Search
/ About TSBVI / Facts About Visual Impairment in Texas / Student Data Program

Student Data Program

Each year, TSBVI makes two counts on behalf of the Texas Education Agency related to students with visual impairments and who are deafblind in Texas. These are known as the Registration of Students in Texas with Visual Impairment and the Texas Deafblind Child Count.

The student Data Program plays an important role for students with visual impairments and who are deafblind in Texas. In January each year, two important counts are made on behalf of the Texas Education Agency related to these students by TSBVI. These are known respectively as the Registration of Students in Texas with Visual Impairment  (SPED and 504) and the Texas Deafblind Child Count.

On the first Monday of January each year, information is gathered on every student in Texas who is identified as blind, visually impaired, low vision, or who is deafblind.  This includes students who are enrolled in a public, private, or charter schools. The kind of information that is gathered includes information about the degree and cause of the visual impairment, age of the child, location of the school, and type of program where the child or student receives their education whether or not the child uses braille or large print and other information.

This student information is completely confidential. However, summary demographic data is used for long-term planning and identifying trends and issues for students with visual impairment and who are deafblind at Texas Education Agency, the twenty Education Service Centers, Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Blind Children’s Program, Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECI), Texas Education Agency and Outreach Programs. Other agencies and organizations may request specific information to help them advocate for services for individuals with visual impairment and who are deafblind at all age levels.

Additionally, the number of students counted each year on the VI Registration generates funds based on the number of students who are legally blind. These funds are used to purchase materials from the American Printing House for the Blind for local districts through the APH Materials Loan Program.

Student Data Quick Links

Downloadable PDF Document (coming soon)

Registration of Students in Texas with Visual Impairments & 504 Summary

Texas Deafblind Child Count

Registration of Students in TX with Visual Impairment & 504 Summary

2025 Statewide VI SPED Results

NOTE:  “Braille Instruction” indicates the number of students receiving braille instruction in each region.  The question pertaining to braille instruction is asked if and when braille is not listed as a primary or secondary reading medium for a student.  “Total Braille” is the combined number of primary reading medium, secondary reading medium and students receiving instruction in each region.

“Not Legal Blind Meets IDEA Def.” indicates the number of students whose Level of Vision is recorded as NLB but are noted as meeting the following IDEA definition.

IDEA Definition: “Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.” (34 CFR§300.8(c)(13))

Scroll
ESC COMBINED VIR & DB DB ONLY AGES 0-2 AGES 3-5 AGES 6-22 BRAILLE PRIMARY BRAILLE SECONDARY BRAILLE INSTRCUTION TOTAL BRAILLE VISUAL PRIMARY VISUAL SECONDARY AUDITORY PRIMARY AUDITORY SECONDARY PRE READER SYMB COMM LEGAL BLIND NOT LEGAL BLIND MEETS IDEA DEF. VI ONLY ASSIST TECH OM EVAL OM SERV
1 591 35 16 44 531 14 6 35 55 355 7 38 150 59 125 339 252 153 567 550 341
2 146 15 5 22 119 4 2 6 12 90 3 7 53 26 19 80 64 31 134 145 90
3 113 14 8 17 88 3 2 6 11 51 2 3 16 39 17 52 58 20 107 104 63
4 1,668 204 43 141 1,484 56 26 61 143 913 10 84 302 269 346 895 745 411 1,461 1,526 856
5 127 11 0 14 113 3 3 7 13 66 1 10 36 33 15 78 48 37 117 86 24
6 379 41 12 45 322 12 0 5 17 218 4 14 127 72 63 185 193 93 316 369 274
7 455 46 17 37 401 12 8 17 37 251 8 24 150 81 87 214 231 115 402 419 272
8 76 5 2 5 69 0 0 2 2 41 0 2 9 18 15 45 31 17 61 73 52
9 154 7 3 14 137 3 0 5 8 102 0 1 54 30 18 53 101 38 114 152 22
10 1,136 146 45 103 988 54 13 68 135 559 13 62 287 215 246 644 483 286 976 1,053 581
11 844 106 50 84 710 45 9 61 115 480 6 19 283 140 160 468 365 218 747 774 443
12 323 20 10 38 275 2 2 23 27 165 3 11 67 62 83 186 135 79 247 271 181
13 643 62 23 69 551 19 8 31 58 321 13 24 184 158 121 465 176 118 561 605 440
14 133 9 1 19 113 6 1 2 9 87 1 4 45 25 11 49 79 38 111 133 37
15 158 11 2 17 139 4 0 4 8 101 1 2 45 24 27 50 82 38 103 153 56
16 141 11 2 11 128 3 1 8 12 85 3 13 53 26 14 61 80 37 125 137 48
17 168 4 5 17 146 10 1 6 17 84 1 8 27 17 49 76 88 45 117 162 47
18 118 13 5 11 102 3 1 1 5 65 1 7 44 26 17 64 52 27 66 114 40
19 239 13 11 16 212 6 1 6 13 113 5 19 34 36 65 130 105 47 213 223 91
20 771 92 44 75 652 31 5 26 62 359 5 24 162 165 192 529 234 166 573 733 418
TSBVI 129 17 0 0 129 36 21 12 69 39 4 24 67 8 22 129 0 34 129 129 129
TSD 16 16 0 0 16 0 0 4 4 16 0 0 0 0 0 7 9 0 16 16 15
TOTAL 8,528 898 304 799 7,425 326 110 396 832 4,561 91 400 2,195 1,529 1,712 4,799 3,611 2,048 7,263 7,927 4,520
TOTAL % 10.53% 3.56% 9.37% 87.07% 3.82% 1.29% 4.64% 9.76% 53.48% 1.07% 4.69% 25.74% 17.93% 20.08% 56.27% 42.34% 24.02% 85.17% 92.95% 53.00%

2024 Statewide VI 504 Results

NOTE:  “Braille Instruction” indicates the number of students receiving braille instruction in each region.  The question pertaining to braille instruction is asked if and when braille is not listed as a primary or secondary reading medium for a student.  “Total Braille” is the combined number of primary reading medium, secondary reading medium and students receiving instruction in each region.

“Not Legal Blind Meets IDEA Def.” indicates the number of students whose Level of Vision is recorded as NLB but are noted as meeting the following IDEA definition.

IDEA Definition: “Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.” (34 CFR§300.8(c)(13))

Scroll
ESC 504 AGES 0-2 AGES 3-5 AGES 6-22 BRAILLE PRIMARY BRAILLE SECONDARY BRAILLE INSTRUCTION BRAILLE TOTAL VISUAL PRIMARY VISUAL SECONDARY AUDITORY PRIMARY AUDITORY SECONDARY PRE READER SYMB COMM LEGAL BLIND NOT LEGAL BLIND MEETS IDEA DEF. ASSIST TECH OM EVAL OM SERV.
1 106 0 1 105 0 0 0 0 106 0 0 9 0 0 13 59 51 0 0
2 37 0 1 36 0 0 0 0 35 2 2 6 0 0 1 25 7 4 0
3 33 0 0 33 0 0 0 0 33 0 0 1 0 0 1 20 2 0 0
4 419 0 5 414 0 1 1 2 415 1 2 31 2 0 39 138 80 14 4
5 17 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 6 0 0 1 14 8 3 0
6 126 0 1 125 0 0 0 0 124 0 1 15 1 0 2 48 10 7 0
7 88 1 1 86 0 0 0 0 86 0 0 18 2 0 1 31 15 6 0
8 17 0 1 16 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 2 1 0 1 6 1 0 0
9 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 1 3 0
10 489 1 7 481 0 0 1 1 483 3 5 47 1 0 22 209 48 10 1
11 220 0 0 220 0 0 0 0 216 0 3 30 1 0 11 95 88 8 0
12 70 0 2 68 0 0 0 0 69 0 0 6 1 0 3 28 4 3 0
13 339 1 4 334 0 0 0 0 338 0 0 25 0 0 12 88 77 9 2
14 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
15 17 0 0 17 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 6 0 0 2 6 6 4 0
16 18 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 17 1 1 0 0 0 1 6 4 1 0
17 34 0 0 34 0 0 0 0 34 0 0 3 0 0 0 9 8 2 0
18 13 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 6 0 0 5 7 1 3 0
19 54 0 0 54 1 0 0 1 53 0 0 13 0 0 1 1 26 0 0
20 269 0 5 264 0 0 0 0 266 0 0 24 3 0 8 114 28 4 0
TSBVI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TSD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 2,379 3 28 2,348 1 1 2 4 2,351 7 14 254 12 0 124 909 466 81 7
TOTAL % 0.13% 1.18% 98.70% 0.04% 0.04% 0.17% 0.46% 98.82% 0.29% 0.58% 10.68% 0.50% 0.00% 5.21% 38.21% 19.59% 3.40% 0.29%

VI Registration & 504 Count Totals

Scroll
Counts # of Students % of Students
VI Registration 8,528 78.19%
504 Count 2,379 21.81%
COMBINED TOTAL: 10,907

Selected Age Groups

Scroll
Age Groups 504 # 504 % VIR # VIR %
Age 0 - 2 Years 3 0.13% 304 3.56%
Age 3 - 5 Years 28 1.18% 799 9.37%
Age 6 - 22+ Years 2,348 98.70% 7,425 87.07%
COMBINED TOTAL: 2,379 8,528

Ethnicity & Race

Scroll
Ethnicity 504 # 504 % VIR # VIR %
Hispanic or Latino 892 37.49% 3,823 44.83%
Not Hispanic or Latino 1,487 62.51% 4,705 55.17%
COMBINED TOTAL: 2,379 8,528
Scroll
Race 504 # 504 % VIR # VIR %
American Indian or Alaskan Native 55 2.31% 147 1.72%
Asian 102 4.29% 387 4.54%
Black or African American 217 9.12% 1,293 15.16%
Hispanic or Latino 339 14.25% 2,248 26.36%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 5 0.21% 34 0.40%
Two or More Races 67 2.82% 249 2.92%
Unknown 15 0.63% 37 0.43%
White 1,579 66.37% 4,133 48.46%
COMBINED TOTAL: 2,379 8,528

Level of Vision

Scroll
Level of Vision 504 # 504 % VIR # VIR %
MDB - Meets Definition of Blindness 67 2.82% 3,146 36.89%
FDB - Meets Functional Definition of Blindness 58 2.44% 1,653 19.38%
NLB - Not Legally Blind (Meets IDEA Def.) 909 38.21% 3,611 42.34%
NLB - Not Legally Blind (Does NOT Meet IDEA Def.) 1,345 56.54% 118 1.38%
TOTAL 2,379 8,528

Reading Medium

Scroll
Reading Medium for VI SPED Count Visual Auditory Braille Pre-Reader Symbolic Communicator
Primary Reading Medium # 4,561 400 326 1,529 1,712
Secondary Reading Medium # 91 2,195 110 NA NA
Braille Instruction NA NA 396 NA NA
TOTAL 4,652 2,595 832 1,527 1,707
PERCENTAGE 54.54% 30.42% 9.75% 17.92% 20.07%
Scroll
Reading Medium for VI 504 Count Visual Auditory Braille Pre-Reader Symbolic Communicator
Primary Reading Medium # 2,351 15 1 12 0
Secondary Reading Medium # 7 254 1 NA NA
Braille Instruction NA NA 2 NA NA
TOTAL 2,358 269 4 12 0
PERCENTAGE 99.70% 11.40% 0.16 0.50% 0.00%

Disability Conditions

Scroll
Disability Conditions Primary Secondary Tertiary Quaternary Total
Visual Impairment 3,802 2,559 1,099 250 7,710
Other Health Impaired 1,640 936 341 198 3,115
Intellectual Disabilities 1,242 623 275 122 2,262
Deafblind 491 153 40 12 696
Autism 362 166 50 35 613
Orthopedic Impairment 252 295 215 178 940
Traumatic Brain Injury 203 28 8 8 247
Specific Learning Disability 138 171 46 6 361
Non-Categorical Early Childhood 99 12 3 2 116
Speech or Language Impairment 57 1,184 2,302 407 3,950
Deaf / Hard of Hearing 58 83 62 28 231
Emotional Disturbance 32 39 11 5 87
Under Age 3 with No Disability Condition Listed 153 --- --- --- 153
504 --- --- --- --- 2,390
DB or Any Combo of DB, VI + D/HH, & Documented Loss --- --- --- --- 873
Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary Totals: 8,528 6,249 4,452 1,251

Texas Deafblind Child Count

Recent Year Totals

Scroll
Year Total
2025 898
2024 873
2023 846
2022 778
2021 804

Students Numbers by ESC Region

Scroll
Region 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
1 Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley, Laredo 35 38 37 37 38
2 Corpus Christi 15 19 17 16 12
3 Victoria 14 15 14 10 12
4 Houston 204 189 176 162 160
5 Beaumont 11 10 7 9 13
6 Huntsville, Bryan, Conroe 41 36 34 27 26
7 Kilgore, Tyler, Lufkin 46 46 42 39 36
8 Pittsburg, Texarkana, Paris, Sulphur Springs 5 7 9 9 9
9 Wichita Falls 7 9 8 8 8
10 Richardson, Dallas 146 139 138 124 135
11 Fort Worth 106 108 116 109 112
12 Waco 20 22 21 17 20
13 Austin (Minus TSBVI & TSD) 62 61 53 49 46
14 Abilene 9 9 9 10 12
15 San Angelo 11 10 8 8 7
16 Amarillo 11 10 9 9 12
17 Lubbock 4 6 7 6 7
18 Midland 13 10 12 9 13
19 El Paso 13 18 18 15 16
20 San Antonio 92 77 72 71 71
Texas School for the Deaf 16 18 16 16 18
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired 17 16 23 18 21
Statewide Totals 898 873 846 778 804

Selected Age Groups

Scroll
Ages Groups 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Birth - 2 years old 37 27 30 21 20
3 -5 Years Old 106 114 99 103 106
6 - 12 Years Old 368 351 331 291 324
13 - 15 Years Old 156 166 183 167 161
16 Years and Older 231 215 203 196 193
TOTAL: 898 873 846 778 804

Ethnicity & Race

Scroll
Race 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Hispanic or Latino 399 381 371 334 331
Not Hispanic or Latino 499 492 475 444 473
TOTAL 898 873 846 778 804
Scroll
Race 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
American Indian or Alaskan Native 20 19 20 18 20
Asian 46 45 36 24 27
Black or African American 125 116 112 106 110
Hispanic or Latino (As per NCDB, this selection is no longer available.) NA NA 212 186 200
White (not Hispanic) 627 605 434 414 412
Pacific Islander 3 4 2 2 2
Two or More 34 36 23 21 24
Unknown / Missing 43 48 7 7 9
TOTAL 898 873 846 778 804

Other Impairments

Scroll
Impairments 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Behavior 51 51 55 60 40
Cognitive 502 515 526 466 457
Complex Health Care 452 434 420 360 385
Physical 511 492 481 435 444
Speech 743 725 694 623 645

Degree of Hearing Loss

Scroll
Hearing Loss 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Mild (up to 40 dB) 137 129 123 105 103
Moderate (41-55 dB) 227 222 212 190 185
Moderately Severe (56-70 dB) 150 148 136 142 154
Severe (71-90 dB) 90 98 97 69 111
Profound (91+ dB) 208 188 201 193 196
Documented Functional Hearing Loss 52 49 36 42 27
Further Testing Needed 34 39 40 37 28
Progressive Hearing Loss 89 80 79 66 68

Additional Hearling Loss Information

Scroll
Additional Hearing Information 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Auditory Neuropathy 47 46 45 40 42
Central Auditory Processing Disorder 30 31 26 17 18
Cochlear Implant 170 163 160 149 145
Hearing Aides / Listening Devices 552 539 513 477 478
Hearing in One Early Only 90 96 79 66 68

Degree of Vision Loss

Scroll
Degree of Vision Loss 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Low Vision (better than 20/200) 386 384 370 313 303
Legally Blind 224 236 242 275 305
Light Perception Only 46 38 34 23 27
Normal/Near Vision with Progressive Loss Expected 38 33 30 22 18
Totally Blind 43 47 52 34 40
Documented Functional Vision Loss 134 109 95 95 99
Further Testing Needed 27 26 22 16 12
Progressive Vision Loss 131 108 96 98 100

Additional Vision Information

Scroll
Additional Vision Information 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) 261 250 253 236 240
Vision in One Eye Only 42 42 42 40 34
Uses Corrective Lenses 520 507 485 461 423

Interveners & RDSPD

Scroll
Miscellaneous 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Has Designated Intervener (Certified) 15 11 13 19 20
Has Designated Intervener (Non-certified) 93 83 82 71 34
Receives Services from RDSP 369 338 308 269 423

Common Etiologies

Scroll
Etiologies 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
CHARGE Syndrome 96 87 89 85 85
Complications of Prematurity 69 76 74 65 83
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) 16 15 16 15 16
Dandy Walker syndrome 8 8 7 4 8
Down Syndrome 43 40 38 33 34
Goldenhar Syndrome 13 13 12 9 8
Hydrocephaly 20 17 14 16 21
Meningitis 10 10 10 10 12
Microcephaly 4 5 9 10 17
No Determination of Etiology 92 91 103 100 69
Other Post-natal Complications 31 33 31 28 36
Other Pre-natal/Congenital 23 19 24 13 22
Tumors 10 10 9 10 14
Usher 1 Syndrome 18 15 14 16 22
Usher 2 Syndrome 11 8 14 10 7
Usher 3 Syndrome 2 4 3 3 3