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2000 SESSION

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005475820
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 162 Offered January 24, 2000 Requesting the Department of Education and the Department for the Visually Handicapped to study the impact of adopting the National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairment, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities in the Commonwealth. ---------- Patrons-- Landes, Christian and Spruill; Senators: Hanger and Maxwell ---------- Referred to Committee on Rules ----------

WHEREAS, visually impaired students are infants, toddlers, children, and youths who experience impairments of the eye and visual system that affect their ability to learn; and

WHEREAS, visually impaired students have unique educational needs; and

WHEREAS, although many school programs are providing the specialized instruction that visually impaired students need in addition to their academic achievement, there is much room for improvement; and

WHEREAS, to address the fundamentals of education for visually impaired children that are most in need of improvement and to provide goals and strategies for effecting the needed change, the National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairment, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities was created;

WHEREAS, the publication contains eight goals that stress: prompt referral, parent participation, personnel participation, provision of educational services based on needs of students and ongoing professional development of teachers, an array of services and placement options, collaborative assessment, access to instructional materials, and disability-specific core curricula; and

WHEREAS, the Agenda proposes national and regional, state, and local strategies for achieving the recommended eight goals based on a broad consensus of representatives of parent's groups, specialized schools for children with visual impairments, private agencies serving visually impaired children and their families, university programs for training teachers of visually impaired children and state departments of education; and

WHEREAS, these goals and strategies have the potential to help visually impaired students meet the challenges of the twenty-first century and lead satisfying, productive lives; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of Education and the Department for the Visually Handicapped be requested to study the impact of adopting the National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairment, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities in the Commonwealth.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of Education and the Department for the Visually Handicapped for this study, upon request.

The Department of Education and the Department for the Visually Handicapped shall complete their work in time to submit their findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2001 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.