Serving more than 1000 students annually, the Kansas Instructional Resource Center (KIRC) is a statewide, state funded resource center for students with visual disabilities enrolled in a formal educational program in Kansas’ public and private schools.
The mission of the Kansas Instructional Resource Center is to provide, or assist Kansas local education agencies, in the procurement of braille, large print, recorded, or digital textbooks and other educational materials for Kansas students who are blind/visually impaired so they can remain and succeed in the most appropriate educational setting, whether public, private, or parochial. The Kansas Instructional Resource Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the key organization ensuring that students with visual impairments are provided with the appropriate learning tools to meet proficiency expectations in literacy and numeracy, and is the primary source facilitating ongoing staff development and networking activities that build local capacities to serve this low incidence population with highly qualified teachers.
Most KIRC services are available to Kansas local education agencies at no cost.
The Resource Center is located on the campus of the Kansas State School for the Blind in Kansas City, Kansas. The services of the KIRC are available to public school systems, to eligible, private non-profit local education agencies, and to state special schools across Kansas. An inventory of more than 30,000 braille and large type textbooks and other instructional materials are available on an annual loan basis. Approximately 12,000 items are currently on loan in local education agencies.
Operations are funded through:
Students with a visual impairment, including those with multiple disabilities, who are enrolled in public and private schools of less than college level and who meet state eligibility requirements for visual impairment are eligible for KIRC services.