State of Wisconsin Eligibility Criteria for Children with Disability

Visual Impairment

Visual impairment means even after correction a child's visual functioning significantly adversely affects his or her educational performance. The IEP team may identify a child as having a visual impairment after all of the following events occur:

1. A certified teacher of the visually impaired conducts a functional vision evaluation which includes a review of medical information, formal and informal tests of visual functioning and the determination of the implications of the visual impairment on the educational and curricular needs of the child.
2. An ophthalmologist or optometrist finds at least one of the following:
   1. Central visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye after conventional correction.
   2. Reduced visual field to 50 degrees or less in the better eye.
   3. Other ocular pathologies that are permanent and irremediable.
   4. Cortical visual impairment.
   5. A degenerative condition that is likely to result in a significant loss of vision in the future.
3. An orientation and mobility specialist, or teacher of the visually impaired in conjunction with an orientation and mobility specialist, evaluates the child to determine if there are related mobility needs in home, school, or community environments.