Special Education

Services for students identified as having hearing or visual impairments

Guidance documents:

• 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
• 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

Statewide resources

• Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind: Located in Staunton, the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind provides a day program and outreach services, as well as a residential setting exclusively for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or deaf-blind. The school’s outreach services assist early intervention providers, local school divisions and families in meeting the needs of children in the commonwealth. The school’s admission policy is available at its website.
• Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: The Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing 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: The primary focus of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired 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. The department’s education services program provides services to early intervention providers, school staff 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 Department 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 and Virginia Network of Consultants for Professionals Working With Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: This center provides training and technical assistance in the area of deafness/hard of hearing. 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.
• Accessible Instructional Materials Center-VA: This center’s extensive library has developed an alternative system of providing accessible educational media under standards set by federal law through the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard. The standards pertain to students who meet the federal requirements for print disabilities and who are eligible for accessing educational media under individual Individualized Educational Programs, as required under Part B of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Accessible Instructional Materials Canter, in conjunction with partnering agencies, provides required accessible educational materials to students with an individualized educational program, along with training for staff, at no cost to local educational agencies.