Visual Impairment (VI) Information

Purpose of Regional Inclusive Services

Oregon's 13,000+ students who experience visual impairment, orthopedic impairment, deafness or hard of hearing, deaf-blindness, traumatic brain injury and/or autism spectrum disorder need an appropriate and accessible education in their home school district. Regional Inclusive Services provides training, technical tools, and additional support to educators so that all school districts, no matter their size or location, can deliver an inclusive education.

Regional Inclusive Services recently changed its name from Regional Programs to more specifically and accurately describe its function. Inclusive practices ensure that students with disabilities have opportunities to learn alongside their nondisabled peers in their neighborhood schools and communities. The statewide program consists of the Oregon Department of Education and several education service districts, school districts and other community agencies who work in partnership to ensure educators and schools across Oregon are equipped with the tools, skills and resources to deliver an accessible education for all children.

What is a visual impairment?

Visual Impairment means a visual impairment that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes those children who are partially sighted or blind.

Visual Impairment Regional Inclusive Services Teams

• Region 1 Eastern Oregon (Intermountain ESD)
  
• Region 2 Central Oregon (High Desert ESD)
• Region 3 Southern Oregon (Southern Oregon ESD)
  
• Region 4 Cascade (Linn Benton Lincoln ESD)
  
• Region 4 Cascade (South Coast ESD)
  
• Region 5 Willamette (Willamette ESD)
• Region 6 Columbia (Portland Public Schools)
  
• Region 7 Lane (Lane ESD)
• Region 8 Northwest (Northwest ESD)
  

Resources

• Visual Impairment Region Maps and Contacts 2022-2023
  
• Visual Impairment Evaluation Components and Eligibility Criteria OAR 581-015-2180
  
• Thoughts from a Teacher of the Visually Impaired
• Oregon Blind & Visually Impaired Student Fund

  The Blind and Visually Impaired Student fund (BVIS) was created by the Oregon legislature when it closed the Oregon School for the Blind (OSB) September 1, 2009. It provides services for those former OSB students and continues the mission to service students who are visually impaired in the state.

• Accessible Instructional Materials

  Program Information and Resources.

• America Foundation for the Blind

  The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is a national nonprofit that expands possibilities for the more than 25 million people with vision loss in the U.S.

• American Printing House for the Blind

  The American Printing House for the Blind promotes independence of blind and visually impaired persons by providing specialized materials, products, and services needed for education and life.

• Expanded Core Curriculum for Blind and Visually Impaired Students, Including Those with Additional Disabilities

  The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) is the body of knowledge and skills that are needed by students with visual impairments due to their unique disability-specific needs.

• Oregon Commission for the Blind

  For over 50 years, the Oregon Commission for the Blind has been an important resource for Oregonians who are blind or visually impaired, as well as their families, friends, and employers.

Contact:

Georgeann Harty