Guest Editors’ Page

Abstract

In this special issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), Service Delivery Models in Education: Specialized Schools and Itinerant Programs, readers will be challenged to examine a range of programs and models that meet the unique educational needs of students with visual impairments, including students with additional disabilities. It is our intent that the articles included in this issue will motivate professionals to reach beyond the status quo and consider innovative approaches and strategies for providing services to students with vision loss. The field of education for students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) has had a long and progressive history. It was one of the first among disability groups to include its students in general education classes. Since the 19th century, youngsters who are visually impaired have been educated in specialized schools for blind students. As families and educators recognized the importance of having their students closer to home, a range of educational options for integrating these students into their communities and local schools began to emerge in the middle of the 20th century. With the advent of Public Law 94-142 in 1975, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, it became a mandate that students with disabilities needed to be educated in the least restrictive environment alongside their nondisabled peers. Professionals in the field of visual impairment embraced the concept of a continuum of service delivery models from most restrictive to least restrictive, depending on the individual educational needs of students. However, in the 1990s, there was an advocacy movement to eliminate the continuum of placement options requirement in the law and place all students with disabilities in general education classes with support. The blindness community overwhelmingly rejected this perspective, affirming that due to the diversity of the characteristics of students and the unique educational needs among students with visual impairments, multiple models of service delivery were essential to providing these students with the education they needed. In addition, forward-thinking leaders created the National Agenda for Educating Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Additional Disabilities. This document created a framework for establishing quality service delivery and program models for educating students with visual impairments. In this special issue, readers will find evidence of the changing roles of specialized schools, particularly as these roles relate to working more closely with students who are being educated in general education environments. There is an example of this evolution in Daughtery's descriptions of the programs of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Readers will also find an examination of students being educated in general education classes in Sweden and the successes and challenges that occur, particularly in relation to students with additional disabilities. Other articles address professional development, shared services, and examples of teaching models for the expanded core curriculum in the areas of recreation and leisure, technology, and career education. Although most students with visual impairments in the United States receive instructional services via an itinerant model, as guest editors of this Special Issue on Service Delivery, we were surprised to find a small number of submissions related to this model. Anecdotally, we know of the great work that is being done by teachers of students with visual impairments with respect to the instruction of braille and assistive technology. We also recognize the challenges that exist with the itinerant model: large caseloads, limited time to provide quality instruction, and lack of qualified personnel to provide services to students with visual impairments. We had hoped to have submissions that detailed innovative strategies and the challenges that itinerant professionals face in their work. …