Subject: Florida & Virgin Islands Deaf-Blind Collaborative State Registry
Dear Colleagues,
Rule 6A-6.03022(5) Florida Administrative Code, Education Eligibility for Students with Dual Sensory Impairments, requires school districts to report information on all students identified as dual-sensory impaired to the state’s deaf-blind registry. The Florida & Virgin Islands (FAVI) Deaf-Blind Collaborative maintains the registry of children and young adults (birth through 21 years) with both hearing and vision loss being served in the state of Florida.
Students should be reported to the deaf-blind registry as soon as combined hearing and vision loss is identified. When a student with dual-sensory impairments changes school districts or changes between public and private or charter educational placements, the FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative should be notified. Annually, the state deaf-blind registry must be updated to reflect all student profiles and placement changes. Students will be removed from the deaf-blind registry if they have died, left the state, graduated, reached the maximum age for public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), or ceased to qualify because of updated audiogram or eye medical reports. The FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative will contact representatives from each school district to correct and update the information included in Florida’s deaf-blind registry.
The FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative is funded through the U.S. Department of Education for the purpose of providing technical assistance to families and educational teams who support students with deaf blindness. The project is designed to build the capacity of the local school districts to serve these students. A person-centered teaming approach is used, and strengths of staff and students are used in designing strategies.
Specific services include the following:
• Identification of eligible students
• Individualized technical assistance and support (may include on-site visits to home or school) with follow-up;
• Consultation/Training for families, educational teams;
• Referrals;
• Students with dual-sensory impairments may be reported to the state registry via the following HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant online survey at
https://deafblind.ufl.edu/census/.
• Requests for an individualized consultation, and technical assistance (TA) require parent/guardian consent to exchange information and records. TA requests can be initiated by a family or professional online at https://deafblind.ufl.edu/welcome/make-a-referral-or-request-assistance/.
Reporting an accurate number of students with combined hearing and vision losses and providing complete and correct information on these students is particularly important. Complete and accurate reporting will enable the FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative to provide families, schools, and school districts with the highly specialized support required to meet the needs of students who are dual-sensory impaired.
If you have any questions about reporting or referring students with dual-sensory impairments, or if your staff needs assistance with identifying students who should be included in the registry, please contact Shelly Voelker, EdD at the FAVI Deaf-blind Collaborative. Shelly can be reached at 352-275-9505 or shellyv@ufl.edu.
Respectfully,
Jessica Brattain
Bureau Chief
Exceptional Education & Student Services
FDOE