Local Braille Production Centers Archive and Map

Update - 2025-2026 Application open now!

Through the previous BEST Grants, we were able to implement 33 local Braille production centers (LBPC) in the state of Ohio. The AT&AEM Center at OCALI, along with the Department of Education and Workforce, continues to support an initiative to expand braille production capacity within Ohio’s local school districts and career-technical education centers. We are pleased to share that we will award one local Braille production center to continue supporting braille literacy for the 2025-2026 school year.

Apply Here

Project Description and Design

Each year, a selected school district or educational agency will be equipped to serve as LBPC sites. This site will receive a braille embosser, braille production software, and access to specialized training and ongoing technical assistance provided by the AT&AEM Center.

This initiative enhances local capacity to produce high-quality braille materials, ensuring that students who are blind or visually impaired have timely access to accessible educational content. By building braille production capabilities at the local level, districts are better positioned to meet the instructional needs of all learners.

Eligibility

School districts (K-12) and/or vocational and technical education centers, individually or in collaboration with State Support Teams or Educational Service Centers, serving students who use braille to access the curriculum, are eligible to apply.

Project Design

This project is designed to assist Ohio districts in providing the means to produce:

• Incidental braille materials that include the following text materials:
  • Supplemental reading materials
  • Workbook materials
  • Teacher created materials
  • Testing materials - This excludes standardized tests except when permitted by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and/or the testing agency to provide accessible formats of testing materials.

The hardware and software are not to supplant the districts/agency responsibility to purchase braille textbooks.

AT&AEM Center Responsibilities

AT&AEM center collaborative partners and technical assistance consultants will provide:

1. Equipment and software(based on indicated need in initial application)
   1. Braille embosser. This will remain the property of the AT&AEM Center at OCALI and will be placed in the school district/agency on loan as long as needed. The embosser must be returned to the AT&AEM Center at OCALI when no longer needed by the district/agency.
   2. Duxbury Braille Translation Software. A single user license will be purchased for the school district/agency.
   3. ABBYY FineReader PDF Software. An optical character recognition application developed by ABBYY, with support for PDF file editing.
   4. Braille Paper. Two boxes of continuous feed 11x11.5 braille paper
2. Trainings offered:
   1. Duxbury software training. Will be offered once a year with various follow-up and networking opportunities with trainers and consultants.
   2. Scanning for Braille, Large Print and Electronic Text. This training course is offered once a year and various recorded training resources are available on the BEST Grant website.
   3. Math Software.This software will assist in the production of braille mathematics.
3. Technical Assistance.
   1. A technical assistance consultant will assist in installing and setting up the LBPC's hardware and software.
   2. Training and technical assistance (on-site, phone, email or zoom) for LBPC personnel in operating the equipment and in the procedures for producing instructional materials in braille.

Local Educational Agency (LEA) Responsibilities

The school district/agency will be responsible for:

1. Staff member.
   1. This school district/agency staff person will be responsible for:
      1. Transcribing materials into braille.
      2. Attending AT&AEM Center sponsored trainings as mentioned above.
      3. Communicating with AT&AEM Center staff as needed and completing the annual follow-up survey
      4. Requesting to move equipment if necessary.
2. A separate room to adequately house the LBPC equipment.
   1. A site which isolates equipment from general populations, because of the noisy nature of this equipment.
   2. Eight-foot table or equivalent surface for equipment.
   3. Power outlets in proximity to table location.
3. Networked Windows computer and printer.
   1. At least 4 gigabytes of RAM (8 preferred).
   2. Hard disk drive or network storage capacity to accommodate large files.
   3. At least two USB ports.
   4. Windows 10 or higher.
   5. Microsoft Word 2010 or higher installed.
   6. Access to a networked printer/copier/scanner capable of producing multi-page PDF files
4. Technical support at the local level
   1. To assist the AT&AEM Center consultant with administrative access for the installation and configuring of software.
5. Embosser maintenance and upkeep.
   1. Maintenance of equipment beyond the warranty period. Once the initial equipment warranty/maintenance agreement has expired, the district/agency must pay for any necessary hardware repairs and software updates.
   2. Performance of annual stress test on equipment. An instructional video on how to complete is available on the LBPC page of the AT&AEM Center's website. Consumable materials including braille paper.
   3. If the equipment is lost or stolen, it's the responsibility of the district/agency to replace.
6. Software Upgrades.
   1. The school district/agency is responsible for purchasing all software upgrades beyond initial purchase.
7. Annual Survey.As part of the agreement, we ask that each school district/agency awarded an LBPC annually complete a quick survey that will provide the following information about the LBPC site:
   1. Grade levels of students being served and the district they attend
   2. Status of LBPC equipment and software
8. Incidental office supplies to support the project at the LBPC location.

For questions contact:

• Erica Chambers at erica_chambers@ocali.org or 614-401-2902
• Jerry Whittaker at jerry@thewhittakers.org or 330-354-3506
• Augusta Fisher at augusta_fisher@ocali.org or 614-401-1042

Thank you for your interest. 

Local Braille Production Center Map

Local Braille Production Center List (PDF)