The Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI) 2021 Annual Census for students with visual impairments in Florida - will open January 4, 2021!
We have received great news from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) regarding the status of eye medical exams for the 2021 Census. APH and the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) have agreed that because of COVID-19, "A waiver will be granted for those students lacking current eye reports for this year's census." This gives us an opportunity to update and/or register ALL students receiving services for visual impairments during the upcoming Annual Census.
Please note, there are two different processes for Annual Census that must happen between January 4 and February 1, 2021:
- UPDATING existing student records
- REGISTERING new students or students not on your list
To UPDATE: go to
FIMC-VI, and (1) select Online System from the top menu bar; (2) login with your FIMC-VI username and password; (3) select the Annual Census Menu; (4) select View Students; (5) select your district; and (6) on the Teacher Administration Page, click on UPDATE and complete the form for each student. (
If the eye medical is expired, leave the box empty that asks if the eye exam is within 3 years. Your student will be registered for APH materials regardless.) Keep track that you have accounted for
everyone on you caseload. If there are remaining students, proceed to next step.
You should also use the "Student Status" pull-down for any student that is no longer in your district Program for the Visually Impaired. This could be a status change for graduated, moved, no longer eligible, etc.
To REGISTER: To add any students who are not showing up on your district list, use the "ADD NEW STUDENT" link at the top of the Incomplete Student List section. Once that registration is processed by FIMC-VI, the student will then show up in the New Student Registration Section on the Teacher Administration page. During the last week of January, please return to the Census menu to review that all records have been completed.
The entire process must be completed for all your students with visual impairments by February 1, 2021.
Just a few reminders as you get started:
- To be counted on the Census, the student must have been enrolled in your school district or agency program on January 4, 2021. Students can only be registered with one school district or agency.
- The requirement for the current eye medical has been suspended for 2021 APH Census! Register/update all students regardless of the date on the eye medical. This waiver does NOT affect the eye medical exam requirement for the Florida State Board of Education eligibility criteria for compliance regarding reevaluations. The district should make every attempt to assist "in obtaining an eye medical report such as paying for and/or providing transportation to an appointment" to ensure that the student is seen by an optometrist or ophthalmologist per the Florida State Board of Education Rule 6A-6.01304 Exceptional Student Education Eligibility for Students with Visual Impairments.
- The consent form to share confidential student information with FIMC-VI and APH must be signed by the parents (or student if over 18 years of age) and be on file in your district. You only need this signed once as long as the student remains in your school district or agency. You can access those forms in English and Spanish here:Consent Forms
- AND ... update and include EVERY STUDENT for this year's annual census!
Your completion of this Census allows Florida to participate in the Federal Quota Program at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). Registered students are eligible to receive accessible textbooks in braille, large print and digital format as well as specialized learning materials from APH. All of this is provided through FIMC-VI at no cost to the school district.
Those of you that have participated in the Quality Programs for Students with Visual Impairments (QPVI) and have your Master List up to date, will find this Census a breeze to complete. All your dates and acuities are right there in the Excel spreadsheet.
