(a) - (b)(No change.)
(c)Eligibility definitions.
(1) - (11)(No change.)
(12)Visual impairment.
(A)A student with a visual impairment is one who has
been determined to meet the criteria for visual impairment as stated
in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(13). Information from a variety of
sources must be considered by the multidisciplinary team that collects
or reviews evaluation data in connection with the determination of
a student's eligibility based on visual impairment in order to determine
the need for specially designed instruction as stated in 34 CFR, §300.39(b)(3),
and must include [The visual loss should be stated in exact
measures of visual field and corrected visual acuity at a distance
and at close range in each eye in a report by a licensed ophthalmologist
or optometrist. The report should also include prognosis whenever
possible. If exact measures cannot be obtained, the eye specialist
must so state and provide best estimates. In meeting the criteria
stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(13), a student with a visual impairment
is one who] :
(i)a medical report [has been determined]
by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist that indicates the
visual loss stated in exact measures of visual field and corrected
visual acuity, at a distance and at near range, in each eye. If exact
measures cannot be obtained, the eye specialist must so state and
provide best estimates. The report should also include a diagnosis
and prognosis whenever possible and whether the student has :
(I)[to have] no vision or [to have
a serious] visual loss after correction; or
(II)[to have] a progressive medical condition
that will result in no vision or a [serious] visual loss
after correction; [and]
[(ii)has been determined by the following
evaluations to have a need for special services:]
(ii)[(I)] a functional vision
evaluation by a certified teacher of students with visual impairments
or a certified orientation and mobility specialist. The evaluation
must include the performance of tasks in a variety of environments
requiring the use of both near and distance vision and recommendations
concerning the need for a clinical low vision evaluation; [and]
(iii)[(II)] a learning media
assessment by a certified teacher of students with visual impairments.
The learning media assessment must include recommendations concerning
which specific visual, tactual, and/or auditory learning media are
appropriate for the student and whether or not there is a need for
ongoing evaluation in this area ; and [.]
(iv)as part of the full individual
and initial evaluation, an orientation and mobility evaluation conducted
by a person who is appropriately certified as an orientation and mobility
specialist. The evaluation must be conducted in a variety of lighting
conditions and in a variety of settings, including in the student's
home, school, and community, and in settings unfamiliar to the student.
(B)A person who is appropriately
certified as an orientation and mobility specialist must participate
in any reevaluation as part of the multidisciplinary team, in accordance
with 34 CFR, §§300.122 and 300.303-300.311, in evaluating
data used to make the determination of the student's need for specially
designed instruction.
[(B)A student with a visual impairment
is functionally blind if, based on the preceding evaluations, the
student will use tactual media (which includes braille) as a primary
tool for learning to be able to communicate in both reading and writing
at the same level of proficiency as other students of comparable ability.]
[(C)Beginning with the 2014-2015
school year, a full individual and initial evaluation of a student
suspected of having a visual impairment must include an orientation
and mobility evaluation conducted by a person who is appropriately
certified as an orientation and mobility specialist and must be conducted
in a variety of lighting conditions and in a variety of settings,
including in the student's home, school, and community and in settings
unfamiliar to the student.]
(C)[(D)] A [Beginning
with the 2014-2015 school year, a] person who is appropriately
certified as an orientation and mobility specialist must participate,
as part of a multidisciplinary team, in accordance with 34 CFR,
§§300.122 and 300.303-300.311, in evaluating data
used in making the determination of the student's eligibility as a
student with a visual impairment.
[(E)Beginning with the 2014-2015
school year, the scope of any reevaluation of a student who has been
determined, after the full individual and initial evaluation, to be
eligible for the district's special education program on the basis
of a visual impairment must be determined, in accordance with 34 CFR,
§§300.122 and 300.303-300.311, by a multidisciplinary team
that includes an appropriately certified orientation and mobility
specialist.]
(13)(No change.)
The agency certifies that legal counsel has
reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on October 4, 2020
TRD-202004131 Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Rulemaking
Texas Education Agency
Earliest possible date of adoption: November 15, 2020
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497
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