CAST’s National AEM Center Announces 2020-2024 State Partners

Date:
Friday, August 21, 2020

The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (AEM Center) at CAST is proud to announce the 2020-2024 National AEM Cohort of state partners. Selected from a highly competitive application pool, the following seven will receive intensive technical assistance: Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and West Virginia.  

The program aims to help each state build a robust and coordinated system for providing accessible educational materials (AEM) and related technologies to all learners with disabilities who need them as they transition across early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary education.

Each state team in the AEM Cohort includes leadership representatives from the state education agency, at least three local education agencies, and other stakeholder groups, such as parent centers, early childhood programs, higher education institutions, and workforce development agencies. Technical assistance products and services that are developed in partnership with the National AEM Cohort will be made available nationally.  

 “The educational disruption caused by COVID-19 has clearly exposed the vulnerabilities in technology systems, including risks to the continuity of learning for students with disabilities who need accessible digital materials and formats,” says Cynthia Curry, Director of the AEM Center. “Buidling on CAST’s legacy of high-quality technical assistance projects, the AEM Center is thrilled to partner with the next generation of AEM state leaders to develop systemic statewide and cross-agency solutions that can be scaled nationally.” 

The project is funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.