/ 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 and the Texas Deafblind Child Count.

Information is gathered about every student in Texas identified as having a visual impairment or who is deafblind who is enrolled in a public, private, or charter school on the first Monday of January each year. 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

Registration of Students in Texas with Visual Impairments & 504 Summary

Texas Deafblind Child Count

Registration of Students in TX with Visual Impairment & 504 Summary

2024 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))

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2024 Statewide VI SPED Results
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	559	38	11	52	496	19	8	34	61	340	7	45	150	55	100	320	232	148	529	509	299
2	169	19	12	20	137	6	3	9	18	108	4	12	29	24	19	90	72	38	152	144	90
3	112	15	8	15	89	4	2	9	15	50	1	5	25	31	22	59	52	23	103	108	68
4	1,667	189	40	166	1,461	60	19	69	148	851	14	83	340	329	344	924	698	413	1,475	1,439	846
5	124	10	1	13	110	5	2	7	14	64	0	4	39	27	24	70	54	34	114	71	22
6	391	36	18	39	334	17	1	4	22	228	2	17	150	55	74	205	185	106	315	361	283
7	456	46	13	42	401	10	14	13	37	238	7	26	131	87	95	204	251	113	406	395	276
8	81	7	1	7	73	2	0	3	5	43	1	2	3	11	23	45	33	22	55	47	49
9	164	9	1	19	144	3	1	4	8	109	0	0	55	27	25	51	110	43	138	163	21
10	1,121	139	41	100	980	51	20	60	131	573	12	31	312	190	276	610	498	288	943	963	534
11	819	108	32	83	704	39	12	57	108	454	12	22	217	119	185	444	364	211	717	714	416
12	324	22	12	34	278	5	4	13	22	152	3	10	59	97	60	182	132	88	225	283	191
13	648	61	28	81	539	23	10	26	59	309	8	32	147	129	155	466	180	115	570	545	423
14	137	9	2	17	118	6	1	2	9	88	2	5	41	23	15	55	77	47	116	133	39
15	153	10	5	11	104	3	0	7	10	67	3	11	36	16	23	64	55	31	82	113	38
16	152	10	2	15	135	3	1	5	9	92	5	16	70	22	19	71	57	40	140	144	45
17	186	6	12	19	155	10	1	9	20	99	1	4	31	34	39	92	93	50	129	182	43
18	120	10	5	11	104	3	0	7	10	67	3	11	36	16	23	64	55	31	82	113	38
19	248	18	13	13	222	6	0	10	16	104	2	26	40	39	73	134	104	47	234	215	90
20	767	77	44	60	663	27	6	28	61	352	3	30	189	186	172	481	285	164	588	725	413
TSBVI	126	18	0	1	125	35	22	10	67	38	4	22	56	6	25	126	0	32	126	124	123
TSD	16	16	0	0	16	0	2	0	2	16	0	0	1	0	0	5	11	0	16	14	13
TOTAL	8,540	873	301	827	7,412	337	129	381	847	4,473	91	406	2,169	1,527	1,797	4,752	3,638	2,092	7,279	7,540	4,375
TOTAL %		10.22%	3.52%	9.68%	86.79%	3.95%	1.51%	4.46%	9.92%	52.38%	1.07%	4.75%	25.40%	17.88%	21.04%	55.64%	42.60%	24.50%	85.23%	88.29%	51.23%

2024 Statewide VI 504 Results

“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.

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2024 Statewide VI 504 Results
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	101	0	0	101	0	0	0	0	101	0	0	21	0	0	23	41	19	1	0
2	37	0	1	36	0	0	1	1	37	0	0	2	0	0	13	12	3	2	1
3	31	0	0	31	0	0	0	0	31	0	0	5	0	0	2	8	9	1	0
4	469	0	11	458	0	0	0	0	462	1	6	30	0	1	54	263	116	6	0
5	17	0	1	16	0	0	1	1	15	0	0	6	0	2	1	15	11	2	0
6	124	0	2	122	0	0	0	0	122	0	0	28	2	0	1	72	13	5	0
7	88	0	0	88	0	0	1	1	88	0	0	26	0	0	0	42	0	4	0
8	16	0	0	16	0	0	0	0	16	0	0	4	0	0	1	10	1	0	0
9	16	0	0	16	0	0	0	0	15	1	1	6	0	0	3	9	4	2	0
10	504	1	5	498	0	2	1	3	498	0	5	65	1	0	21	274	44	3	1
11	206	0	0	206	0	0	0	0	206	0	0	20	0	0	10	116	55	8	0
12	97	0	1	96	2	0	1	3	95	0	0	9	0	0	9	41	3	2	0
13	259	1	1	257	0	1	1	2	259	0	0	27	0	0	9	139	22	5	0
14	9	0	0	9	0	0	0	0	9	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	3	0	0
15	13	0	0	13	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	3	1	0	1	4	0	0	0
16	22	0	0	22	0	0	0	0	22	0	0	3	0	0	2	17	3	2	0
17	37	0	0	37	0	0	0	0	37	0	0	7	0	0	0	16	13	3	0
18	9	0	0	9	0	0	0	0	9	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	2	1	0
19	57	0	1	56	0	0	0	0	57	0	0	6	0	0	11	15	2	2	0
20	278	0	0	278	0	0	0	0	278	0	0	38	0	0	24	121	53	2	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	2,390	2	23	2,365	2	3	6	11	2,369	2	12	311	4	3	188	1,219	385	51	2
TOTAL %		0.08%	0.96%	98.95%	0.08%	0.13%	0.25%	0.46%	99.12%	0.088%	0.50%	13.01%	0.17%	0.13%	7.87%	51.00%	16.11%	2.13%	0.088%

VI Registration & 504 Count Totals

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VI Registration & 504 Count Totals
Counts	# of Students	% of Students
VI Registration	8,540	78.13%
504 Count	2,390	21.87%
COMBINED TOTAL:	10,930

Selected Age Groups

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Selected Age Groups
Age Groups	504 #	504 %	VIR #	VIR %
Age 0 - 2 Years	2	0.08%	301	3.52%
Age 3 - 5 Years	23	0.96%	827	9.68%
Age 6 - 22+ Years	2,403	98.95%	7,412	86.79%
COMBINED TOTAL:	2,390		8,540

Ethnicity & Race

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Ethnicity
Ethnicity	504 #	504 %	VIR #	VIR %
Hispanic or Latino	901	37.70%	3,769	44.13%
Not Hispanic or Latino	1,489	62.30%	4,771	55.877%
COMBINED TOTAL:	2,390		8,540

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Race
Race	504 #	504 %	VIR #	VIR %
American Indian or Alaskan Native	53	2.22%	156	1.83%
Asian	88	3.68%	374	4.38%
Black or African American	241	10.08%	1,248	14.61%
Hispanic or Latino	311	13.01%	2,197	25.73%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	7	0.29%	33	0.39%
Two or More Races	62	2.59%	248	2.90%
Unknown	13	0.54%	35	0.41%
White	1,615	67.57%	4,249	49.75%
COMBINED TOTAL:	2,390		8,540

Level of Vision

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Level of Vision
Level of Vision	504 #	504 %	VIR #	VIR %
MDB - Meets Definition of Blindness	114	4.77%	3,197	37.44%
FDB - Meets Functional Definition of Blindness	74	3.10%	1,555	18.21%
NLB - Not Legally Blind (Meets IDEA Def.)	1,219	51.00%	3,638	42.60%
NLB - Not Legally Blind (Does NOT Meet IDEA Def.)	983	41.13%	1500	1.76%
TOTAL	2,390		8,540

Reading Medium

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Reading Medium for VI SPED Count
Reading Medium for VI SPED Count	Visual	Auditory	Braille	Pre-Reader	Symbolic Communicator
Primary Reading Medium #	4,473	406	337	1,527	1,797
Secondary Reading Medium #	91	2,169	129	NA	NA
Braille Instruction	NA	NA	381	NA	NA
TOTAL	4,564	2,575	847	1,527	1,707
PERCENTAGE	53.39%	30.15%	9.92%	17.88%	21.04%

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Reading Medium for VI 504 Count
Reading Medium for VI 504 Count	Visual	Auditory	Braille	Pre-Reader	Symbolic Communicator
Primary Reading Medium #	2,369	12	2	4	3
Secondary Reading Medium #	2	311	3	NA	NA
Braille Instruction	NA	NA	6	NA	NA
TOTAL	2,371	323	11	4	3
PERCENTAGE	99.21%	13.51%	0.46	0.17%	0.13%

Disability Conditions

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Disability Conditions
Disability Conditions	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary	Quaternary	Total
Visual Impairment	3,831	2,570	1,091	243	7,735
Other Health Impaired	1,685	919	344	202	3,150
Intellectual Disabilities	1,253	616	305	120	2,294
Deafblind	473	145	39	15	672
Autism	328	165	45	24	562
Orthopedic Impairment	248	316	219	199	982
Traumatic Brain Injury	209	25	7	6	247
Specific Learning Disability	116	146	36	4	302
Non-Categorical Early Childhood	93	7	3	1	104
Speech or Language Impairment	54	1,182	2,293	404	3,933
Deaf / Hard of Hearing	51	84	58	28	221
Emotional Disturbance	35	39	11	2	87
504	---	---	---	---	2,390
DB or Any Combo of DB, VI + D/HH, & Documented Loss	---	---	---	---	873
Under Age 3 with No Disability Condition Listed	---	---	---	---	164

Texas Deafblind Child Count

Recent Year Totals

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Texas Deafblind Child Count Recent Year Totals
Year	Total
2024	873
2023	846
2022	778
2021	804
2020	820

Students Numbers by ESC Region

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Students Numbers by ESC Region
Region	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
1 Edinburg, Rio Grande Valley, Laredo	38	37	37	38	37
2 Corpus Christi	19	17	16	12	13
3 Victoria	15	14	10	12	9
4 Houston	189	176	162	160	160
5 Beaumont	10	7	9	13	12
6 Huntsville, Bryan, Conroe	36	34	27	26	26
7 Kilgore, Tyler, Lufkin	46	42	39	36	37
8 Pittsburg, Texarkana, Paris, Sulphur Springs	7	9	9	9	8
9 Wichita Falls	9	8	8	8	12
10 Richardson, Dallas	139	138	124	135	151
11 Fort Worth	108	116	109	112	107
12 Waco	22	21	17	20	21
13 Austin (Minus TSBVI & TSD)	61	53	49	46	67
14 Abilene	9	9	10	12	10
15 San Angelo	10	8	8	7	6
16 Amarillo	10	9	9	12	13
17 Lubbock	6	7	6	7	9
18 Midland	10	12	9	13	12
19 El Paso	18	18	15	16	19
20 San Antonio	77	72	71	71	67
Texas School for the Deaf	18	16	16	18	NA
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired	16	23	18	21	24
Statewide Totals	873	846	778	804	820

Selected Age Groups

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Selected Age Groups
Ages Groups	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Birth - 2 years old	27	30	21	20	40
3 -5 Years Old	114	99	103	106	109
6 - 12 Years Old	351	331	291	324	324
13 - 15 Years Old	166	183	167	161	149
16 Years and Older	215	203	196	193	198
TOTAL:	873	846	778	804	820

Ethnicity & Race

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Ethnicity
Race	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Hispanic or Latino	381	371	334	331	NA
Not Hispanic or Latino	492	475	444	473	NA

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Race
Race	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
American Indian or Alaskan Native	19	20	18	20	5
Asian	45	36	24	27	33
Black or African American	116	112	106	110	101
Hispanic or Latino (As per NCDB, this selection is no longer available.)	NA	212	186	200	340
White (not Hispanic)	605	434	414	412	320
Pacific Islander	4	2	2	2	2
Two or More	36	23	21	24	19
Unknown / Missing	48	7	7	9	NA
TOTAL	873	846	778	804	820

Other Impairments

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Other Impairments
Impairments	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Behavior	51	55	60	40	40
Cognitive	515	526	466	457	475
Complex Health Care	434	420	360	385	401
Physical	492	481	435	444	464
Speech	725	694	623	645	653

Degree of Hearing Loss

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Degree of Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Mild (up to 40 dB)	129	123	105	103	95
Moderate (41-55 dB)	222	212	190	185	199
Moderately Severe (56-70 dB)	148	136	142	154	147
Severe (71-90 dB)	98	97	69	111	130
Profound (91+ dB)	188	201	193	196	200
Documented Functional Hearing Loss	49	36	42	27	28
Further Testing Needed	39	40	37	28	21
Progressive Hearing Loss	80	79	66	68	60

Additional Hearling Loss Information

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Additional Hearling Information
Additional Hearing Information	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Auditory Neuropathy	46	45	40	42	38
Central Auditory Processing Disorder	31	26	17	18	24
Cochlear Implant	163	160	149	145	147
Hearing Aides / Listening Devices	539	513	477	478	489
Hearing in One Early Only	96	79	66	68	60

Degree of Vision Loss

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Degree of Vision Loss
Degree of Vision Loss	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Low Vision (better than 20/200)	384	370	313	303	296
Legally Blind	236	242	275	305	322
Light Perception Only	38	34	23	27	33
Normal/Near Vision with Progressive Loss Expected	33	30	22	18	NA
Totally Blind	47	52	34	40	35
Documented Functional Vision Loss	109	95	95	99	107
Further Testing Needed	26	22	16	12	12
Progressive Vision Loss	108	96	98	100	98

Additional Vision Information

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Additional Vision Information
Additional Vision Information	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)	250	253	236	240	247
Vision in One Eye Only	42	42	40	34	31
Uses Corrective Lenses	507	485	461	423	416

Interveners & RDSPD

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Interveners & RDSPD
Miscellaneous	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Has Designated Intervener (Certified)	11	13	19	20	16
Has Designated Intervener (Non-certified)	83	82	71	34	79
Receives Services from RDSP	338	308	269	423	302

Common Etiologies

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Common Etiologies
Etiologies	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
CHARGE Syndrome	87	89	85	85	93
Complications of Prematurity	76	74	65	83	94
Cytomegalovirus (CMV)	15	16	15	16	19
Dandy Walker syndrome	8	7	4	8	8
Down Syndrome	40	38	33	34	33
Goldenhar Syndrome	13	12	9	8	13
Hydrocephaly	17	14	16	21	26
Meningitis	10	10	10	12	11
Microcephaly	5	9	10	17	18
No Determination of Etiology	91	103	100	69	72
Other Post-natal Complications	33	31	28	36	34
Other Pre-natal/Congenital	19	24	13	22	23
Tumors	10	9	10	14	13
Usher 1 Syndrome	15	14	16	22	22
Usher 2 Syndrome	8	14	10	7	5
Usher 3 Syndrome	4	3	3	3	2