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Federal Quota Program

What is the Federal Quota program?

The Federal Quota program was set up by the 1879 Act to Promote the Education of the Blind and is an annual registration of eligible students with blindness and visual impairments that determines a per-capita amount of unique funds designated for the purchase of educational materials produced by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). These funds are credited to Federal Quota accounts which are maintained and administered by APH and its Ex-Officio Trustees across the country (source). Program eligibility information may be found HERE. 

In Tennessee, funds are allocated to three accounts depending on whether a student is registered as part of the Tennessee School for the Blind, a public school system, or a private-non-public educational agency. Dr. Allen Huang, Director of the TN Resource Center for the Visually Impaired, is the Ex-Officio Trustee for Tennessee's three Federal Quota accounts.

Preparing for the 2025 Federal Quota Census

The 2025 Federal Quota program census has begun. LEAs should begin and complete their student updating responsibilities NOW:
The Federal Quota census consists of the following:
  1. LEAs ensure that all eligible students are registered with the RCVI with all required information updated/on file in the district. 
  2. LEAs review their student data with the RCVI to verify eligibility and reported data.
  3. LEA FQ designees formally certify in the RCVI's online portal that their student data is accurate.
  4. Once all LEAs have reviewed and certified their data, the RCVI will submit census data for all TN program registrants to APH.

Important Things to Know:

EYE REPORTS
APH has PERMANENTLY WAIVED eye reports as a condition of Federal Quota program eligibility. Current eye report information is highly recommended to be collected and updated as a matter of best practice, according to students' eye doctor recommendations for regular visits.
 
GRADE CODE UPDATES (New for 2023 census)
The following grade codes will be used:
  • Infant program (IP)
  • Preschool (PS)
  • Kindergarten (KG)
  • Grades 01-11
  • Grade 12+
    • (Students in Grade 12 and those continuing to receive SPED services under IDEA beyond Grade 12)
  • Adults (AD)
    • (Any student aged 22 and older on 01/01/2024)
READING MEDIUM UPDATES (New for 2023 census)
The primary reading medium of Symbolic/Non-reader has been replaced by Symbolic Reader.
The following reading media codes will be used:
  • Auditory (A)
  • Braille (B)
  • Pre-reader (PRE)
  • Symbolic Reader (S)
  • Visual (V)
Adult Students (New for 2024 census)
Eligibility criteria for adult students has been updated to the following:
Adult students must be registered for at least 120 hours of educational instruction during the preceding calendar year.

Season's Greetings, vision educators and administrators!

 

Tis the season...

...to begin working on the 2024 Federal Quota Program census!

 

Most of you are familiar with the Federal Quota program and the annual census conducted to count eligible students in the state. Each year, census counts result in a per-capita amount of Federal Quota funds being allocated to states for the use of ordering vision-specific instructional materials from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). In Tennessee, these valuable tools and materials have been provided to students and districts essentially free of charge.

 

For more information visit the RCVI Federal Quota Program webpage and APH's Federal Quota webpage. LEAs with new administrators and staff should reach out to Dr. Allen Huang at [email protected] to ensure they are up to date with accounts and permissions for accessing the RCVI's online portal.

 

Significant Federal Quota Program Update - More Students Now Eligible!

TL;DR (too long; didn't read)

  • All students who have IEPs with VI or Multiple Disabilities (including VI) are now eligible for the Federal Quota program, opening up their access to beneficial APH products!
  • Most significant group of newly eligible students is those with low vision who do not meet criteria as being legally blind.  
  • TVIs and district staff should contact newly eligible students' families to introduce them to the FQ program/eligibility and have FQ program consent forms signed.
  • Individuals who typically handle census updates may begin to do so in the RCVI online portal. Download the 2024 LEA Census Guide for directions.
  • Live Zoom trainings will be held for LEA TVIs, administrators, and census assistants to explain updates, implications, and census responsibilities. The first training is TOMORROW 12/15/23. Direct Zoom Join Link

Key Updates

 

Dr. Craig Meador, president of APH, recently notified states' Ex-Officio Trustees (EOT) that the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the US Department of Education has approved a proposal (as informed by the EOT Trustee Advisory Committee) to amend the criteria used to determine eligibility for the Federal Quota program. 

 

The FQ program’s two current eligibility criteria are Meets the Definition of Blindness (essentially, legally blind) and Functions at the Definition of Blindness (captures cerebral/neurological visual impairment). Beginning with the 2024 FQ census, these criteria have been amended to say that, if a student neither meets MDB nor FDB, but they do meet IDEA’s federal definition of visual impairment/blindness, they are now eligible for the Federal Quota program.

 

What this means for Tennessee students is that functionally all students who have VI eligibility on their IEP, and those with Multiple Disabilities eligibility including VI, are now eligible for the Federal Quota program. Most significantly, up to this point, many such students with low vision were not eligible for FQ because their visual acuities or visual field restrictions did not reach the threshold of legal blindness (e.g., 20/125 acuity in better eye). These students are all now eligible for the Federal Quota program!

 

Action Steps for Newly Eligible Students

  1. LEAs should immediately take an inventory of their vision caseloads to identify all students who are now newly eligible for the Federal Quota program.
  2. Federal Quota program parent consent forms (Spanish version) should be distributed to families of these students to be signed and uploaded to their TN Pulse accounts. Verify that all other students have this form signed as well.
  3. Check if these students are registered with the TN RCVI:

Getting Started

  1. LEAs should immediately confirm that they know who is responsible for completing these actions of notifying newly eligible students and updating existing registered student information.
    • Changes in personnel should be reported to Dr. Huang at [email protected] so we can ensure a seamless transition.
  2. LEAs' designated census updaters should download the 2024 LEA Census Guide and begin following the 5 steps to completing necessary updates. 

Prepare for the FQ Census NOW

The Federal Quota census begins on January 2, 2023, and the RCVI will immediately begin reaching out to school districts to ensure that all FQ-eligible students enrolled in the district on January 2, 2023 (the "as-of" count date) are appropriately registered for the program. 
 
As a reminder, the Federal Quota program is a census of qualifying students (generally speaking, those who are legally blind or function at a similar level) that results in Federal funds being allocated to states' accounts on a per capita basis. These "Quota funds" can then be used to order adapted materials from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH)(catalog linked here), through the RCVI. In Tennessee, funds generated by public school students are pooled up so that we can essentially provide whatever a school district may wish to order for eligible students, free of charge to schools and families.
 
The Federal Quota census consists of the following:
  1. (WE ARE HERE) LEAs ensure that all eligible students are registered with the RCVI with all required information updated and on file in the district.
  2. LEAs review their student data with the RCVI to verify eligibility and reported data.
  3. LEA FQ designees formally certify in the RCVI's online portal that their student data is accurate.
  4. Once all LEAs have reviewed and certified their data, the RCVI will submit census data for all TN program registrants to APH.
***We are at step one***
Download this Guide for Preparing for the Federal Quota Census document and follow the five steps to becoming ready to review your district's student data with the RCVI.