Serving Children who are
Visually Impaired and/or
Blind in Mississippi
Challenges and Opportunities
Mississippi Department of
Education State Policies 7219
www.mde.k12.ms.us/docs/sped-july-2009-policies/Policy_06-1709.pdf?sfvrsn=2
To be eligible for Special Education Services:
Visual impairment (VI) including blindness
means an impairment in vision that, even with
correction, adversely affects a child’s
educational performance. The term includes
both partial sight and blindness.
 Same as IDEA
 Other students are accommodated under
Section 504.
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Who is considered Blind?
MS-Braille Bill (SB 960-2012)
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“Blind student" means an individual who is
eligible for special education services or 504
services and who has an impairment in
vision that, even with correction, adversely
affects the student's educational
performance. This includes a student who:
◦ Is legally blind - Has a visual acuity of 20/200 or
less in the better eye with correcting lenses or
has a limited field of vision of 20 degrees or less;
◦ Has a medically indicated expectation of visual
deterioration; or
◦ Is functionally blind.
Environmental Vision
Loss of Visual Field
 Characterized
by bumping into things,
visually missing door jams, etc.
The person does not see the blank spaces.
Reading Issues
ucati
General National and State Policy
Students who are blind or visually impaired require
specially trained personnel to assist them in reaching
their academic and vocational goals.
 These trained professionals include Teachers of the
Visually Impaired (TVI) and Certified Orientation &
Mobility Specialists (COMS) or National Orientation
& Mobility Certified (NOMC).
 Students need full access to accessible instructional
materials at the same time other students receive
them.
 Students need to develop a strong sense of SelfDetermination and acquire the skills and tools to
achieve their goals.

Services to Children who are Blind
or Visually Impaired
Currently services are prescribed under
IDEA, Mississippi HB 638 (2008) and HB
960 (2012).
 MDE has no policies or procedures for
serving students who are b/vi although a
request has been made by the Braille Bill
Advisory Committee that some be
developed.

Our first step: Identify & register
students with visual impairments
Some Data…American Printing House
for the Blind (Federal Quota)
 Registered Children (2012/2013)
◦ Number of students with Legal Blindness
=386 (different from child count)
State
Population
2013
2012
2011
2010
MS
2,978,240
386
324
219
295
KS
2,863,813
670
669
715
IA
3,053,787
483
484
501
Estimated Data
Different national data sets report either
.2%, 1%, or 2%, of school population is
Visually Impaired, depending on definition
used.
 2012 School Population in Mississippi =
491,078 students
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1% = 4,910
.2% = 982
MDE identified students in Mississippi was 364
MIRC/APH identified 386
The importance of identifying
students with Legal Blindness
Makes students eligible for the American
Printing House for the Blind Federal
Quota.
 2012 Federal Quota allocation was
$340.29 per student.
 324 students X $340.29 = $105,069
 If we had 1,000 students identified that
would be $340,290

Why are students not being
identified?
Some are classified by other disabilities on
the child count and not thought of as VI.
 Some are the class clown
 Some are poor students
 Some are doing okay academically

Next Step: Provide qualified
teachers
Who are Qualified Teachers? (MSBB)

Certified Teachers of the Visually Impaired
(TVI), who are trained professionals
having specialized knowledge and skills in
the education of students with visual
impairments. These teachers shall provide
consultative services and instruction to
blind or visually impaired students in the
areas of communication literacy, daily
living, social and emotional skills, academic
support and career education.
What do TVI’s do?
adapted from http://commweb.fcps.edu/programprofile/overview.cfm?programID=120
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TVI‘s support the classroom teacher’s implementation of the curriculum for students with
visual impairments.
TVI's provide classroom teachers with adaptations and modifications as necessary to
allow visually impaired students to participate in the appropriate instructional program.
These adaptations may be Braille materials, large print materials, the use of low vision
instruments, and/or taped materials.
TVI’s provide consultation to classroom teachers to enable them to work more effectively
with visually impaired students.Teachers of the visually impaired provide strategies and
advice on vision-related issues, as well as communicating parent-generated requests.
TVI’s provide resources and instruction to all elementary, middle, and high that have a
student needing their service, as initiated by IEP.
TVI’s conduct and interpret specialized assessments such as learning media assessments,
assistive technology assessments, functional vision assessments.
TVI’s instruct students in self-advocacy strategies that will help them gain access to the
general education curriculum. These strategies may include use and care of assistive
technology, skillful questioning, self-selecting appropriate seating, strategic skills for
learning.
TVI’s provide instruction in the general education curriculum. They may use modified
materials and alternate strategies to pre-teach vocabulary, re-teach material, and help
enhance the background knowledge of students in order to better prepare them for
instruction.
TVI’s provide instruction in the “Expanded Core Curriculum”. This curriculum includes a set of
nine unique needs that are not typically learned incidentally by visually impaired students
and need to be taught through direct instruction.
Numbers of TVIs (outside MSB)
Currently certified/licensed = 16
 Students working to become TVI’s - 6
 Only 11 TVIs are currently working with
students who have Blindness or Low
Vision
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Counties/Districts with TVI access
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Biloxi, Booneville, Cleveland,
Columbia, Desoto, Grenada,
Gulfport, Hancock, Harrison,
Hinds, Jackson, Lafayette,
Lamar, Lauderdale, Lowndes,
Neshoba, Madison, Monroe,
Ocean Springs, Pass Christian,
Pearl, Picayune, Rankin, Smith,
Starkville, Stone, Tishomingo,
Vicksburg, Webster, Winston
Next Step: Order those Textbooks
and Educational Materials Early

Kim Esco will be discussing this process
Next Step : Get Appropriate
Assessments
National Reading Media Assessment (NRMA)
for Youth with Visual Impairments
Who does the Learning Media
Assessment to decide on whether
or not to teach Braille?
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The assessment required for each student
shall be conducted by a TVI and shall
include, at a minimum, a research-based
learning media assessment and functional
vision assessment, and if necessary in the
determination of the IEP Committee, a
comprehensive assistive technology
evaluation.
Braille is NOT obsolete!!
Who needs to learn Braille?

Section 37-23-197, Mississippi Code of 1972,
is amended as follows: 37-23-197. (1) Each
blind student, as determined by the IEP
Committee, shall be eligible for instruction in
Literary and Nemeth Braille reading and
writing codes which will sufficiently enable
that student to communicate effectively and
efficiently with the same level of proficiency
expected of the student's peers of
comparable ability and grade level.
Who needs to learn Braille
continued…
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(b) The reading and writing media of a
student with some residual vision shall be
determined after a TVI has administered
and reviewed the results of a researchbased learning media assessment and
reviewed a student's current reading and
writing skill level in comparison to levels
expected of the student's sighted peers as
determined by the IEP Committee.
Consider Typical Reading Rates for
High School Graduates
Normal Vision-250-350 words per minute
 Braille Reading Rate – 115-150 wpm
 Low Vision Reading Rate – 7-75 wpm
 Audio Reading - 350-700 wpm
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Dual Readers and those with
multiple media
Dual Reader – Large Print and Braille
 When to introduce multiple reading
modalities for college bound students
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Assistive Technology and Reading
Computer Access Technology (JAWS,
Magic, Window Eyes, ZoomText)
 Stand alone reading devices (Victor
Stream, Sense, Sara, EMD [akaCCTV])
 Other: GPS, Smart Phone Apps
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What about O&M?
Orientation and Mobility…
“[S]ervices provided to blind or visually impaired
children by qualified personnel to enable those
students to attain systematic orientation to and safe
movement within their environments in school, home,
and community;”
Sec. 300.34(c)(7)(i) of IDEA
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The 3 O&M Questions…
Where am I?
 Where do I want to go?
 How am I going to get there safely and
independently?
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O&M Summarized from IDEA
Includes teaching students the following:
 Use of existing vision
 Develop & use spatial and environmental
concepts to establish, maintain, or regain orientation
and line of travel;
 Use of the long cane (or other travel devices,
including wheelchairs) for safe travel
 Use of distance low vision devices; and
 Other concepts, techniques, and tools.
Sec. 300.34(c)(7)
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Qualified Assessors
Only certified O&M specialists are
qualified to perform O&M evaluations
◦ ACVREP-certified O&M specialists (COMS)
◦ Interns practicing under an ACVREP-certified
O&M specialists
◦ NBCBP – certified O&M Specialists (NOMC)
There is no emergency, partial, probationary, or
provisional certification in O&M.
The VI teacher can complete a screening, not
an O&M evaluation.
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Who Needs O&M?
Students with visual impairments are at-risk
for needing O&M regardless of their:
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Age, including birth-3
Degree of low vision
Physical ability
Additional disabilities
Familiarity with school and/or
home
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O&M Is Needed When Students
Experience Changes in …
Vision
 Visual demand
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◦ Lighting conditions change
 such as a darkened lecture room, hall,
or auditorium; or
 outdoors, such as dusk or night
◦ Visually complex environments
 lots of details in maps or graphics
 environment is cluttered
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O&M Specialists Work:
In isolation with students
 In home, school, and community
environments
 Non-traditional hours
 Travel between students
 With limited supervision
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Administrators need to know about
O&M services.
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Limit Your Liability
Students who receive O&M:
 Learn safe stair techniques, thereby limiting
the school’s liability.
 Are able to play on the playground with less
chance for injury, thereby limiting the
school’s liability.
 Are able to travel with greater independence to
and from the bus stop, thereby limiting the
school’s liability.
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Set up a Low Vision Exam
Who needs a low vision exam
Any child who has residual vision that
may be used for educational purposes.
 A Low Vision Exam is NOT a substitute
for an Educational Assessment, it
supplements other assessments
 A Functional Vision Assessment is
conducted in a natural setting – like the
classroom and is conducted by a TVI.
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Where are the Low Vision Clinics?
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Mississippi School for the Blind Low
Vision Clinic – Dr. Glenn Stribling
◦ Contact MSB to schedule an appointment
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Sight Savers of America
◦ MS State Department of Education K vision –
screening failures state wide
◦ Special Clinics set up where needed
◦ www.sightsaversofamerica.org to schedule a
clinic appointment
◦ Private Low Vision Clinics
Developing an Educational Plan
Next Step: Set up an Appropriate
Educational Plan with Qualified
Teachers and Professionals
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Be sure that there is a TVI on the IEP Team who
can address:
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Assessments
Learning Media Assessment
Functional Vision Assessment
Need for Braille
Expanded Core Curriculum requirements
Testing accommodations
An O&M Specialist needs to address O&M needs
Expanded Core Curriculum
(www.nhpdcve.org/docs/TipSheet_2_ECC.pdf)
The Nine Specific Skill Areas listed below
comprise the Expanded Core Curriculum
(ECC) for students who are visually impaired:
1. Assistive Technology
2. Career & Vocational Education/Transition
3. Compensatory Skills
4. Independent Living Skills & Personal Management
5. Orientation and Mobility Skills
6. Recreation and Leisure Skills
7. Self Determination
8. Social Skills
9. Sensory Efficiency Skills (Visual Efficiency)
Compensatory Skills
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These skills include, but are not limited to: the use of Braille,
large print,
optical devices,
tactile symbols,
calendar systems and abacus;
study and organizational skills;
listening skills;
concept development;
the use of assistive technology and recorded materials;
social interaction;
independent living;
recreation and leisure skills;
and career education.
Brief Recap…..
For a Student with a Visual
Impairment that means…
Teachers who are qualified to teach them – [i.e.
Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI)]
 Textbooks and instructional materials that
are accessible to them (i.e. large print, Braille and
audio) delivered at the same time as other
students receive their materials
 Assessments that are fair, accessible and
conducted by someone who is qualified to
administer and interpret the results
 Educational program that addresses their
individual and unique needs. (Expanded Core
Curriculum for student with Visual Impairments)
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It also means….
Braille unless otherwise determined by
the IEP team based on administration of a
research-based Learning Media
Assessment and Functional Vision
Assessment (if appropriate) administered
by a qualified TVI.
 Orientation & Mobility by a Certified
Orientation & Mobility Specialist, unless
IEP Team determines it is not necessary.
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It starts with a dream…
And ends with a job and a smile!
Given a good education, children who
are blind or visually impaired become
productive and successful!
This session is brought to you by
the letter “B” and …
Mississippi Department of
Education
 University of Southern
Mississippi
Mississippi Deaf-Blind Project
 Mississippi State UniversityThe National Research & Training Center on
Blindness and Low Vision
 Mississippi School for the Blind
 Mississippi Instructional Materials Center (MIRC)
 The Braille Bill Advisory Committee
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