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For a number of Texas Education Agency resources related to Visual Impairments, go to:

• Texas Statewide Leadership for Blind & Visually Impaired (Region 11 ESC) - Through the network of the 20 Regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) around the state and in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Statewide Leadership for Blind & Visually Impaired is providing a mechanism to access training, technical assistance, support, and resources.
• Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired - The web site of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired who works with Local Education Agencies, parents and guardians, students with visual impairments, and Education Service Centers from throughout the state of Texas. Site includes Information for parents, Downloadable Braille Materials, Instructional Strategies & Tools, Assessments, Resources, etc.
• Educating Students with Visual Impairments in Texas: Guidelines & Standards
• The Legal Framework for the Child Centered Special Education Process (Region 18 ESC) – Visual Impairment
• Texas Assistive Technology Network – Accessible Instructional Materials. They have a nice link to an article called “Making Decisions about Accessible Instructional Materials: What ARD Committees Need to Know” as well as Digital & E-Text Resources.

Accessible Book Collection - This web site provides information about the Accessible Book Collection, a private non-profit corporation that provides digital text of copyrighted high interest/low reading level books. “Digital text can be a real boon for students who are vision impaired, have difficulty tracking, can’t turn pages, or who need to increase their reading speed.”

American Council of the Blind - The web site of the American Council of the Blind. The site includes resources, legislative issues and their monthly magazine “Braille Forum”

American Foundation for the Blind - The web site of the American Foundation for the Blind, “dedicated to addressing the critical issues of literacy, independent living, employment, and access through technology for the ten million Americans who are blind or visually impaired.”

American Printing House for the Blind - The web site of the American Printing House for the Blind, “the world’s largest nonprofit organization creating educational, workplace, and independent living products and services for people who are visually impaired.”

Bookshare - The web site of Bookshare.org, “a web-based system supplying accessible books in digital formats designed for people with disabilities.” Members can scan in books to submit to the collection and share with other members. “Bookshare.org will provide a vast library of low cost scanned books instead of a small library of high quality digital books.”

“The Directory of Visually Impaired Services” provides links to more than 900 resources divided into 22 categories. The directory is also available in large print, Braille, on computer disk or cassette tape.

Deaf Blind Resources on Texas Project FIRST

Family Connect – For parents of children with visual impairments, you'll find videos, personal stories, events, news, and an online community that can offer tips and support from other parents of children who are blind or visually impaired.

Foundation Fighting Blindness mission is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

GreatSchools.net – This website believes involved parents mean successful kids. They offer a variety of information from preschool to college with a section devoted to Assistive Technology. They also have worksheets & activities, homework help, parenting dilemmas, and information on health & behavior.

Hot Braille - This is the Hot Braille web site, “the leading provider of web-based communication tools for the visually impaired, their friends and family.” A number of Braille resources are available on the site. Users can also type messages and have them translated into Braille and mailed at no charge.

Lighthouse for the Blind – There are various divisions of Lighthouse for the Blind in the State of Texas.

Manolo - This is the Manolo.net web site dedicated to the needs of Spanish speaking people who have low vision or blindness. It contains information on special education, assistive technology, and sports as well as links to other organizations and resources. The web site is entirely in Spanish.

National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments - This is the web site of the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments. “NAPVI is a national organization that enables parents to find information and resources for their children who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities.” Also available in Spanish.

National Braille Press - The web site of the National Braille Press, a non-profit Braille printing and publishing house established in 1927.

National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials -

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) - This organization serves the nation as a central source of information on: disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth; IDEA, which is the law authorizing special education; No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities); and research-based information on effective educational practices. They have a fact sheet on Blindness/Visual Impairments.

National Federation of the Blind - This is the web site for the National Federation of the Blind whose purpose is to “help blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind.”

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic - The web site of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, a non-profit volunteer organization and “the nation’s educational library serving people who cannot effectively read standard print because of visual impairment, dyslexia, or other physical disability.”

Texas Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (TAPVI) provides support to the families of children who have blindness or visual impairments, including those with additional disabilities. TAPVI enables families to find information and resources, as well as connect and network with one another. We offer leadership, support, and training to assist families in helping children reach their full potential in school and in the community.

Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services - The web site of the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services whose mission is “to work in partnership with Texans with disabilities and families with children who have developmental delays to improve the quality of their lives and to enable their full participation in society.”

Texas Education Agency School Health - Students with Special Health Needs – In accordance with HB 1322 passed by the 81st Legislative Session in 2009, TEA added fact sheets to its website on specific disabilities. Fact sheets (in pdf format) offer an overview of the disorder, symptoms or behaviors associated with the disorder, educational implications, and instructional strategies and classrooms accommodations that might be provided.

Texas Parents of Blind Children (TPOBC) - The state chapter of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), a division of the NFB, a national membership organization of parents and friends of blind children, working together to ensure the best possible future for blind youth by: promoting blindness skills, fostering self-esteem, and utilizing adult role models with vision impairments to build a solid foundation for a productive life with the maximum independence.

Texas State Library Talking Book Program providing free library service to Texans of all ages who are unable to read standard print material due to visual, physical, or reading disabilities – whether permanent or temporary. To register and use the service, you must complete an application and have it certified.