Vision Education & Services

Children must meet the definition of visually impaired to be eligible for assessment. A student who has a condition expected to worsen and cause significant vision loss also will qualify for an assessment. A doctor or ophthalmologist must confirm this diagnosis. The school district must get a report from an ophthalmologist that includes a visual diagnosis and acuities. 

Once it confirms eligibility, the school district must request an assessment and/or services via a referral for services from the special education office in the school district at the request of a parent, teacher or administrator. 

All eligible students referred to the Rhode Island Vision Education and Services Program for an assessment will receive a Functional Vision Assessment (FVA) conducted by a certified Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). The purpose of a FVA is to determine whether a visual impairment is interfering with a student's educational performance.

Reading and writing skills, ability to use classroom materials, environmental factors, and use of non-prescription and prescription aids are assessed. An FVA provides suggestions for accommodations, modifications, or specialized instruction that allows the student to access the general curriculum independently.  

If a child is legally blind, the TVI also will conduct a Learning Media Assessment (LMA). The purpose of a LMA is to assess learning and literacy media needs and to provide recommendations for instructional programming. A student may need a variety of learning and literacy media to access curriculum and these needs may change. 

Once eligibility is verified, the school district must send a complete referral request with all the needed documents. 

The supporting documents include: 

• Referral form
• District “Consent to Evaluate” form or prior written notice (if applicable)  
• Eye report from ophthalmologist (required) 
• Eye report from optometrist  
• RIVESP “Authorization for Release of Confidential Information” form  
• Current IEP or 504 Plan (if applicable)  
• Medical reports (if applicable)  
• Other reports (OT, PT, educational, prior FVA/LMA/O&M assessments etc.)  
• Please include any additional information that may be helpful to our providers. 

Districts should choose a liaison to be responsible for gathering this information, scheduling assessments, arranging a testing area, etc. .