KIRC is available to assist the local education agency in providing materials to visually impaired students primarily by using the Federal Quota Funds available to Kansas to purchase educational materials and aids from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Although every attempt possible will be made to fill material requests, the local education agency has the ultimate responsibility for providing services and materials to identified visually impaired students enrolled in their district. Federal Quota Funds are not intended to be the sole source for the provision of all the visually impaired student’s educational materials. By law, Federal Quota Funds can be used for legally blind students only.
Upon request, KIRC will locate sources for student textbooks in alternate formats not available for purchase using Federal Quota Funds. Please contact us for more information about this service.
All materials purchased from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) with Federal Quota Funds are the property of the State of Kansas. To make the most of our Quota funds, we recycle and reuse as many textbooks and educational aids as possible.
Textbooks must be returned to the Kansas Instructional Materials Center (KIRC) at the end of each school year. Contact us if you wish to renew or transfer a text to another student.
Some educational aids, such as writing paper, notebooks, stickers, etc. are consumable. All other aids are on loan until they are no longer needed. Please return all non-consumable aids to the KIRC when they are no longer needed.
If a student leaves a school district prior to the end of the school year, the student's materials must be returned to the KIRC, not transferred with the student.
If a Teacher of the Visually Impaired or Orientation and Mobility Specialist retires or leaves the employ of a school district, all materials checked out to them must be returned to the KIRC.
During the spring of each school year, an inventory of all loaned materials is forwarded to each teacher of the visually impaired in the state. At that time, the TVI must indicate their intention to return or renew specific titles for a registered student. The forms should be completed and returned to the KIRC by June 1st.
When returning materials DO NOT PACK boxes over 25 pounds. Boxes weighing more than 25 lbs are too heavy to handle by the postal service and the KIRC staff. Please use sturdy packing tape as boxes sealed with masking tape or Scotch tape tend to break open during postal handling and the contents may be lost or damaged.
Large print or braille textbooks and educational materials may be returned to KIRC via the U.S. Postal Service at no cost if the package is clearly labeled "Free Matter for the Blind".
KIRC encourages donations of current, complete textbooks (10 years and newer) and recreational reading books. Textbook donations will be included in the KIRC collection and made available for loan to all Kansas local education agencies with priority being given to the donating district.
Braille donations must have been produced by a certified transcriber.