Survey of Special Education Eligibility Criteria for the Category Visual Impairment Including Blindness

Abstract

Introduction: Special education eligibility criteria vary across U.S. states; this study reports a systematic analysis of interstate eligibility criteria in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) category of visual impairments including blindness. Method: Eligibility criteria for all 56 U.S. states, territories, and Washington, DC, were collected and coded on 20 different variables. Variables included use of federal language, qualifying conditions, assessment components, and eligibility team member requirements. Results: Fourteen of 56 states use similar or identical eligibility criteria written in IDEA. Forty-one states (73%) included language that specified criteria or operationally defined what it meant to be a student with a visual impairment in their state. Although about half of the states included an eye report as part of the eligibility process, few specifically mentioned functional vision, learning media, and orientation and mobility assessments in their criteria. Discussion: Significant interstate variations in the interpretation of who qualifies as a student with a visual impairment exist in the United States. Some eligibility criteria were written in an unclear language, making the criteria hard to interpret. Given that identification and prevalence rates of students with disabilities, including students with visual impairments, correlate to components of eligibility criteria, future work should seek to develop an operationalized universal definition of who qualifies as a student with visual impairment in schools. Implications for Practitioners: Since significant interstate variations exist, students, families, and educators must have easy access to all states’ criteria so that families may understand how a student's eligibility for services may change if they move between states.

An Examination of Interstate Differences in Eligibility Criteria for Deafblindness

“…Of particular interest, 17 states required students to meet the eligibility requirements for both hearing impairment and visual impairment as prerequisites before deafblindness eligibility could be considered. The requirement to meet eligibility criteria for different disability types is problematic as differences in eligibility criteria for the other categories also vary widely by state (Schles et al, 2022). This finding was consistent with findings from Dragoo (2020): variability in deafblindness criteria depended upon the criteria for the hearing and visual impairment disability categories.…”

“…Practitioners should advocate for the identification of deafblind students by keeping any sensory-related information at the forefront of all eligibility discussions. For families and the professionals that support them, having access to our full data set (Schles et al, 2022) will enable them to understand the family's rights as they move between states. It is important that families understand how their child's eligibility status may change and how they can advocate for their child's sensory-specific needs.…”

“…This paper was part of a larger project aimed at understanding eligibility requirements for students with sensory impairments (i.e., visual impairment, including blindness; hearing impairment; deafness; and deafblindness) and licensure requirements for professionals who work with students with visual impairments (i.e., TVIs and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists). The project's complete dataset, along with the project methodology, is freely accessible on openICSPR (Schles et al, 2022). As many states continue to require that eligibility criteria be met for visual impairment to meet eligibility requirements for deafblindness, we direct readers to a companion paper detailing the range of eligibility criteria across states for this separate disability category (Schles & Travers, 2023).…”

“…The project's complete dataset, along with the project methodology, is freely accessible on openICSPR (Schles et al, 2022). As many states continue to require that eligibility criteria be met for visual impairment to meet eligibility requirements for deafblindness, we direct readers to a companion paper detailing the range of eligibility criteria across states for this separate disability category (Schles & Travers, 2023).…”

Analysis of Prevalence Variations of Students With Deafblindness Across the United States

“…This means that in 17 states, the eligibility determination of deafblindness is dependent on the student first meeting specific criteria for visual impairment and deafness/hearing impairment. Given the documented variability of eligibility criteria across states for separate disability categories (e.g., Dragoo, 2020; Herbster, 2015; Müller, 2006; Schles & Travers, 2023; Travers & Schles, 2023), the requirement of meeting eligibility for hearing and visual impairments prior to the consideration of the label of deafblindness is highly troublesome since “vision and hearing are important senses for learning and they reinforce each other” (Bruce et al, 2016, p. 54). Deafblindness is not additive (lack of vision plus loss of hearing); rather, it is multiplicative.…”