[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 111 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36586-36594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14485]
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Part IV
Department of Education
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Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students; Policy Guidance; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 111 / Thursday, June 8, 2000 /
Notices
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students; Policy Guidance
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S.
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of policy guidance.
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SUMMARY: The Department issues this Notice of Policy Guidance (notice)
to address the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, as they apply to the
education of blind and visually impaired students. This notice updates
OSEP memorandum 96-4, Policy Guidance on Educating Blind and Visually
Impaired Students dated November 3, 1995, to reflect new and revised
statutory provisions added by the IDEA Amendments of 1997 and
conforming regulatory changes to implement those requirements. The
Department issued guidance for the education of students who are deaf
in the form of a Notice of Policy Guidance published in the Federal
Register on October 30, 1992 (57 FR 49274). That policy guidance also
is being updated for consistency with the IDEA Amendments of 1997.
This notice provides important background information to educators
in meeting their obligations to ensure that blind and visually impaired
students receive appropriate educational services in the least
restrictive environment appropriate to their unique needs. A
description of procedural safeguards also is included to ensure that
parents are knowledgeable about their rights, including their right to
participate in decisions regarding the provision of services to their
children.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rhonda Weiss or JoLeta Reynolds, U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Mary E.
Switzer Building, Room 3086, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202.
Telephone: (202) 205-5507. Individuals who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD), may call (202) 205-5465.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to Katie Mincey, Director of the Alternate Formats
Center, telephone (202) 205-8113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To respond to concerns that services for
some blind and visually impaired students were not appropriate to
address their unique educational and learning needs, particularly their
needs for instruction in reading, writing, and composition, as well as
orientation and mobility and other self-help skills, policy guidance on
educating blind and visually impaired students was issued as OSEP
memorandum 96-4 (November 3, 1995). This policy guidance provided some
background information on these students and their unique needs, and
applicable requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (Part B) were explained.\1\
In the reauthorization of the IDEA Amendments of 1997, Public Law
105-17, Congress clarified public agencies' responsibilities in
educating blind and visually impaired students in two important
respects. Specifically, the reauthorized statute provides that
Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams are required to make
provision for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille for blind
and visually impaired students, unless, based on relevant evaluations,
the IEP team determines that instruction in Braille or the use of
Braille is not appropriate.
Also, reflecting an awareness that a blind or visually impaired
individual's ability to move around independently is closely linked to
the individual's self esteem, an amendment to the statutory definition
of ``related services'' adds ``orientation and mobility services'' to
the list of examples of supportive services specifically identified in
the statute.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 contain other new requirements
applicable to all children with disabilities, particularly in areas
relating to requirements for evaluations and reevaluations, focusing
IEPs on a student's meaningful involvement and progress in the general
curriculum, and strengthening procedural safeguards and opportunities
for parent participation in important educational decisions. Even with
these significant statutory changes, the core concepts that were
applicable prior to the enactment of the IDEA Amendments of 1997
continue to apply.
Background
The population of children who receive services under Part B
because of blindness or visual impairment is extremely diverse. These
children display a wide range of vision difficulties and varying
adaptations to vision loss. With regard to degree of vision, the
student population includes persons who are totally blind or persons
with minimal light perception, as well as persons with varying degrees
of low vision. For some individuals, blindness or visual impairment is
their only disability, while for others, blindness or vision impairment
is one of several identified disabilities that will affect, to varying
degrees, learning and social integration. For example, some children
who are blind or visually impaired also have hearing, orthopedic,
emotional, or cognitive disabilities.
In addition, persons with similar degrees of vision loss may
function very differently. A significant visual deficit that could pose
formidable obstacles for some children may pose far less formidable
obstacles for others. This is because adaptations to vision loss are
shaped by individual factors, such as availability and type of family
support and degree of intellectual, emotional, physical, and motor
functioning. Therefore, in addition to the nature and extent of vision
loss, a variety of factors needs to be considered in designing an
appropriate educational program for a blind or visually impaired child,
and these factors could change over time.
The challenge for educators of blind and visually impaired
children, including those with other disabilities, is how to teach
skills that sighted children typically acquire through vision. Blind
and visually impaired students have used a variety of methods to learn
to read, write, and acquire other skills, both academic and
nonacademic. For example, for reading purposes, some students use
Braille exclusively; others use large print or regular print with or
without low vision aids. Still others use a combination of methods,
including Braille, large print, low vision aids and devices with
computer-generated speech, while others have sufficient functional
vision to use regular print, although with difficulty.
In order to receive an appropriate education under Part B, it is
generally understood that students who are blind or visually impaired
must be provided appropriate instruction in a variety of subjects,
including language arts, composition, and science and mathematics.
However, in order to be educated in these subject areas effectively,
blind and visually impaired children must be taught the necessary
skills to enable them to learn to read and to use other appropriate
technology to obtain access to information. It also is very important
for blind and visually impaired children, including those with other
disabilities, who need orientation and mobility services, to receive
appropriate instruction in orientation and mobility as early as
possible. Providing these children with needed orientation and mobility
services at the appropriate time increases the likelihood that they can
participate meaningfully in a variety of aspects of their schooling,
including academic,
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nonacademic, and extracurricular activities. Once these individuals are
no longer in school, their use of acquired orientation and mobility
skills should greatly enhance their ability to move around
independently in a variety of educational, employment, and community
settings. These skills also should enhance the ability of blind and
visually impaired students to obtain employment, retain their jobs, and
participate more fully in family and community life.
This policy guidance contains an explanation of the provisions of
Part B of IDEA as amended by the IDEA Amendments of 1997 and Department
regulations that address public agencies' obligations in educating
blind and visually impaired students. Statements that utilize the word
``should'' constitute guidance and do not mean ``must,'' and are not
intended to impose any new requirements that go beyond the requirements
of the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions explained below.
Application of the Free Appropriate Public Education Requirements
of Part B to Blind and Visually Impaired Students
A. In General
Under Part B, each State and its public agencies must ensure that a
free appropriate public education (FAPE) is made available to all
children with specified disabilities residing in the State in mandatory
age ranges, and that the rights and protections of Part B are afforded
to those children and their parents. FAPE includes, among other
elements, special education and related services that are provided at
no cost to parents, under public supervision and direction, that meet
State education standards and Part B requirements, that include an
appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the
State involved, and that are provided in conformity with an
individualized education program (IEP) that meets Part B
requirements.\2\
Consistent with this obligation to ensure FAPE, the Part B
regulations also provide that the services and placement provided to a
child with a disability under Part B must be based on all of the
child's identified special education and related services needs, and
not on the child's disability.\3\ This includes meeting the child's
needs that result from identified disabilities other than blindness or
visual impairment.
B. Evaluation Requirements
Before the initial provision of special education and related
services to a child with a disability under Part B, a full and
individual initial evaluation must be conducted in accordance with 34
CFR Secs. 300.532 and 300.533.\4\ The IDEA Amendments of 1997 require
that a variety of assessment tools and strategies must be used in the
evaluation process to gather relevant functional and developmental
information about the child. This includes information provided by the
parents, to assist in determining (1) whether the child is a child with
a disability, and (2) the content of the child's IEP, including the
extent to which the child can be involved and progress in the general
curriculum, and for a child of preschool age, to participate in
appropriate activities.\5\ Through the evaluation process,
determinations also can be made about the range of accommodations and
modifications necessary for a blind or visually impaired child to be
involved and progress in the general curriculum, the same curriculum as
for nondisabled children.
An evaluation under Part B must assess the child in all areas
related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate,
``health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general
intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor
abilities.''\6\ In addition, the evaluation must be sufficiently
comprehensive to identify all of the child's special education and
related services needs, whether or not commonly linked to the
disability category in which the child has been classified.\7\ Any
standardized tests that are utilized for those assessments must be
conducted by trained and knowledgeable personnel.\8\
An assessment of a child's vision status generally would include
the nature and extent of the child's visual impairment and its effect,
for example, on the child's ability to learn to read, write, do
mathematical calculations, and use computers and other assistive
technology, as well as the child's ability to be involved in and
progress in the general curriculum. For children with low vision, this
type of assessment also generally should include an evaluation of the
child's ability to utilize low vision aids, as well as a learning media
assessment and a functional vision assessment. For children who are
blind and for children who have low vision, consistent with the new
statutory requirement regarding Braille instruction, the assessment of
vision status generally would be closely linked to the assessment of
the child's present and future reading and writing skills, needs, and
appropriate reading and writing media. This information would be used
by the IEP team in determining whether it would be inappropriate to
provide a blind or visually impaired child with instruction in Braille
or the use of Braille.\9\
As required for children with other disabilities, appropriate
assessments of blind and visually impaired children, including those
with other disabilities, also must address each child's ability to be
involved and progress in the general curriculum, the same curriculum as
for nondisabled children. This information could be obtained, for
example, from an assessment of academic performance that would focus on
the child's ability to learn to read, including reading comprehension,
and to learn composition, science and mathematics, and computing.
As part of the evaluation process, it is especially important to
address a blind or visually impaired child's ability to be involved and
progress in the general curriculum, the same curriculum as for
nondisabled children, particularly in situations where the child has
other disabilities. This is because of the relationship of the
evaluation to the child's IEP, which focuses specifically on
participation in the general curriculum offered to nondisabled
students, including the need for any supplementary aids and services,
other accommodations, modifications, or devices to facilitate the blind
or visually impaired child's involvement in the general curriculum.
This information is needed regardless of whether a child will be
educated in a regular classroom or in a separate classroom or
school.\10\ The evaluation also should identify any necessary program
modifications or supports for school personnel needed for a child or on
behalf of a child to ensure that the child's unique needs arising from
blindness or visual impairment or other identified disabilities are
appropriately addressed in the IEP.
Because of the importance for some blind and visually impaired
students of acquiring the skills necessary to access information,
additional assessments may be necessary to determine whether a child
should receive specific instruction in listening skills. Possible
assessments for this purpose could include assessments of hearing,
general intelligence, or communicative status. A child's need for
orientation and mobility services and the appropriate method or methods
for acquiring the requisite skills also should be assessed, and this
generally would be accomplished through an assessment of motor
abilities, as well as vision and communicative status, which should be
conducted as early as possible. This is
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especially important because parents and organizations representing the
interests of blind and visually impaired individuals have reported
that, in some instances, these students are not receiving appropriate
orientation and mobility services and that appropriate evaluations of
their needs for these services are not being conducted. In all
instances, the results of all assessments administered to the child,
including those administered to determine the child's needs resulting
from one or more disabilities other than blindness or visual
impairment, must be considered as the child's IEP is developed.\11\
C. IEP Development and Content Requirements
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 make a number of significant changes to
the Act's IEP requirements, which are applicable to all disabled
students, including blind and visually impaired students.\12\ Under
Part B, an IEP developed in accordance with 34 CFR Secs. 300.341-
300.350 is the essence of each child's entitlement to a FAPE. The IDEA
Amendments of 1997 clarify that each child's IEP must (1) relate the
child's education to the child's involvement and progress in the
general curriculum, the same curriculum as for nondisabled children,
and (2) address unique needs arising out of the child's disability or
disabilities. The IDEA Amendments of 1997 also require that IEPs for
disabled children, including blind and visually impaired children,
contain a statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or
short-term objectives.\13\ The annual goals must be related to (1)
meeting the child's needs that result from the disability, or
disabilities, to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the
general curriculum, and (2) meeting each of the child's other
educational needs that result from the child's disability, or
disabilities.
With regard to these criteria for developing annual goals, IEP
teams for blind and visually impaired children must ensure that those
children can appropriately access the general curriculum offered to
nondisabled children, and that unique needs relating to the child's
blindness or visual impairment or other identified disabilities are
addressed.\14\ Therefore, if IEP teams identify educational needs of
individual children arising from their blindness or visual impairment
or other disability, that the general curriculum does not sufficiently
address, those specific needs must be addressed.\15\ For example, if a
particular student has little or no skill in Braille reading and
writing, the IEP team may conclude that more frequent and intensive
instruction in Braille likely would be necessary before the student
could be fully involved and make meaningful progress in the general
curriculum offered to nondisabled children. In addition, once the
child's initial need for Braille instruction has been met, the IEP team
should periodically make a determination of the child's ability to be
involved and progress in the general curriculum, and the extent to
which continued intensive Braille instruction and other accommodations
would be needed.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 include specific requirements regarding
including children with disabilities in general State and district-wide
assessment programs, with appropriate accommodations and modifications
in administration, if necessary.\16\ For example, each child's IEP must
include a statement of any individual modifications in the
administration of State or district-wide assessments of student
achievement that are needed for the child to participate in the
assessment. Also, if the IEP team determines that a child will not
participate in a particular assessment or part of an assessment, the
IEP must include a statement of why that assessment is not appropriate
for the child, and how the child will be assessed.\17\
Consistent with the emphasis in the IDEA Amendments of 1997 on
relating the child's IEP to the child's involvement and progress in the
general curriculum, IEP teams must ensure that blind and visually
impaired students, including those with other disabilities, receive
appropriate instructional accommodations and modifications. Providing
appropriate instructional accommodations and modifications will help
prepare these students to participate in State or district-wide
assessments of student achievement with appropriate accommodations or
individual modifications in test administration.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 also require the development of
guidelines for use of alternate assessments, which are used if an IEP
team determines that an individual child cannot participate in regular
assessments, even with appropriate accommodations or individual
modifications in test administration.\18\ However, it is expected that
if IEP teams properly make individualized determinations about what
testing accommodations or individual modifications in test
administration are appropriate for a child, it should be necessary to
use alternate assessments for a relatively small percentage of children
with disabilities. In addition, if the purpose of a test is to measure
a student's ability to read, States need to be able to test to
determine whether blind or visually impaired students, whose primary
reading medium is not standard print, can read, whether by providing
them with a Braille or large print version of the test, or through some
other means, as appropriate.
Each child's IEP must be developed by an IEP team, that is, a group
of individuals that includes:
The parents of the child;
At least one regular education teacher of the child if the
child is, or may be, participating in the regular education
environment;
At least one special education teacher of the child, or,
if appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child;
A public agency representative who is qualified to provide
or supervise the provision of specially designed instruction, is
knowledgeable about the general curriculum, and about the availability
of resources of the public agency;
An individual who can interpret the instructional
implications of evaluation results, who may be another member of the
IEP team;
At the discretion of the parent or the agency, other
individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the
child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and,
If appropriate, the child.\19\
Public agencies must ensure that students are invited to attend IEP
meetings if the participation of the student would be appropriate.
For IEP meetings involving transition services, there are
additional requirements. The Part B regulations provide that the public
agency must invite a student with a disability of any age to attend his
or her IEP meeting if a purpose of the meeting will be the
consideration of either the student's transition services needs, the
statement of needed transition services for the student, or both. In
these situations, if the student does not attend the meeting, the
public agency must ensure that the student's preferences and interests
are considered. If another agency would likely be responsible for
providing or paying for needed transition services, the public agency
must ensure that a representative of that agency is invited to the
meeting.\20\ The public agency responsible for the student's education
generally must initiate and conduct meetings for the purpose of
developing, reviewing, and, if necessary, revising the IEP, or the
individualized family
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service plan (IFSP), of a child with a disability. The public agency
must ensure that the child's IEP team (1) reviews the child's IEP
periodically, but not less than annually, to determine whether the
child's annual goals are being achieved, and (2) revises the IEP as
appropriate.\21\
An IFSP, the written plan for providing early intervention services
under Part C of IDEA to an infant or toddler with disabilities and his
or her family, may serve as the IEP for a child with a disability aged
3 through 5 (or at the discretion of the State educational agency, a 2-
year-old child with a disability who will turn age 3 during the school
year). For this to occur, the IFSP must contain the material described
in section 636 of the Act, and must be developed in accordance with
Secs. 300.341-300.346 and Secs. 300.349-300.350. In addition, using the
IFSP to serve as the IEP must be consistent with State policy and
agreed to by the agency and the child's parents.\22\ If an IFSP is to
be used, the public agency must provide the child's parents a detailed
explanation of the differences between an IFSP and an IEP and must
obtain written, informed parental consent to use an IFSP.\23\
D. Special Factors in IEP Development
In developing IEPs, the IDEA Amendments of 1997 require IEP teams
to consider a range of special factors. The following two factors are
particularly relevant for blind and visually impaired students.
1. Instruction in Braille and the Use of Braille
One of the most serious concerns voiced by parents of blind or
visually impaired children and their advocates, as well as by adults
who are blind or visually impaired, is that the number of students
receiving instruction in Braille has decreased significantly over the
past several decades. As a result, these individuals believe that
Braille instruction is not being provided to some students for whom it
may be appropriate. Braille has been a very effective reading and
writing medium for many blind and visually impaired persons, and
knowledge of Braille provides numerous tangible and intangible
benefits, including increased likelihood of obtaining productive
employment and heightened self-esteem.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997, therefore, include a specific
provision with regard to instruction in Braille and the use of Braille
and state:
The IEP team must--* * * (iii) in the case of a child who is blind or
visually impaired, provide for instruction in Braille and the use of
Braille unless the IEP team determines, after an evaluation of the
child's reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and
writing media (including an evaluation of the child's future needs for
instruction in Braille or the use of Braille), that instruction in
Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the child; \24\
This statutory provision requires IEP teams to make provision for
instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, unless it is determined,
after appropriate evaluations of the child's reading and writing needs,
that this instruction is not appropriate for a particular child.
Decisions about instruction in Braille and the use of Braille must be
made on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the individual needs of a
particular child. In developing IEPs for children with low vision, even
for those with a high degree of functional vision, IEP teams also must
consider evaluations of the child's need for instruction in Braille and
the use of Braille, and must make provision for such instruction unless
it is determined, after appropriate evaluation, to be inappropriate for
the child. Factors such as shortages of trained personnel to provide
Braille instruction, the availability of alternative reading media,
such as large print, recorded materials, or computers with speech
output, or the amount of time needed to provide a child with sufficient
and regular instruction to attain proficiency in Braille or the use of
Braille, may not be used to deny Braille instruction to a child for
whom that instruction has not been determined individually to be
inappropriate. Once the IEP team includes instruction in Braille in the
IEP, this instruction, as is true for other aspects of the child's IEP,
must be implemented as soon as possible following the child's IEP
meeting.\25\
For a child to become proficient in Braille, systematic and regular
instruction from knowledgeable and appropriately trained personnel is
essential. For blind and visually impaired children, including those
with other disabilities, IEP teams must ensure that the instructional
time allocated for Braille instruction is adequate to provide the level
of instruction determined appropriate for the child. IEP teams also
must ensure, as discussed more fully below, that appropriate assistive
technology is provided to facilitate necessary Braille instruction.
Likewise, for children with low vision, instruction in the appropriate
utilization of functional vision and in the effective use of low vision
aids requires regular and intensive intervention from knowledgeable and
appropriately trained personnel.
IEP teams also must consider the method or methods for teaching
blind and visually impaired children, including those with other
disabilities, how to write and compose. Children whose reading medium
is Braille likely will use Braille for these purposes. For composition,
however, in addition to writing Braille manually, these children also
may benefit from using assistive technology devices, such as a personal
computer with speech output or a Braille display. IEP teams must make
individualized determinations about the needs of blind and visually
impaired children, including those with other disabilities, for
instruction in writing and composition, and must include effective
methods for teaching writing and composition, including the appropriate
use of assistive technology, in the IEPs of these students.
In addition to mastering the skills taught to all children, blind
and visually impaired children, including those with other
disabilities, must receive instruction in the skills that the IEP team
determines are necessary for the child to obtain access to information
needed to participate in the general curriculum, as a supplement to
instruction in the reading method determined appropriate for the child.
The skills that could be taught to access information include use of
cassette recordings, including recordings that utilize compressed
speech, personal computers with speech output or a Braille display, and
optical scanners with speech output. Use of these devices, methods, and
services should be considered on an individual basis to supplement
Braille instruction for students for whom Braille is the primary
reading medium, or to supplement print or large print for children
using print as their primary reading medium. While instruction in the
skills necessary to access information is extremely important, local
educational agencies also are required by Part B and Section 504 to
provide instructional materials in the format determined appropriate
for the child by the IEP team to enable the child to participate in the
public agency's program.\26\
In addition, for most students who are blind or visually impaired,
including those with other disabilities, the development of skills
related to future employment, vocational training, or postsecondary
education, such as the use of reader services, would be appropriate.
For example, reader
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services have proven to be vital for the workplace success of many
adults who are blind or visually impaired. As appropriate, IEP teams
should consider making reader services available, as well as providing
instruction in the skills necessary to the effective use of those
services. In considering whether reader services or other services
related to the workplace success of these students would be
appropriate, IEP teams should consider whether those services would be
necessary to supplement the techniques that the student already may be
receiving to access information, or necessary for the student's
successful transition from school to post-school activities.
2. Assistive Technology
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 continue to recognize the importance of
assistive technology in the education of children with disabilities,
and specify assistive technology as one of the special factors that IEP
teams must consider in IEP development.\27\ Issues related to accessing
information frequently arise in the education of blind and visually
impaired students, as well as those with other disabilities. Therefore,
it is especially important that IEP teams for blind and visually
impaired students give appropriate consideration to these students'
needs for assistive technology and the full range of assistive
technology devices and services that are available for them, and this
consideration needs to occur as early as possible. As is true for
students with other disabilities, a blind or visually impaired
student's ability to become proficient in the use of appropriate
assistive technology could have a positive effect on the development of
the student's overall self-confidence and self-esteem. Students taught
the skills necessary to address their disability-specific needs are
more capable of participating meaningfully in the general curriculum
offered to nondisabled students.
The Department's regulations also provide that, on a case-by-case
basis, consideration of the use of school-purchased assistive
technology devices in a child's home or in other settings may be
required. If the child's IEP team determines that the child needs to
have access to a school-purchased device at home or in another setting
in order to receive FAPE, a statement to this effect must be included
in the child's IEP, the child's IEP must be implemented as written, and
the device must be provided at no cost to the parents.\28\
In meeting the assistive technology needs of blind and visually
impaired students, public agencies may use whatever State, local,
Federal, and private sources of support available in the State to
finance required services.\29\ To obtain information about assistive
technology, including information about assistive technology that could
be used to assist in the education of blind and visually impaired
students, public agencies may wish to consult the Assistive Technology
Act of 1998 (Tech Act) project that serves their State.\30\ In making
assistive technology purchases, public agencies also need to ensure
that they comply with applicable requirements of Federal law, including
Section 504, Title II of the ADA, and the Tech Act.\31\
E. Orientation and Mobility Services
For some blind and visually impaired children, the inability to
move around independently can be a formidable obstacle to participating
in school, family, and community life. In some instances, blind and
visually impaired individuals have felt discouraged from seeking
employment opportunities because of their inability to get to the job
or negotiate the work environment once on the job, or because of their
fears that this will be the case. Still in other instances, some blind
and visually impaired individuals have been denied access to employment
opportunities because of employers' misperceptions that the individual
will be unable to get around without sighted assistance. Therefore,
acquisition of orientation and mobility skills, like the acquisition of
other skills such as academic and social skills, is of great importance
to the social and economic independence of blind and visually impaired
persons.
Orientation and mobility services are generally recognized as
encompassing distinctive strategies particular to the educational needs
of blind or visually impaired students. The IDEA Amendments of 1997
amended the list of examples of ``related services'' contained in the
statute to include ``orientation and mobility services.'' \32\ The term
``orientation and mobility services'' is defined in the Part B
regulations, at 34 CFR Sec. 300.24(b)(6), as follows:
(i) * * * services provided to blind or visually impaired students
by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic
orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school,
home, and community; and
(ii) Includes teaching students the following, as appropriate:
(A) Spatial and environmental concepts and use of information
received by the senses (such as sound, temperature and vibrations) to
establish, maintain, or regain orientation and line of travel (e.g.,
using sound at a traffic light to cross the street);
(B) To use the long cane to supplement visual travel skills or as a
tool for safely negotiating the environment for students with no
available travel vision;
(C) To understand and use remaining vision and distance low vision
aids; and
(D) Other concepts, techniques, and tools.
The responsible public agency must ensure that orientation and
mobility services are provided by trained and knowledgeable personnel
who meet appropriate State qualification standards. In some instances,
these personnel will need to be qualified to work with blind and
visually impaired students who, in addition to their blindness or
visual impairments, have other physical, sensory, or emotional
disabilities. Because the need for safe movement throughout their
school, home, and community environments is of critical importance for
blind and visually impaired students, and because inadequate skill in
this area could have an adverse impact on the ability of some blind and
visually impaired persons to obtain appropriate employment, orientation
and mobility services should be considered for each blind and visually
impaired child. The extent to which orientation and mobility services
are necessary for an individual child and, if so, the amount and
duration of those services that are necessary for a child to receive
FAPE are decisions for the child's IEP team. If a blind or visually
impaired child has other disabilities, such as hearing, motor, or
emotional disabilities, the child's unique disability-specific needs
arising from those other disabilities also must be considered in
designing an appropriate program of orientation and mobility services
for the child. Orientation and mobility services should be provided as
early as possible in a child's education, and updated or supplemented
periodically, as needed. For example, while it may not be appropriate
to teach a very young child how to cross a busy street, a very young
child still could be taught the skills necessary to move around inside
a school building. As students mature, it might be appropriate,
depending on individual factors, for the student to be taught how to
cross a busy street. Therefore, IEP teams need to be aware of
individual factors that would affect the nature and extent to which
orientation and mobility services may be needed for a particular
student.
For some children with disabilities such as children with
significant cognitive disabilities, ``travel training
[[Page 36591]]
* * * is often an integral part of their special educational program in
order for them to receive FAPE and be prepared for post-school
activities, including employment and independent living.'' \33\
Providing blind or visually impaired students, particularly those with
other disabilities, with travel training also could facilitate their
fuller integration into their communities in and outside of school,
both during and following their school attendance. Therefore, the
definition of ``special education'' has been amended at 34 CFR
Sec. 300.26(a)(2)(ii) to include ``travel training,'' and the pertinent
definition reads as follows:
Travel training means providing instruction, as appropriate, to
children with significant cognitive disabilities, and any other
children with disabilities who require this instruction, to enable them
to--
(i) Develop an awareness of the environment in which they live; and
(ii) Learn the skills necessary to move effectively and safely from
place to place within that environment (e.g., in school, in the home,
at work, and in the community).\34\
Since the importance of travel training has been recognized for
children with disabilities, such as children with significant cognitive
disabilities, IEP teams for blind and visually impaired students,
particularly those with significant cognitive disabilities, may need to
consider these students' need for travel training, as appropriate.
Travel training is often integral to ensuring that some children with
disabilities receive FAPE and are prepared for post-school activities
such as employment and independent living. Travel training is important
to enable these students to attain systematic orientation to and safe
movement within their environment in school, at home, at work and in
the community.\35\
F. Additional Factors in IEP Development
The following needs \36\ also may need to be considered and
appropriately addressed by the child's IEP team to ensure a child's
appropriate access to the general curriculum:
Compensatory skills, such as communication and listening
modalities;
Extended school year services, if determined necessary to
provide FAPE to the student; \37\
Social interaction skills;
Recreation and leisure skills;
Career education; and
For students with low vision, visual efficiency skills.
This list is not intended to be exhaustive. A child's IEP team
could determine that it would be appropriate to consider an individual
child's need for other skills or services, in addition to those listed
above. Therefore, in making decisions about the educational programs
for a blind or visually impaired child, as is true for other disabled
children, IEP teams must consider the full range of skills and services
necessary for the child to receive FAPE, and to be involved and
progress in the general curriculum, as appropriate.
Least Restrictive Environment and Provision of Services
Requirements
Part B requires States to have policies and procedures for ensuring
that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are
educated with children who are not disabled, and that special classes,
separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from
the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or
severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes
with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved
satisfactorily.\38\ This requirement is known as the least restrictive
environment (LRE) requirement. Consistent with this LRE principle, the
IDEA Amendments of 1997 require that each child's IEP contain an
explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not be
educated and participate with nondisabled children in the regular class
and in academic, extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.\39\
Department regulations also provide that a child with a disability is
not removed from education in age-appropriate regular classrooms solely
because of needed modifications in the general curriculum for that
child.\40\
Thus, before a disabled child can be removed from the regular
classroom, the placement team, which includes the child's parents, must
consider whether the child can be educated in less restrictive settings
with the use of appropriate supplementary aids and services and make a
more restrictive placement only when they conclude that education in
the less restrictive setting with appropriate supplementary aids and
services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.\41\
Recognizing that the regular classroom may not be the LRE placement
for every disabled student, the Part B regulations require public
agencies to make available a continuum of alternative placements or a
range of placement options, to meet the needs of students with
disabilities for special education and related services. The options on
this continuum include instruction in regular classes, special classes,
special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and
institutions. In addition, the continuum must make provision for
supplementary services (such as resource room or itinerant instruction)
to be provided in conjunction with regular class placement.\42\
Part B also requires that each child's placement must be based on
the child's IEP.\43\ That is why placement decisions cannot be made
before a student's IEP is developed. Rather, it is the child's IEP that
forms the basis for the placement decision. This means, for example,
that the statement of the special education and related services and
supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on
behalf of the child, the statement of the program modifications or
supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child, and
the explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not
participate with nondisabled children in regular classes and other
academic, nonacademic and extracurricular activities, form the basis
for the placement decision. Under Part B, the IEP team for each child
with a disability must make an individualized determination regarding
how the child will participate in the general curriculum, including
supports needed for the child, and what, if any, educational needs will
not be met through involvement in the general curriculum. If, in the
evaluation process, full consideration has been given to the range of
accommodations and modifications that might be needed for the blind or
visually impaired student, including a student who has other
disabilities, such as a hearing impairment or an emotional disability,
to access the general curriculum offered to nondisabled students,
information about those needs should be readily available to the IEP
team. After the student's IEP is developed, the placement
determination, that is, the determination as to the setting in which
services will be provided, must be made on an individual basis,
consistent with the student's IEP and the Act's LRE requirements.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 specify that the placement decision is
made by a group of persons, including the parents, and other persons
knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and
the placement options.\44\ Public agencies and parent training and
information centers should take steps to ensure that parents of blind
and visually impaired
[[Page 36592]]
students are informed about available placement options for their
child, including those addressing unique needs arising from a child's
blindness or visual impairment and other disabilities, if applicable,
and other identified educational needs. This will help to ensure that
parents can provide meaningful input to the group making the placement
decision.
The overriding rule in placement is that each student's placement
must be determined on an individual basis.\45\ In addition, as is true
for students with other disabilities, the potential harmful effect of
the placement on the blind or visually impaired student, or the quality
of services he or she needs, must be considered in determining the
LRE.\46\ As in other situations, placements of blind and visually
impaired students, including those with other disabilities, may not be
based solely on factors such as category of disability, significance of
disability, availability of special education and related services,
availability of space, configuration of the service delivery system, or
administrative convenience.\47\
In implementing Part B's LRE requirements, in some instances,
placement decisions are inappropriately made before IEPs that address a
child's unique needs are developed. Individual determinations of
appropriate special education and related services, supplementary aids
and services, and program modifications and supports for school
personnel must be made through the IEP process, which must address the
development of skills necessary for a student to cope with the impact
of blindness or low vision or other identified disabilities on the
student's ability to learn and to be involved and progress in the
general curriculum. Since Part B requires that each child's placement
must be based on his or her IEP, making placement decisions before a
student's IEP is developed is a practice that violates Part B and could
result in the denial of FAPE in the LRE.
Still in other instances, some students have been inappropriately
placed in the regular classroom although it has been determined that
their IEPs cannot be appropriately implemented in the regular classroom
even with the necessary and appropriate supplementary aids and
services. In these situations, the nature of the student's disability
and individual needs could make it appropriate for the student to be
placed in a setting outside of the regular classroom in order to ensure
that the student's IEP is satisfactorily implemented. By contrast,
there are other instances where some blind and visually impaired
students have been inappropriately placed in settings other than the
regular classroom, even though their IEPs could have been implemented
satisfactorily in the regular classroom with the provision of
appropriate supplementary aids and services. As is true for all
educational decisions under Part B, these concerns about the
misapplication of the LRE requirements for blind and visually impaired
students underscore the importance of making individual placement
determinations based on each student's unique abilities and needs.
In making placement determinations regarding children who are blind
or visually impaired, it is essential that groups making decisions
regarding the setting in which appropriate services are provided
consider the full range of settings that could be appropriate depending
on the individual needs of the blind or visually impaired student,
including needs that arise from any other identified disabilities that
the student may have. The following are some examples:
A regular classroom with needed support services
provided in that classroom by an itinerant teacher or by a special
education teacher assigned to that school;
The regular classroom with services provided outside
the classroom by an itinerant teacher or by a special education
teacher assigned to that school;
A self-contained classroom in a regular school that
provides services that address needs arising from the student's
blindness or visual impairment as well as other identified
disabilities, if applicable; and
A special school with a residential component that
provides services that address the full range of the blind or
visually impaired student's disability-specific needs, including
those arising from other disabilities, if applicable.
Procedural Safeguards
Part B also requires that public agencies afford parents of
children with disabilities an array of procedural safeguards. These
include giving parents written notice, in language understandable to
the general public and in the native language of the parent or other
mode of communication used by the parent unless it is clearly not
feasible to do so. This written notice must be given a reasonable time
before a public agency proposes or refuses to initiate, or change, the
identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or
the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child.
Included in this notice, among other components, are a description of
the action proposed or refused by the agency, an explanation of why the
agency proposes or refuses to take the action, a description of any
options the agency considered and the reasons why those options were
rejected, a description of any evaluation procedure, test, record, or
report the agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused action,
and sources for parents to contact, such as parent training and
information centers or Protection and Advocacy entities or other
advocacy organizations, to gain assistance in understanding the
provisions of the Act.\48\ The requirement to provide a description of
any option considered includes a description of the types of placements
that were actually considered for the child, e.g., regular class
placement with needed supplementary aids and services, regular
classroom with pull-out services, special school, and the reasons why
these placement options were rejected. Providing this kind of
information to parents will enable them to play a more knowledgeable
and informed role in the education of their children.
Informed parental consent must be obtained before conducting an
initial evaluation or reevaluation, with certain limited exceptions,
and before the initial provision of special education and related
services to a child with a disability.\49\ Section 300.500(b)(1) of the
Part B regulations defines ``consent'' to mean that the parent has been
fully informed of the activity for his or her consent has been sought
in his or her native language or other mode of communication.
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 also require public agencies to give
parents a copy of a notice of procedural safeguards available to
parents under Part B, written in language understandable to the general
public and provided in the native language of the parent or other mode
of communication used by the parent, unless it is clearly not feasible
to do so. Such a notice must be provided prior to an initial referral
of a child for evaluation, before an IEP meeting, before a
reevaluation, and upon receipt of a request for a due process hearing.
This notice, among other matters, must inform parents of their right to
file a complaint under the State complaint procedures at 34 CFR
Secs. 300.660-300.662, as well as their right to seek mediation or
request a due process hearing.\50\ Part B affords parents and public
educational agencies the right to initiate an impartial due process
hearing on any matter regarding the identification, evaluation, or
educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free
appropriate public education to the child.\51\
[[Page 36593]]
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 provide that, when a parent requests a
due process hearing on matters involving the identification,
evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the provision of
FAPE to the child, the public agency must inform the parents of the
availability of mediation as a means to resolve the dispute. Mediation,
at a minimum, must be available whenever an impartial due process
hearing is requested. The mediation process must be voluntary on the
part of the parties, not be used to deny or delay a parent's right to a
due process hearing or any other rights afforded under Part B of the
Act, and be conducted by a qualified and impartial mediator who is
trained in effective mediation techniques.\52\
Disagreements between parents and public agencies over issues such
as the extent that Braille instruction should be included in a child's
IEP, or the educational setting in which the child's IEP should be
implemented, are examples of some of the matters that can be the
subject of mediation or an impartial due process hearing. The use of
mediation is strongly encouraged, since its use could eliminate the
need to utilize the Act's due process procedures to resolve the
dispute. Public agencies need to inform parents of all children with
disabilities, including parents of blind and visually impaired
students, about their right to initiate a due process hearing if
agreement cannot be reached on important educational decisions, as well
as their right to file a complaint under the State complaint procedures
at 34 CFR Secs. 300.660-300.662 of the Part B regulations, including a
description of how to file a complaint and the timelines under those
procedures.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the preceding sites. If
you have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-800-293-6498; or in the
Washington, D.C., area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1411-1420; 29 U.S.C. 794.
Dated: June 5, 2000.
Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education.
Appendix
\1\ Two other related Federal laws also are applicable to the
education of blind and visually impaired students. Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 504), 29 U.S.C.
794 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(Title II of the ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12131, are civil rights laws that
protect persons with disabilities from discrimination on the basis
of disability. The Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
enforces Section 504, as it applies to recipients of Federal
financial assistance from the Department. OCR also enforces Title II
of the ADA, as it applies to public entities, regardless of receipt
of Federal funds. Under Section 504 and its implementing regulations
at 34 CFR Part 104, children with disabilities in public elementary
and secondary education programs operated by recipients of Federal
financial assistance are entitled to a free appropriate public
education in accordance with the Section 504 regulations at 34 CFR
104.33-104.36. With respect to elementary and secondary education
programs, OCR generally interprets Title II of the ADA and its
prohibition against discrimination on the basis of disability in a
manner consistent with Section 504 and its regulations. The IDEA
requirements described in this Notice are consistent with
recipients' and public entities' obligations to provide FAPE to
blind and visually impaired students under Section 504 and Title II
of the ADA.
For further information about the requirements of Section 504
and Title II of the ADA, as they apply to the education of blind and
visually impaired students, contact the OCR Customer Service Team at
the following address and telephone number: OCR Customer Service
Team, U.S. Department of Education, 330 C Street, S.W. Room 5212,
Washington, D.C. 20202-1100, Telephone: (202) 205-5413; (202) 260-
0471 for TTD services, Toll Free: 1-800-421-3481. Fax: (202) 205-
9862, E-mail: [email protected].
\2\ 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1) and 34 CFR 300.121; 20 U.S.C. 1401(8)
and 34 CFR 300.13.
\3\ 34 CFR 300.300(a)(3)(i)-(ii).
\4\ 34 CFR 300.531.
\5\ 34 CFR 300.532(b).
\6\ 34 CFR 300.532(g).
\7\ 34 CFR 300.532(h).
\8\ 20 U.S.C. 1414(b)(3)(B)(i) and 34 CFR 300.532(c)(1)(ii).
\9\ See 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3)(B)(iii).
\10\ 34 CFR 300.532(b)(1)-(2); see also Appendix A to 34 CFR
Part 300, question 2 (Appendix A), 64 FR at 12472 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\11\ The IEP is a written statement for a child with a
disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised at a meeting in
accordance with the requirements of 34 CFR 300.341-300.350. See 34
CFR 300.340(a).
\12\ For a fuller explanation of IEP and other requirements of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997,
see Notice of Interpretation, Appendix A to 34 CFR Part 300,
published at 64 FR 12406, 12469 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\13\ 34 CFR 300.347(a)(2).
\14\ See National Agenda for the Education of Children and
Youths with Vision Impairments, including Multiple Disabilities, AFB
Press (1995).
\15\ 34 CFR 300.347(a)(2); Appendix A, question 2, 64 FR at
12472 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\16\ 34 CFR 300.138(a).
\17\ 34 CFR 300.347(a)(5)(i)-(ii).
\18\ 34 CFR 300.138(b); see also Attachment 1, 64 FR at 12564
(Mar. 12, 1999).
\19\ 34 CFR 300.344(a)(1)-(7).
\20\ 34 CFR 300.344(b).
\21\ 34 CFR 300.343(c).
\22\ 34 CFR 300.343(a) and 300.342(c).
\23\ 34 CFR 300.342(c)(2).
\24\ 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3)(B)(iii) and 34 CFR 300.346(a)(2)(iii).
\25\ 34 CFR 300.342(b)(1)(ii).
\26\ See Analysis of Comments and Changes, published as
Attachment 1 to 34 CFR Part 300 (Attachment 1), 64 FR at 12590 (Mar.
12, 1999).
\27\ 34 CFR 300.346(a)(2)(v).
\28\ 34 CFR 300.308(b); Appendix A, question 36, 64 FR at 12479
(Mar. 12, 1999).
\29\ 34 CFR 300.301(a). See also 34 CFR 300.244 regarding an
LEA's obligations to use up to 5 percent of the amount the agency
receives in any fiscal year in combination with other amounts other
than education funds to develop and implement a coordinated services
system designed to improve results for children and families; OSEP
memorandum 00-7 dated January 13, 2000 to State Directors of Special
Education, entitled Enhancing Coordinated Services Systems among
LEAs and SEAs.
\30\ For a complete list, see a project sponsored by the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR), a component of the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, at http://www.resna.org/taproject/at/statecontacts.html
\31\ See the October 9, 1997 ``Dear Colleague'' letter from the
Secretary and the attached technical assistance packet. For guidance
on standards that the Department uses for its suppliers, see
Requirements for Accessible Software Design, 1997, at http://gcs.ed.gov/coninfo/clibrary/software.htm
\32\ 20 U.S.C. 1401(22).
\33\ See Attachment 1, 64 FR at 12549 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\34\ 34 CFR 300.26(a)(4).
\35\ See Attachment 1, 64 FR at 12549 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\36\ National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youth
with Visual Impairments, including Multiple Disabilities, AFB Press,
at p. 14 (1995).
\37\ 34 CFR 300.309.
\38\ 34 CFR 300.550(b).
\39\ 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(A)(iv) and 34 CFR 300.347(a)(3)-(4);
Appendix A, question 1, 64 FR at 12471 (Mar. 12, 1999).
\40\ 34 CFR 300.552(e).
\41\ 34 CFR 300.550(b); Attachment 1, 64 FR at 12638 (Mar. 12,
1999).
[[Page 36594]]
\42\ 34 CFR 300.551(b).
\43\ 34 CFR 300.552(b)(2). That regulation requires that each
child's placement is determined at least annually, is based on his
or her IEP, and is in the school or facility as close as possible to
the child's home. 34 CFR 300.552(b)(1)-(3). Further, unless a
disabled student's IEP requires some other arrangement, the child is
educated in the school that he or she would attend if nondisabled.
34 CFR 300.552(c).
\44\ 20 U.S.C. 1414(f) and 34 CFR 300.501(c) and 300.552(a).
\45\ See 34 CFR 300.552.
\46\ 34 CFR 300.552(d).
\47\ Appendix A, question 1, 64 FR 12406 at 12471 (Mar. 12,
1999).
\48\ 34 CFR 300.503(a)(1) and (b)(2)-(4), and (7).
\49\ 34 CFR 300.505(a)(1).
\50\ 34 CFR 300.504.
\51\ 34 CFR 300.507(a).
\52\ 34 CFR 300.507(a)(2), 300.506(a)(2) and (b).
[FR Doc. 00-14485 Filed 6-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U