The Nebraska Instructional Resource Center (NIRC) is
a statewide depository of specialized materials for blind and visually
impaired students in Nebraska.
The NIRC staff has worked hard to insure that the students
receive their materials and books in a timely manner. This past year
it has been a smoother and easier job to accomplish this goal with the
"resource center" being in a central location where everything can be
reached and processed quicker and with the shipping and receiving handled
more efficiently.
As the end of the year approaches, the staff is busy
looking forward to having everything in place on the new shelves, with
the anticipation of waiting for the new year to start. The annual Federal
Quota Registration will take place in January.
CALENDAR
| JANUARY |
Annual Federal Quota Registration
of Blind/Legally Blind and Partially Sighted pupils enrolled
at less than college on the first Monday of January. |
| FEBRUARY |
Registration Forms to be submitted
to the NIRC. |
| MARCH |
Federal Quota Registration Report
to be submitted to the American Printing House for the Blind |
| APRIL |
Order Information Packet is
mailed to the Local Education Agency (LEA) |
| APRIL |
Inventory Summary Reports are
mailed to each Local Education Agency. |
| MAY |
Materials Requests for the next
school year are due at the NIRC. |
| MAY |
Inventory Summary Reports are
due at the NIRC. NIRC begins processing Inventory Summary
Reports upon receipt. Inventory Summary Reports must be received
and processed before material requests are processed. |
| MAY |
NIRC begins processing Material
Requests in order of receipt from LEA'S |
| JUNE |
Materials currently on loan
and reported as RETURNS are due at the NIRC. All items reported
as RETURNS by the Local Education Agency on their Inventory
Summary Report to be received by the NIRC prior to shipment
of materials for the next school year. |
| JULY |
NIRC begins shipping materials
assigned in order of receipt of material requests. Prompt
return of materials from the Local Educational Agency will aid
in prompt service. |
| OCTOBER |
Federal Quota Allocation is
appropriated to the American Printing House for the Blind.
The allocation is made available to the NIRC/for the State of
Nebraska |
| DECEMBER |
Federal Quota Blind/Legally
Blind and Partially Sighted Student Registration Packets are
prepared for mailing. |
HOW DO
I REGISTER STUDENTS?
January Registration
Each year during the month of December, authorized
officials or their designees are asked to participate in the annual
registration of legally blind students. The purpose of the registration
is to enroll eligible visually impaired students in order to receive
services from the NIRC, as well as to register legally blind students
to receive federal quota dollars. A registration packet is mailed to
each Local Educational Agency (LEA)
In order for the State of Nebraska to participate in
the "Federal Act to Promote the Education of the Blind," the registration
status of all visually impaired students is reviewed annually. The American
Printing House for the Blind (APH) administers the federal quota allocation
for all states. Funds are appropriated by Congress to APH for the production
of specialized instructional materials to be used by legally blind students.
The appropriated amount is then divided into separate accounts within
each state according to the number of legally blind students reported
in an annual registration.
ELIGIBILITY
In order for students to be eligible for registration
in the Federal Quota Program, they MUST meet the requirements as outlined
in An Act to Promote the Education of the Blind. Students must:
- Meet the definition of blindness--"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.
- Be enrolled in a formally organized public or private,
nonprofit educational program of less than college level.
- Be enrolled with the registering school or agency
on the first Monday in January.
- The educational programs can include public, private,
and parochial schools.
Eligible infants, preschool children, and homebound
students can be registered if they are enrolled in a formally, regularly
scheduled educational program and have a written education plan.
The American Printing House for the Blind plays a critical
role in promoting the independence of a blind person by providing special
media, tools, and materials needed for education and life. These products
are distributed by the Instructional Resource Centers across the nation
by requests which are received from the school districts and educational
agencies in each state.
