Student Eligibility
The following information applies to all students with visual impairments in Florida, enrolled in public, private, and homeschool
programs not exceeding grade 12. (Students attending the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) are registered through FSDB
and will receive all materials from them.)
Textbooks and Loan Library Materials
To be eligible for embossed textbooks in braille or hard-copy large print materials as well as items from the FIMC-VI loan library, the student must be registered with FIMC-VI annually. The student must meet the criteria established in Rule 6A-6.03014, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) Exceptional Student Education Eligibility and Assessments for Students with Visual Impairments.
APH Products
For a student to receive materials from the APH Federal Quota Program, there are additional eligibility standards that must be met per the Federal Act to Promote the Education of the Blind. APH eligibility standards are as follows:
- Meet one of the following:
- Meet the definition of legal blindness
- 20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction or a peripheral field of vision no greater than 20 degrees
- Function at the definition of blindness
- visual performance reduced by brain injury or dysfunction when visual function meets the definition of blindness as determined by an eye care specialist or neurologist
- Meet the definition of visual impairment in IDEA
- an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
- Meet the definition of legal blindness
- “be enrolled in a formally organized public or private, nonprofit educational program of less than college level”
- School-aged students must be enrolled with the registering school or agency on the first Monday in January. Adult students must be registered for at least three months of instruction during the preceding calendar year (an accumulation of 12 weeks).
Parent or Guardian Consent
In order for students to be registered with FIMC-VI and receive materials from us, signed parental or guardian consent must be on file with the district or agency. This consent gives the district or agency permission to share student identifiable information with FIMC-VI and the American Printing House for the Blind. This consent only needs to be obtained once and does not need to be submitted to FIMC-VI directly. Consent must be obtained for any student who is new to your district or agency.
Parent letters and blank consent forms may be downloaded below.
Additional Requirements for Homeschool Students
To be eligible for homeschool services from FIMC-VI, parents must first meet all the requirements in Section 1002.01, Florida Statutes (F.S.) Student and Parental Rights and Educational Choices.
To initially register the student as a homeschool student, parents or caregivers should ensure they have on hand a copy of a medical report by a licensed optometrist, ophthalmologist, or neurologist as well as signed parent consent to share student identifiable information with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and FIMC-VI. Once the parent is ready to register a student, please contact Elizabeth Anderson (eanderson@fimcvi.org).
Once eligibility is established and the student is registered as a homeschool student, the parent or caregiver will be able to request accessible textbooks or books (with an ISBN), materials from the loan library and/or materials from APH.