Bill Text: VA SB1477 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Students with blindness or visual impairments; evaluation of students, Braille instruction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-02 - Stricken at request of patron in Education and Health (15-Y 0-N) [SB1477 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-SB1477-Introduced.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §22.1-217 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§22.1-217. Students with blindness or visual impairments.
A. As used in this section:
"Braille" means the system of reading and writing through touch.
"Learning media" includes Braille, large print, print with or without optical or electronic devices, dual media, and auditory materials.
"Learning media assessment" or "LMA" means an evaluation of a student with blindness or visual impairments conducted by a teacher of students with blindness or visual impairments that follows and is informed by the findings of a Functional Vision Assessment; uses objective, evidence-based techniques; and results in an individualized determination of the learning media that is most appropriate in enabling the student to achieve literacy.
"Program" means a program that provides specialized or adapted materials or services and may include the employment of teachers of students with blindness or visual impairments.
"Visual impairments" shall be defined by the Board and the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
B. Special education for
visually impaired children
students with blindness or visual impairments provided by a
school division shall be established, maintained,
and operated jointly by (i) the
school board and (ii) the
Department of Education with support from the
Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired,
subject to the regulations of the Board of Education.
Braille instruction shall be included in the student's Individualized Education
Plan (IEP), whenever appropriate.
C. When
developing the IEP Individualized Education Program (IEP)
for students a
student with blindness or visual impairment impairments,
the presumption shall be that proficiency in literacy is essential for such
student to achieve satisfactory meaningful educational
progress. However,
D. An LMA shall be administered as part of the initial evaluation and each reevaluation of each student with blindness or visual impairments or more frequently if such student's IEP team so determines. Instruction in Braille reading and writing and accommodations for materials in Braille shall be included in the IEP of a student with blindness or visual impairments commensurate with his IEP team's determination of his needs based upon the results of such LMA.
E. The
use of Braille shall not be required for a student with
blindness or visual impairments if other special education
services are determined by the
student's IEP team to be more appropriate to the student's
educational needs, and the. The provision of other
appropriate services such as instruction in
print with or without optical or electronic devices or instruction in dual
media shall not preclude Braille instruction.
B. F. The Virginia Department for
the Blind and Vision Impaired shall prepare and deliver a program of special
education services in addition to support of the special
education provided in the public school system schools in the Commonwealth that is
designed to meet the educational needs of
visually impaired children
individuals with blindness or visual impairments between
the ages of birth and twenty-one 21 and may prepare and deliver
such programs for such program to individuals of
other ages. In the development of such a program, the Virginia
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall cooperate with the Board of
Education and the school boards of the several school divisions.
G.
The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall assist the
Board of Education and the each
local school boards of the several
school divisions board
with in-service training in Braille for currently
employed teachers of students who are blind and visually impaired ongoing professional development for teachers of
students with blindness or visual
impairments,
including knowledge of and instruction in Braille
and the administration and
evaluation of LMAs. In the development and
implementation of such programs, the Virginia Department for the Blind and
Vision Impaired and the Department of Education shall cooperate with the Board,
each local school board, and
other stakeholders, including members of
professional, parent, and consumer organizations relating
to individuals with blindness or vision
impairment and faculty of
preparation programs at institutions of higher
education for educators of students with blindness or visual
impairments.
C. As used in this
section:
"Braille" means
the system of reading and writing through touch and is commonly known as
standard English Braille Grade 2.
"Program" means
a modified program which provides special materials or services and may include
the employment of itinerant teachers or resource room teachers for the visually
impaired.
"Visually
impaired" shall be defined by the Board of Education and the Virginia
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
2. No later than October 1, 2017, the Board of Education and the Board for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall adopt such regulations as may be necessary to coordinate the delivery of services as described in the provisions of this act.
