[Ohio-talk] Proposal To Ohio Department of Education Standards urgent action needed

Fri Mar 8 13:57:03 UTC 2013

Hi Marianne,
Unfortunately Aides or Paras are doing much of the teaching of blind students without the training needed.
TVI's are basically instructing these Paras and do not have much time to spend with their students.
It is unfortunate that this is happening.
There are some families who opt to send their children to a Residential School because they can get instruction in Braille and other things which do not get addressed in a local school. 
Some of these aides who work with blind children do a good job but some of them want the child to be dependent on them because this allows them to keep their jobs.
We do need more TVI's. In the meantime we might consider encouraging districts to hile blind adults who are Competent in reading and writing Braille.
We might even find people who are willing to volunteer if Transportation was covered.
Just a thought.
These blind adults could be tested to make sure that they are proficient in Braille.
They would be good role models and could help with other things as well.
They could also encourage interactions with other students. 
I really think that these standardsare not appropriate as proposed.
Colleen Roth

----- Original Message -----
From: Marianne Denning <marianne at denningweb.com>
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013 8:24 pm
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Proposal To Ohio Department of Education Standards urgent action needed

>
>
> I strongly encourage everyone to take action.  TVI's are spread too thin at
> this time.  Adding more students to an impossible caseload would further
> decrease needed services.  We are also not properly trained to work with
> these populations. It would be a disservice to the students we currently
> serve and the additional students we would have to serve. I agree these
> students need service but are TVI's the appropriate choice?
> I interviewed for a TVI position and learned that I would be expected to
> serve 30 students over 7 school districts.  No student would receive
> adequate services due to the heavy caseload and travel time involved.  We
> need to solve the extremely critical shortage of TVI's before we consider
> working with additional populations.
> 
> 
> Marianne Denning
> 
> On Thu, Mar 7, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Eric Duffy <eduffy at deltav.org> wrote:
> 
> > On Tuesday afternoon I attended a meeting of the OSU Advisory Bord for the
> > teeacher training program. I learned that the Ohio Department of Education
> > is considering changes to standards that could impact services to blind
> > students in a negative way.
> >
> > Please read the below and attached information and act as soon as possible
> > If you have questions or concerns please let me know.
> >
> > .
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Eric
> >
> >
> >
> > Please use this information to respond to the proposed changes.  Please
> > forward and share this information to any other individuals who may assist
> > in providing feedback to ODE regarding these proposed changes as well.
> >
> >
> >
> > ****************************************************************************
> > **********
> >
> > Attention:          Administrators, educators, therapists, parents,
> > stakeholders and individuals who are involved in the support and services
> > of
> > students who are blind and visually impaired
> >
> > The Ohio Department of Education is proposing changes to the ODE Operating
> > Standards and VI Qualifications that will affect the population of students
> > who are receiving related services under the category of "Visual
> > Impairment."
> >
> > These proposed changes may require VI professionals to work with students
> > who are not visually impaired, but those who have dyslexia, binocular
> > dysfunction or visual processing disorders.
> >
> > What can we do?
> >
> > Please take a moment to visit the ODE website at:
> >
> > http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&Topi
> > cRelNID=967&ContentID=136416&Content=140476<http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=967&ContentID=136416&Content=140476>
> >
> > Click on "Click here to comment"
> >
> > Select:  3310-51-01:  Applicability of requirements and definitions
> >
> > Enter your comments into the "Comments Section" of this page.
> > If you would like to submit a "General Statement" as opposed to original
> > comments, please feel free to "cut and paste" the following statement:
> >
> > *******
> > I do not support the proposed changes to the ODE Operating Standards.  The
> > proposed definition makes the category of visual impairment less definitive
> > and vague, as there are conditions and disorders that simulate visual
> > impairment, but are more medical in nature.  For instance, conditions such
> > as dyslexia or visual processing disorder are not considered visual
> > impairments, but learning disabilities.
> >
> > Please consider changing the qualifications for students with visual
> > impairments to the following:
> >
> > A student with a visual impairment is one who has been determined to meet
> > the criteria for visual impairment as stated in 34 CFRIEND, s'300.8(cgggg13) -
> > "Visual impairment" including blindness means an impairment in vision that,
> > even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance.
> > The term includes both partial sight and blindness."
> >
> > 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 CFRIEND, s'300.8(cgggg13), a student with a visual
> > impairment
> > is one who:
> >             (I) has been determined by a licensed ophthalmologist or
> > optometrist to have:
> >
> > (I) a visual impairment, not primarily perceptual in nature, resulting in a
> > measured visual acuity of 20/70 or poorer in the better eye with
> > correction;
> > or
> >
> > (II)  a total field loss of 140 degrees, or more; or
> >
> > (III) a physical eye condition that affects visual functioning to the
> > extent
> > that special education placement, materials and/or services are required in
> > an educational setting; or
> >
> > (IV) a progressive medical condition that will result in no vision or a
> > serious visual loss after correction."
> >
> > Submit
> >
> > ininAll comments are submitted anonymously.  You are allowed to visit the site
> > and submit your concerns more than one time, to ensure that our concerns
> > are
> > documented.
> >
> > All comments must be submitted prior to Thursday, March 14th to be
> > considered in the next draft.
> >
> > **********
> >
> > If you are interested in reading more about this proposal and the response
> > of the Ohio State School for the Blind (OSSB) to the ODE changes, please
> > refer to the attached document prepared by a team of educators at OSSB,
> > approved by the OSSB administration and the members of The Ohio State
> > University Advisory Board for Visual Impairments
> >
> > If you or your organization would like to submit a similar written
> > statement
> > to ODE, please feel free to use the information contained within the
> > attached document for informational purposes.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Danene K. Fast, COMS/TVI
> > Outreach Consultant
> > (614) 995-0405
> > dfast at ossb.oh.gov
> >
> >
> >
> > "Celebrating 175 Years of Excellence"
> > Ohio State School for the Blind
> > 5220 North High Street
> > Columbus, Ohio 43214
> > www.ossb.oh.gov
> >
> >
> >                                                
> > Ohio-talk mailing list
> > Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk nfbnet.org
> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> > Ohio-talk:
> >
> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk nfbnet.org/marianne%40denningweb.com
> >
> >
> 
> 
> — 
> Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
> Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
> (513) 607-6053
>                                                
> Ohio-talk mailing list
> Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk nfbnet.org/n8tnv%40att.net