Blind/Visually Impaired

Blind/Visual Impairment Definition and Qualification

Blind/Visually impaired services in Minnesota Schools are provided to students who are Blind, have Low Vision or Cortical Vision Impairments. According to Minnesota Rules 3525.1345, “’Visually Impaired means a medically verified visual impairment accompanied by limitations in sight that interfere with acquiring information or interaction with the environment to the extent that special education instruction and related services may be needed.” To qualify for services, students must have a visual acuity of 20/60 or less in the better eye with the best conventional corrections, a visual field of 20 degrees or less, or a congenital or degenerative condition. In the United States, legal blindness refers to a medically diagnosed central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction, and/or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, low vision refers to “a person who has measurable vision, but has difficulty accomplishing or cannot accomplish visual tasks even with prescribed corrective lenses but who can enhance his or her ability to accomplish these tasks with the use of compensatory visual strategies, low vision devices, and environmental modifications.” Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is a form of visual impairment that is caused by a neurological problem affecting the visual part of the brain.