through Federal Quota dollars and Part B discretionary funds and are on loan to the LEA's.  All items are tracked and LEA's are accountable for the return of materials to the IERC when the student has finished using them.

The ISBN or International Standard Book Number is a unique 13-digit number that identifies one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition.  Prior to 2007, it was a ten-digit number. Each format or binding must have a separate ISBN. Once assigned, an ISBN can never be reused. This number helps the IERC pin-point the exact textbook information. Read more about ISBN numbers here.

Only if we have it in our collection, ready to loan. We will not purchase a second copy as these items are very costly. It is the responsibility of the LEA to insure the accuracy of the order information prior to placing the order the first time. The IERC will provide the LEA with commercial sources where they can purchase the materials directly if needed.

No. The LEA's will need to purchase these materials directly from the commercial vendors. The LEA's may want to contact the PATINS Project Lending Library for product information or possible equipment loan. https://www.patinsproject.org/

The IERC will provide one set of textbooks in braille or large print. It is the LEA's responsibility to provide a second copy if it has been documented as a need on the student's individualized education plan. The IERC's role is to assist the LEA's in the provision of accessible instructional materials.

Materials ordered with Federal Quota dollars are the property of the State of Indiana and must be returned to the IERC after the student is finished using them. It is the responsibility of the state's Ex Officio (IERC Director) to oversee the federal account, which includes the distribution, tracking, and re-loan of educational materials purchased with quota dollars. All federal quota dollars as well as materials purchased with those dollars must be accounted for.

Workbooks or consumable textbooks ONLY may be consumed if needed. If materials are consumed, they must be accounted for during the annual inventory recall process as consumed so we can update our inventory accordingly.

All materials loaned to an LEA for use by a specific student must be returned to the IERC if the student moves to a different school corporation. It will be the responsibility of the DRM from the new school corporation to update the student information on the ICAM and to order materials required for use by the student enrolled in the new LEA.

The local education agency is ultimately responsible for tracking and accounting for all ordered instructional materials purchased with state and federal dollars and loaned to them by the IERC at the end of each school year. The IERC reserves the right to charge the ordering local education agency for lost or unaccounted braille and large print books as well as specialized aids and equipment. For books with multiple volumes, the school district would be charged for the cost to replace the entire book, if the IERC cannot replace individual volumes.

If textbooks ordered are not available in large print or braille, two original copies will be requested by the IERC for production or transcription from the LEA. One copy is torn apart during the production process and kept on site with the master and the second copy, used for proofreading, is returned to the school after production or transcription is complete. It is the responsibility of the local education agency to provide the requested print copies of the textbooks, not the IERC or the MAMP. The local education agency can choose not to send print copies to the IERC for production or transcription and can purchase directly from commercial sources if available.

In order to keep costs down and to prevent the transcription of a braille book already available, the IERC reserves the right to substitute the national edition of an ordered state edition if the publisher verifies that the national edition is classroom compatible with the state edition.

No. Only accessible derivative versions, as a result of the production of the hard copy large print or transcription of a braille textbook, will be made available in accessible formats as determined appropriate by the MAMP.  Any accessible formats produced by the MAMP will appear in the ICAM during a search if the student has qualified for these specialized formats per their IEP.

No. All orders for large print and braille instructional materials must go through the ICAM via the appointed DRM and then to the IERC for review and processing. All orders sent to MAMP originate from the IERC.

No. Per the Indiana State Code, we cannot expend federal dollars on the purchase or production of religious curriculum materials for use by students in parentally-placed, non-public schools, including those books from religious publishers. However, if the book is used as part of the local education agency curriculum and has been endorsed by the local education agency, we can provide those titles.

The IERC reserves the right, dependent on funding, to not purchase older copyrights or editions of specialized braille and large print instructional materials. If the LEA requests an older copyright of a textbook in braille or large print, and the IERC is unable to purchase, the IERC will assist the LEA by researching available commercial vendors for procurement at the local level. Furthermore, if an LEA writes into a student's individualized education program (IEP) that braille and/or large print textbooks will be provided for a student, it shall not be the ultimate responsibility of the IERC to provide the braille and/or large print textbooks and materials.

Due to limited funds, the IERC cannot replace specialized instructional materials that have been purchased/shipped by the IERC and received at the LEA, then lost or misplaced at the local level.