14101465D
HOUSE BILL NO. 228
Offered January 8, 2014
Prefiled December 27, 2013
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
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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:
"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 that
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.
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) the
National Reading Media Assessment (NRMA), (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.
D. Nothing
in this section shall require the exclusive 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 blind student is eligible to receive instruction in Nemeth
Braille and the use of Nemeth Braille in
addition to Braille and the use of Braille.
F. If
an IEP team or 504 team
determines that instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate
for a student with some residual vision and that (i) large print or (ii) large
print in combination with Braille is the appropriate reading and writing media,
that determination shall only be implemented
if it is supported by a statement from the certified TVI
that the appropriate reading and writing media for that student is not Braille.
G. 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. H. 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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