16101537D
HOUSE BILL NO. 166
Offered January 13, 2016
Prefiled December 23, 2015
A BILL to amend and reenact §22.1-217 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to visually impaired students; Braille.
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Patron-- Cole (By Request)
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Committee Referral Pending
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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. Visually impaired students.
A. As used in this section,
unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Braille" means
the system of reading and writing through touch and is commonly known as the
Braille tactile communication system.
"Visually
impaired" shall be defined by the Board of Education and the Virginia
Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired.
B.
Special education for visually impaired children students provided by a school
division shall be established, maintained,
and operated jointly by the school board and the Virginia Department for the
Blind and Vision Impaired subject to the regulations of the Board of Education.
C. Braille
instruction shall be included in the student's Individualized Education Plan
Program (IEP), whenever
appropriate. When developing the an IEP or a
plan pursuant to §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §794
(Section 504 Plan) for students with visual impairment, the
presumption shall be that proficiency in literacy is essential for such student
to achieve satisfactory educational progress.
However, use of Braille shall not be required if other special education
services are more appropriate to the student's educational needs, and the
provision of other appropriate services shall not preclude Braille instruction. Each school division shall provide instruction in
Braille and the use of Braille for visually impaired students unless the team
responsible for developing a visually impaired student's IEP (IEP team) or the
team responsible for developing a student's Section 504 Plan (504 team)
determines, after an evaluation of the student, that instruction in Braille or
the use of Braille is not appropriate to the student's educational needs. The
evaluation shall be conducted by a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired
(TVI) and shall include (i) a literacy assessment that is research-based,
data-driven, and validated and
that results in objective recommendations; (ii) a functional vision assessment;
(iii) an assessment of the student's academic and functional strengths and
deficits; (iv) an assessment of the student's current and future needs; (v) a
statement of the appropriate reading and writing media for the student; and
(vi) in the case of a student with some residual vision, a comparison of the
student's current reading and writing skill levels to levels expected of peers
who are not visually impaired, as determined by the IEP team or 504 team. The
evaluation may include a comprehensive assistive technology assessment if the
IEP team or 504 team determines that it is necessary. The literacy assessment
shall be administered to the student at least annually after the evaluation by
the certified TVI and when there is a significant change in the student's
vision.
D. Nothing in this
section shall require exclusive instruction in Braille and the use of Braille
when the IEP team or 504 team determines that other specialized educational
services and assistive technology devices are more appropriate for the visually
impaired student's educational needs. The provision of other specialized
educational services and assistive technology devices shall not preclude
instruction in Braille and the use of Braille.
E. Each IEP team and 504
team may determine that a visually impaired student is eligible to receive
instruction in the use of the appropriate Braille mathematics code in addition
to Braille and the use of Braille.
F. No visually impaired
student shall be denied the opportunity for instruction in Braille and the use
of Braille solely on the basis that the student has some residual vision.
B. G. As used
in this subsection, unless the context requires a different meaning,
"program" means a modified program that provides special materials or
services and may include the employment of itinerant teachers or resource room
teachers for the visually impaired. The Virginia Department
for the Blind and Vision Impaired shall prepare and deliver a program of
special education services in addition to the special education provided in the
public school system designed to meet the educational needs of visually
impaired children
students between the ages of birth and
twenty-one 21
and may prepare and deliver such programs for such 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. The Virginia Department for the Blind
and Vision Impaired shall assist the Board of Education and the school boards
of the several school divisions with in-service training in Braille for
currently employed teachers of students who are blind and visually impaired.
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.
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