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Records of the Kansas State School for the Blind

Creator: Kansas School for the Blind

Date: 1868-1970

Level of Description: Coll./Record Group

Material Type: Government record

Call Number: Unavailable

Unit ID: 215250

Abstract: The State Archives holds only a few cubic feet of records from the School for the Blind, and they mostly cover the latter half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. These records are mostly concerned with the students who went to the School, including their grades and general files kept by the administration. Due to the sensitive and confidential nature of these student files, they may fall under restrictions within Kansas statutes, particularly if they were created within the last seventy years.

As noted in the administrative history, the School has fallen under the governance of a number of agencies. Materials regarding the School may therefore be found within these other agencies' records, and broader searches may be necessary to find all records relevant to a particular topic.

Space Required/Quantity: Circa 7 cf + microfilm

Title (Main title): Records of the Kansas State School for the Blind

Administrative History

Administrative History: The Kansas State Institution for the Education of the Blind was opened in Wyandotte (now Kansas City), Wyandotte County, Kansas in 1867. The School has been operated under a variety of governing agencies, starting with its own Board of Trustees from 1867-1876. It came under the control of the Board of Trustees of State Charitable Institutions from 1876 until 1905, the Board of Trustees of State Charities and Corrections from 1905-1913, the (State) Board of Administration from 1913-1939, and then transferred again to the oversight of the Board of Regents in 1939. Subsequently the School has come under the governance of the State Board and Department of Education, with the Board able to appoint the School's Director, while the Director runs the day-to-day operations of the school.

KSSB, at times called the School for the Visually Handicapped, continues to lead through partnerships with parents, local school districts, and community resources to ensure equal access to a high quality education for all Kansas students who are blind or visually impaired.

[Kansas State School for the Blind. "About Us," http://www.kssb.net/node/23 (accessed 5 January 2009).]

[Wilder, Bessie. Governmental Agencies of the State of Kansas, 1861-1956. Lawrence: University of Kansas Publications, 1957.]

Portions of Collection Separately Described:


Locators:

No Locators Identified

Related Records or Collections

Related materials: Records of the Board of Charitable Institutions; Records of the Board of Charitable and Correctional Institutions; Records of the (State) Board of Administration; Records of the (State) Board of Regents; Records of the State Department of Education (1969- ) and of the State Board of Education.

Index Terms

Subjects

    Kansas Institute for the Education of the Blind
    Kansas School for the Blind -- History
    Kansas School for the Blind -- Records and correspondence
    Kansas State School for the Visually Handicapped
    Blind children -- Education -- Kansas
    Blind children -- Kansas -- History

Creators and Contributors

    Kansas School for the Blind
    Kansas State School for the Visually Handicapped
    Kansas Institute for the Education of the Blind

Agency Classification:

    Kansas State Agencies. Kansas State School for the Blind.