News : Study Committee to recommend using IBSSS as a regional center

A committee appointed by the Board of Regents to study the future efficiencies and effectiveness of Iowa’s educational services for students with sensory impairments will be recommending three regional centers be added to the continuum of educational options for the state’s visually impaired, blind, deafblind, hard-of-hearing or deaf students. The recommendation came from a feasibility and planning study committee today which had met monthly since June.

The committee’s recommendation will include keeping the current Iowa School for the Deaf campus in Council Bluffs as a regional and residential school, as well as using the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. Both schools will be used for regional programs that will include classrooms for blind and deaf students. Additionally, the committee decided to recommend combining the administration of both IESBVI and ISD.

Locations have not been determined for the regional centers, which are planned to provide enhanced services to students with sensory impairments, using specialized teachers of the visually impaired and teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing. Structure of the regional sites will be determined by the state’s management team for the blind/visually impaired and executive team for the deaf/hard of hearing.

Recommendations will be brought to the Department of Management, and then advance to the Dec. 5 Regents meeting for information (meeting to be held telephonically). Action on these recommendations is anticipated at the Feb. 4, 2013 Regents meeting.

For for information, visit the IBSSS Web Page.