Services for Students Identified as Hearing or Visually Impaired

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) provides information on services for students with hearing and/or vision impairments at its Web site.   The following links to information and resources are excerpted from the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Web page, Specific Disabilities-Sensory Disabilities.  VDOE’s guidance documents should be provided to teachers and parents of these students. School divisions have permission to provide paper copies as well as alternate formats.

• Guidelines for Working With Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Virginia Public Schools
• Guidelines for Working With Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired in Virginia Public Schools

Other specific resources that should be available to teachers and parents include the following:

• Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind (VSDB) http://www.vsdb.k12.va.us/ - The VSDB is located in Staunton, Virginia and provides a day program and outreach services, as well as a residential setting exclusively to students who are deaf, have a hearing impairment, blind, or have a vision impairment, and who are deaf-blind.  VSDB’s admission policy is available at the above Web site. 
• Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH) http://www.vddhh.org/ - The VDDHH provides standards for educational interpreting services and other services to reduce the communication barriers between persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families and the professionals who serve them.
• Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) http://www.vdbvi.org/ - DBVI’s primary focus is to assist Virginians who are blind in achieving quality employment outcomes. Vocational evaluation, job training, job development, placement, follow-up and other services are provided to assist consumers in obtaining jobs in the public and private sectors.  DBVI’s education services program provides services to early intervention providers, school personnel, and families to help children to be successful in school and the community, and to prepare for the future.  The Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired offers training in the skills of blindness to blind and vision-impaired Virginians and encourages people to develop positive attitudes about blindness.  The Library and Resource Center provides services to local school divisions to support the education of children who are blind or visually impaired.  Library services are also offered to persons who are print disabled.
• Virginia Project for Children and Young Adults With Deaf-Blindness - This office provides technical assistance, training, distance education and networking information to families, service providers and individuals who are deaf-blind/dual sensory impaired.
• Technical Assistance Center for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing - This center provides training and technical assistance in the area of hearing impairment and deafness. Assistance is available to local public school systems as well as early intervention and preschool programs through the Virginia Network of Consultants for Professionals Working with Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (VNOC).
•  Accessible Instructional Materials Center-VA (AIM-VA) - AIM-VA’s extensive library has developed an alternative system of providing accessible educational media under standards set by federal law (NIMAS) to students who meet the federal requirements for print disabilities and who are eligible for accessing educational media under individualized Education Programs (IEPs), as required under Part B of IDEA.  AIM-VA, in conjunction with partnering agencies, provides required accessible educational materials to students with an IEP and training for staff, at no cost to Local Education Agencies in a timely fashion.
• Guidelines for School Division Policy Regarding Service Dogs in Virginia's Public Schools
• VDOE-Deaf-blindness Eligibility
• Educational Interpreting Services
• Virginia Communication Plan
• Strategies for Teaching Mathematics to Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

• Superintendent's Memo #198-16: Implementation of Unified English Braille for Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired
• Attachment A Superintendent's Memo #198-16: Unified English Braille Implementation Plan for Virginia Public Schools (PDF)  
• Braille Authority of North America - Information and resources to promote and facilitate the use, teaching, and production of braille. 

        Revised 2016