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Annual Report 2015: Distribution of Eligible Students Based on the Federal Quota Census of January 6, 2014 (Fiscal Year 2015)

This chart lists the numbers of students registered by four major types of programs—Schools for the Blind, State Departments of Education, Programs for Students with Multiple Disabilities, and Rehabilitation Programs. The students are listed by grade and primary reading media.

Appropriate Use of Federal Quota Census Data

NOTICE: For Press Members and Researchers: The number of students who read braille in the United States CANNOT be determined from these data.

Before citing these data in a publication, please contact the American Printing House for the Blind at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

The specific purpose of the annual Federal Quota Census is to register students in the United States and Outlying Areas who meet the definition of blindness and are therefore eligible for adapted educational materials from APH through the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind.

Statements regarding student literacy, use of appropriate learning media, and students taught in a specific medium cannot be supported using APH registration data.

Infant Programs

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	176	71	197	3,021	1,013	4,478
State Departments of Education	166	62	84	1,967	748	3,027
Schools for the Blind	7	4	79	848	208	1,146
Rehabilitation Programs	3	5	34	189	54	285
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	17	3	20

Preschool

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	661	187	322	3,056	1,468	5,694
State Departments of Education	640	171	255	2,688	1,388	5,142
Schools for the Blind	16	15	61	340	57	489
Rehabilitation Programs	5	1	6	19	11	42
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	9	12	21

Kindergarten

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	838	221	160	844	716	2,779
State Departments of Education	808	210	143	745	675	2,581
Schools for the Blind	21	11	15	96	28	171
Rehabilitation Programs	9	0	2	3	8	22
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	5	5

Grade 1

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,002	244	149	556	645	2,596
State Departments of Education	973	228	134	522	626	2,483
Schools for the Blind	24	15	13	34	12	98
Rehabilitation Programs	5	1	1	0	6	13
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	1	0	1	2

Grade 2

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,064	258	154	393	696	2,564
State Departments of Education	1,027	231	143	354	683	2,438
Schools for the Blind	30	27	11	37	9	114
Rehabilitation Programs	7	0	0	2	3	12
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	1	1

Grade 3

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,112	280	156	303	713	2,564
State Departments of Education	1,083	252	148	264	695	2,442
Schools for the Blind	24	26	7	38	9	104
Rehabilitation Programs	5	2	1	1	3	12
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	6	6

Grade 4

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,221	278	146	230	636	2,511
State Departments of Education	1,165	240	133	195	624	2,357
Schools for the Blind	48	36	12	34	7	137
Rehabilitation Programs	8	2	0	0	3	13
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	1	1	2	4

Grade 5

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,258	318	169	196	640	2,587
State Departments of Education	1,209	284	157	173	623	2,446
Schools for the Blind	48	33	9	22	10	122
Rehabilitation Programs	7	1	3	1	2	14
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	5	5

Grade 6

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,258	313	177	152	607	2,507
State Departments of Education	1,184	262	163	133	578	2,320
Schools for the Blind	64	47	12	17	21	161
Rehabilitation Programs	9	4	1	2	5	21
Multiple Disabilities Programs	1	0	1	0	3	5

Grade 7

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,211	321	174	103	589	2,398
State Departments of Education	1,129	263	160	93	571	2,216
Schools for the Blind	72	58	13	9	13	165
Rehabilitation Programs	10	0	1	1	3	15
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	2	2

Grade 8

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,223	344	169	107	561	2,404
State Departments of Education	1,131	265	158	96	541	2,191
Schools for the Blind	83	76	11	11	15	196
Rehabilitation Programs	9	3	0	0	2	14
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	3	3

Grade 9

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,216	341	183	88	513	2,341
State Departments of Education	1,119	260	161	76	494	2,110
Schools for the Blind	91	79	19	12	14	215
Rehabilitation Programs	5	2	3	0	2	12
Multiple Disabilities Programs	1	0	0	0	3	4

Grade 10

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,208	307	200	83	494	2,292
State Departments of Education	1,119	229	172	69	477	2,066
Schools for the Blind	83	77	26	14	13	213
Rehabilitation Programs	5	1	2	0	2	10
Multiple Disabilities Programs	1	0	0	0	2	3

Grade 11

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,115	331	197	74	447	2,164
State Departments of Education	1,020	255	179	58	427	1,939
Schools for the Blind	83	76	18	16	16	209
Rehabilitation Programs	11	0	0	0	2	13
Multiple Disabilities Programs	1	0	0	0	2	3

Grade 12

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,404	451	272	89	824	3,040
State Departments of Education	1,290	324	232	72	783	2,701
Schools for the Blind	101	126	34	17	35	313
Rehabilitation Programs	13	1	6	0	2	22
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	4	4

Academic Nongraded

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	328	78	147	130	557	1,240
State Departments of Education	304	36	130	103	507	1,080
Schools for the Blind	23	42	17	27	48	157
Rehabilitation Programs	1	0	0	0	1	2
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	1	1

Transition Students (formerly Postgraduate)

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	131	72	77	18	82	380
State Departments of Education	78	32	34	13	62	219
Schools for the Blind	49	40	42	5	17	153
Rehabilitation Programs	4	0	1	0	1	6
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	0	2	2

Functional Curriculum (formerly Vocational)

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	328	57	238	160	897	1,680
State Departments of Education	291	34	152	113	854	1,444
Schools for the Blind	35	23	58	11	20	147
Rehabilitation Programs	2	0	2	4	9	17
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	26	32	14	72

Adult Students

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	1,739	728	1,752	151	3,799	8,169
State Departments of Education	336	212	580	82	2,103	3,313
Schools for the Blind	136	89	75	3	91	394
Rehabilitation Programs	1,226	405	996	39	393	3,059
Multiple Disabilities Programs	41	22	101	27	1,212	1,403

Other Registrants

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	610	133	756	716	5,135	7,350
State Departments of Education	553	110	653	638	4,802	6,756
Schools for the Blind	45	23	76	75	273	492
Rehabilitation Programs	12	0	27	1	15	55
Multiple Disabilities Programs	0	0	0	2	45	47

Grand Totals, Fiscal Year 2015

	Visual Readers	Braille Readers	Auditory Readers	Pre-readers	Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	Total
Totals	19,109	5,333	5,795	10,470	21,032	61,739
State Departments of Education	16,625	3,960	3,971	8,454	18,261	51,271
Schools for the Blind	1,083	923	608	1,666	916	5,196
Rehabilitation Programs	1,356	428	1,086	262	527	3,659
Multiple Disabilities Programs	45	22	130	88	1,328	1,613

Appropriate Use of Federal Quota Census Data

NOTICE: For Press Members and Researchers: The number of students who read braille in the United States CANNOT be determined from these data.

Before citing these data in a publication, please contact the American Printing House for the Blind at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Statements regarding student literacy, use of appropriate learning media, and students taught in a specific medium cannot be supported using APH registration data.

Student Percentages by Program Type

Pie chart

State Departments of Education	83.04%
Schools for the Blind	8.42%
Rehabilitation Programs	5.93%
Multiple Disabilities Programs	2.61%

Student Percentages by Primary Reading Medium Reporting Codes

Pie chart

Braille Readers	8.64%
Auditory Readers	9.39%
Pre-readers	16.96%
Visual Readers	30.95%
Symbolic Readers / Non-readers	34.07%

Student Percentages by Secondary Reading Medium Reporting Codes

Pie chart

Auditory Readers	29.96%
Braille Readers	5.22%
Not Applicable	60.38%
Visual Readers	4.44%

Student Readers by Reading Medium

Pie chart

Visual Readers	63.2%
Braille Readers	17.2%
Auditory Readers	19.2%

Note: Total number of student readers: 30,237

Explanation of Reading Media

Visual Readers: Students primarily using print.
Braille Readers: Students primarily using braille.
Auditory Readers: Students primarily using a reader or auditory material.
Pre-readers: Students working on or toward a readiness level; infants, preschoolers, or older students with reading potential.
Symbolic Readers / Non-readers: Students who do not demonstrate traditional print or braille reading potential (symbolic readers); non-reading students; students who do not fall into any of the above categories.
Primary Reading Medium indicates the student’s preferred medium for accessing educational materials and other information.
Secondary Reading Medium indicates the medium used in addition to a student’s primary reading medium to access educational materials and other information.

Note: These data were collected and prepared by the Department of Field Services of the American Printing House for the Blind in the administration of the Federal Act to Promote the Education of the Blind of 1879.