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from Sumer 1997 issue
by Nick Necaise, APH Coordinator, TSBVI Outreach
The Texas Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (TIMCVI) is the order processing and redistribution center for the Texas APH Federal Quota Account. The TIMCVI is located on the campus of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and is responsible for:
Federal quota funds are an annual appropriation shared proportionally among all public institutions for students who are blind or visually impaired in the United States. All states conduct an annual registration of students who are visually impaired on the first Monday in January each year to determine their share of these funds. Each state's share of these funds is held in escrow at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and, as orders for materials are processed, their cost is drawn against that account.
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is the oldest public or private nonprofit national organization in the United States for persons who are blind or visually impaired. In 1879, the U.S. Congress passed the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind which provides an annual appropriation to be used "each year in manufacturing and furnishing books and other materials specially adapted for instruction of the blind." Such materials are distributed free among all public institutions for students who are blind or visually impaired in the United States. Each institution receives a proportional share of materials based on the ratio of the number of its pupils and the total number of such pupils in the United States. This total is established by a annual census conducted by the APH.
Students who are legally blind are eligible to receive APH materials through quota funds at no cost to the district. Students who are legally blind are those who have central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses or a peripheral field so contracted that the widest diameter of such field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees. The designation as legally blind is based on an eye specialist report which is kept in a student's education eligibility folder in the school district.
All items or products listed in an APH catalog are available on quota funds unless otherwise indicated. APH catalogs include:
To receive APH catalogs and to be placed on its mailing list for catalog supplements, contact APH directly by writing or calling:
American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
1839 Frankfort Avenue
P. O. Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
(502) 895-2405 or 1-800-895-1509
APH materials obtained with quota funds are the property of the State of Texas and are loaned to districts for use by students who are legally blind. It is a district's responsibility to:
During this year the TIMCVI has processed over 600 requisitions from districts resulting in over 10,000 instructional items being shipped either directly from the APH or from the TIMCVI warehouse to districts throughout the state. If your school district is not accessing this program currently, you may want to share this information with them. If you have additional questions contact Nick Necaise at (512) 206-9335.