Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 01 - Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services
Rule 005.01.18-004 - Implement the Braille and Large Print Textbook Appropriation
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 005.01.18-004
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
1.00 Regulatory Authority
1.01 These
regulations shall be known as Arkansas Department of Education Regulations to
Implement the Braille and Large Print Textbook Appropriation.
1.02 These regulations are enacted pursuant
to the State Board of Education's authority under Act 174 of
2017.
2.00 Purpose
2.01 It is the purpose of
these regulations to set forth the criteria for determining student eligibility
for adaptive textbooks (i.e. braille and large print).
2.02 These regulations define the process for
local school district access to such adaptive textbooks for students with
visual impairments.
3.00 Definitions
3.01 For the
purpose of these regulations, adaptive textbooks are defined to mean braille
and large print.
3.02 IDEA refers
to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
3.03 IEP is the individualized education
program for a student with disabilities under the IDEA.
3.04 Learning Media Assessment refers to a
structured systematic assessment used to determine the appropriate literacy
media and/or functional learning materials for students with visual
impairments.
3.05 Braille Skills
Inventory is a comprehensive assessment used to assess the braille reading and
writing proficiency of students who receive braille instruction.
3.06 Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) as
used in these regulations refers to commercially available IRIs which are
adapted into braille and large print and used as a part of continuing
assessment to determine student progress in reading as measured by reading
comprehension and reading rate.
3.07 Reading rates are measured using
informal reading inventories and content texts and are one component of the
data needed to determine efficiency in a student's current literacy
media.
3.08 Informal functional
vision assessment as used in these regulations refers to teacher observations
which provide evidence of a student's use of visual ability in near and
distance tasks.
4.00 Administration
4.01 The braille
and large print textbook program for students with visual impairments shall be
administered by the Arkansas School for the Blind in conjunction with the
Arkansas Department of Education's designee from internal
administration.
5.00 Eligibility for Adaptive Textbooks
5.01 The following criteria should be
considered when determining the appropriate reading medium for students with
visual impairment.
5.01.1 Observations made
by, but not limited to, the classroom teacher, parent, certified teacher of
students with visual impairments (TVI), and an ESVI regional vision
consultant.
5.01.2 Assessment by an
ESVI regional vision consultant, certified teacher of students with visual
impairments (TVI).
5.01.2.1
Learning
Media Assessment
5.01.2.2
Braille Skills Inventory
5.01.2.3
Informal functional vision assessment
5.01.2.4 Reading rates
5.01.3 Eye specialist medical report
detailing acuity, pathology and prognosis.
5.01.4 Student's IEP team
recommendation.
6.00 School District Access to Adaptive Textbooks
6.01 Local school
districts must assess any student whose visual impairment adversely affects
his/her educational performance as to the student's need for adaptive
textbooks.
6.02 For the purpose of
these regulations, the criteria stated in Section 5.00 shall be the minimum
criteria for determining student eligibility.
6.03 Local school districts may seek
assistance for assessing a student's need for adaptive textbooks by contacting
the Educational Services for the Visually Impaired (ESVI).
6.04 Following a determination that a student
is eligible for adaptive textbooks, the regional vision consultant serving the
local school district will approve the purchase of textbooks for each student
determined eligible.
6.05 The
regional vision consultant will complete an ESVI textbook order form and
transmit the form to the Instructional Resource Center at the Arkansas School
for the Blind.
7.00 Costs
7.01 There shall be no
charge to local school districts for large print or braille textbooks, unless a
book is lost or is severely damaged.
7.02 Should a textbook be lost or sustain
such damage as to render the book unusable, the district will be billed for the
costs associated with replacing the book.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arkansas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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