83R1831 CAS-F
By: Naishtat H.B. No. 1138
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the evaluation and instruction of public school
students with visual impairments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 30.002(b), (c), and (e), Education
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The agency shall:
(1) develop standards and guidelines for all special
education services for children with visual impairments that it is
authorized to provide or support under this code;
(2) supervise regional education service centers and
other entities in assisting school districts in serving children
with visual impairments more effectively;
(3) develop and administer special education services
for students with both serious visual and auditory impairments;
(4) evaluate special education services provided for
children with visual impairments by school districts and approve or
disapprove state funding of those services; and
(5) maintain an effective liaison between special
education programs provided for children with visual impairments by
school districts and related initiatives of the Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Division [Texas Commission]
for [the] Blind Services, the [Texas] Department of State [Mental]
Health Services Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division [and
Mental Retardation], the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, and other related programs, agencies, or facilities as
appropriate.
(c) The comprehensive statewide plan for the education of
children with visual impairments must:
(1) adequately provide for comprehensive diagnosis
and evaluation of each school-age child with a serious visual
impairment;
(2) include the procedures, format, and content of the
individualized education program for each child with a visual
impairment;
(3) emphasize providing educational services to
children with visual impairments in their home communities whenever
possible;
(4) include methods to ensure that children with
visual impairments receiving special education services in school
districts receive, before being placed in a classroom setting or
within a reasonable time after placement:
(A) evaluation of the impairment; and
(B) instruction in an expanded core curriculum,
which is required for students with visual impairments to succeed
in classroom settings and to derive lasting, practical benefits
from the education provided by school districts, including
instruction in:
(i) [, the training in] compensatory
skills, such as braille and concept development, and other skills
needed to access the rest of the curriculum;
(ii) [communicative skills,] orientation
and mobility;
(iii) [, and] social interaction
[adjustment] skills;
(iv) [, and the vocational or] career
planning;
(v) assistive technology, including
optical devices;
(vi) independent living skills;
(vii) recreation and leisure enjoyment;
(viii) self-determination; and
(ix) sensory efficiency [counseling,
required for those students to succeed in classroom settings and to
derive lasting, practical benefits from the education in the school
district];
(5) provide for flexibility on the part of school
districts to meet the special needs of children with visual
impairments through:
(A) specialty staff and resources provided by the
district;
(B) contractual arrangements with other
qualified public or private agencies;
(C) supportive assistance from regional
education service centers or adjacent school districts;
(D) short-term or long-term services through the
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or related
facilities or programs; or
(E) other instructional and service arrangements
approved by the agency;
(6) include a statewide admission, review, and
dismissal process;
(7) provide for effective interaction between the
visually impaired child's classroom setting and the child's home
environment, including providing for parental training and
counseling either by school district staff or by representatives of
other organizations directly involved in the development and
implementation of the individualized education program for the
child;
(8) require the continuing education and professional
development of school district staff providing special education
services to children with visual impairments;
(9) provide for adequate monitoring and precise
evaluation of special education services provided to children with
visual impairments through school districts; and
(10) require that school districts providing special
education services to children with visual impairments develop
procedures for assuring that staff assigned to work with the
children have prompt and effective access directly to resources
available through:
(A) cooperating agencies in the area;
(B) the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired;
(C) the Central Media Depository for specialized
instructional materials and aids made specifically for use by
students with visual impairments;
(D) sheltered workshops participating in the
state program of purchases of blind-made goods and services; and
(E) related sources.
(e) Each eligible blind or visually impaired student is
entitled to receive educational programs according to an
individualized education program that:
(1) is developed in accordance with federal and state
requirements for providing special education services;
(2) is developed by a committee composed as required
by federal law;
(3) reflects that the student has been provided a
detailed explanation of the various service resources available to
the student in the community and throughout the state;
(4) provides a detailed description of the
arrangements made to provide the student with the evaluation and
instruction required under Subsection (c)(4) [orientation and
mobility training, instruction in braille or use of large print,
other training to compensate for serious visual loss, access to
special media and special tools, appliances, aids, or devices
commonly used by individuals with serious visual impairments]; and
(5) sets forth the plans and arrangements made for
contacts with and continuing services to the student beyond regular
school hours to ensure the student learns the skills and receives
the instruction [training] required under Subsection (c)(4)(B)
[(c)(4)].
SECTION 2. Section 30.002(e), Education Code, as amended by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.