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ELIGIBILITY
The BVI Program serves students 3 through
21 who have a
significant visual impairment. To be eligible for special education
(and related services as a visually impaired child), a child must
exhibit a visual impairment which, even with correction: adversely
affects educational performance; requires special facilities,
equipment, or methods to make his/her educational program effective; be
diagnosed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist as visually impaired;
and be certified by a multi-disciplinary team as qualifying for and
needing special education services for the visually impaired. The
visual impairment shall be directly related to reduced acuity or visual
fields, and shall not be primarily perceptual (pertaining to
deficiencies in the visual processing center of the brain) in nature.
Eligibility Criteria from the ASD and State Special Education Handbook
To be eligible for special education and related services as a student
with a visual impairment a student must have:
1. Visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye with correction as
determined by an eye specialist (i.e., 20/100, 20/200, etc.) and/or,
2. Visual field restriction of 20 degrees or less (tunnel vision)
and/or,
3. Functional vision which is virtually absent or unmeasurable for
purposes of learning as indicated by a vision specialist and/or,
4. A need for special services requiring the use of non-standard
instructional materials or aids designed to facilitate the child’s
learning as recommended by a vision specialist and/or
5. Temporary impairment or loss of vision due to such factors as
illness, accidents, temporary treatments.
To be eligible for deaf/blind services a student must meet the above
requirements and:
1. Hearing impairment of 30dB or greater unaided in the better ear
and/or,
2. Recurrent otitis media or a documented history of otitis media
effecting language or learning abilities as indicated by a hearing
specialist, audiologist or speech-language pathologist and/or,
3. Functional hearing which is virtually absent or unmeasurable for
purposes of learning, as indicated by a hearing specialist,
audiologist, or speech language pathologist and/or,
4. A diagnosis of a syndrome or disorder associated with a progressive
hearing loss.
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