Accessible Textbooks

How to Obtain and Manage Accessible Textbooks for Eligible EMSB Students

Updated August 2022

Eligibility

For a student whose individualized education plan recommends assistive technology, schools can obtain accessible digital works from publishers.

Publishers determine the process to obtain works, and the conditions by which their works can be used. The conditions that are common to most publishers are summarized below, however certain publishers impose additional conditions and costs.

Recommended Process for Schools

  1. Review student IEPs to determine which students regularly use assistive technology adaptations for reading (such as WordQ software).
  2. Create a list or spreadsheet to record which textbooks/workbooks each student requires.
  3. Contact publishers below to make an order for accessible materials. The materials will be sent to the school contact.

Once received,
a) Download the material onto a USB key, to place on the student’s laptop or cloud-based Drive. Please delete the copy on the USB after this step.

b) It is important to respect publishers’ conditions.  Explain conditions of use to students and include documentation for parents.

c) Record which students have used accessible workbooks, as they need to be deleted from their Drive at the end of the year.

Common Conditions of Use

  • The work will be used exclusively by a student whose individualized education plan recommends assistive technology.
  • The school certifies that it has purchased the print version of the work for all the students in the same class as the student concerned.
  • The student using the work will regularly attend the school that has acquired the work.
  • Use of the work is subject to the same conditions of use as its print version, specifically:
    — Textbooks: A copy of the work must be purchased for each student with special needs, and only one student may use this copy of the work during the school year.
    — Activity books: A copy of the work must be purchased for the current school year. The same copy of the work may not be reused during any subsequent school year.
  • The application for the work is made by a person in authority at the school or a person authorized by its administration to do so.
  • The school applying for the work agrees not to reproduce, sell, modify or distribute the work.

 Publishers’ Processes

Les Éditions CEC (fees for materials)
Schools requiring accessible versions of works must request permission from DONA.  Detailed procedures on how to apply are here. Here are the publishers whose materials are available through DONA:

  • Le Groupe TC Média (Chenelière Éducation, Modulo, Graficor, Caractère, etc.)
  • Les Éditions CEC
  • Groupe Ville-Marie (De la Bagnole, Hexagone, Typo, VLB éditeur, etc.)
  • Joey Cornu
  • Septentrion
  • Pierre Tisseyre
Chenelière / TC Media / Modulo (fees for materials)
Copibec has an agreement with les Éditions Chenelière, its parent company, TC Media, and Modulo, to function as an intermediary for obtaining digital works. These publishers will provide their works in PDF format at the same cost as the print work. This cost applies even if the student already has access to a print copy. Here are the steps:
Éditions Grand-Duc (fees for materials)
Accessible versions of many works are available online for purchase at:  www.grandducenligne.comIf works are unavailable, schools can request permission to digitize on their own by contacting : infoservice@educalivres.com
Éditions La Pensée inc. (fees for materials)
Accessible versions of textbooks from La Pensée are available on PDF.  Student use is permitted for one-year only.  To place an order, contact: (514) 848-9042 or 800 667-5442 information@editions-lapensee.qc.ca
LIDEC inc. (fees for materials)

Accessible versions of some textbooks from LIDEC are available on PDF.
To place an order, contact: 514 843-5991 or 800 350-5991  lidec@lidec.qc.ca
Nelson (no fee for materials)

If a student has access to a copy of the work in print, but requires an accessible copy, Nelson will make an electronic version available for free. The request needs to be submitted by a qualified professional serving students with special needs, such as a resource teacher. Requests are made online: http://permission.cengage.com/permissions/action/step1
Pearson / ERPI (no fee for materials)
If a student has access to a copy of the work in print, but requires an accessible copy, Pearson ERPI will make an electronic version available for free.  Requests are made online: http://pearsonerpi.com/en/renseignements/droits/formulaire-k-12.   The requester is then sent a temporary link to a site where the accessible PDFs can be downloaded.