Blumberg Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education

promoting achievement for students with sensory loss (PASS)

Blind, low Vision, or deafblind

distance education

Educator of students with exceptional needs: Visual impairment
licensure program

 

   

The Exceptional Needs: Visual Impairment Licensure Program is designed to prepare Indiana teachers to work with students who are blind or have low vision. The Program is funded by the Indiana Department of Education through the Blumberg Center at Indiana State University.

The graduate level Program includes 16 credit hours of coursework including:

  • SPED 651: The Eye, its Function and Health
    - 3 credit hours
  • SPED 652: Programs and Services for Individuals with Visual Impairments
    - 3 credit hours

  • SPED 653: Communication Skills for Individuals with Visual Impairments
    - 3 credit hours

  • SPED 654: Instructional Accommodations for Individuals with Visual Impairments
    - 3 credit hours

  • SPED 655: Principles of Orientation and Mobility
    - 3 credit hours

  • SPED 656: Practicum in Visual Impairment
    - 1 credit hour

Descriptions of the courses can be found in the PASS Exceptional Needs: Visual Impairment Program brochure. Program brochure attached in PDF format

Program Requirements:

Minimum requirements include, but are not limited to, a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.75; a degree from an accredited school; and applicants must hold (or be eligible for) an Indiana teaching license in Special Education or General Education. Individuals who hold (or are eligible for) an Indiana teaching license in General Education may be required to take some additional courses depending upon a review of their transcripts after completing the Exceptional Needs: Visual Impairment Program.

Program Details:

Course content is delivered via online distance education (using a web-based program called Blackboard). In addition, students are required to attend face-to-face class meetings and weekend seminars. SPED 651 has two weekend seminars and SPED 652, SPED 653, SPED 654, and SPED 655 each have one weekend seminar. Weekend seminars are typically held on the ISU campus in Terre Haute, however, some may be scheduled in the Indianapolis area.

Other Program Benefits:

The PASS grant provides all textbooks and supplementary materials at no cost for students who are accepted into the Program if they are a teacher employed by a school system or special education planning district in Indiana.

In addition, PASS will make arrangements and pay for overnight hotel accommodations for students who live more than fifty miles (one-way) from where weekend seminars are being held (must be employed by a Indiana school system or special education planning district). In addition, PASS will provide students with lunch, as appropriate.

Students accepted into the program will be responsible to pay for all tuition costs. For more information about tuition and fees, visit http://www.indstate.edu/distance/fees.html.

Application process

Step One:
Any individual wishing to begin the application process must first notify Sharon Bryan at PASS who will begin a file for the potential applicant. Her email address is Sharon.Bryan@indstate.edu. Be sure to include the following information:

  • Your full legal name
  • Your address, city, state, and zip
  • Your daytime and evening telephone numbers
  • Your email address
  • Your current place of employment
  • Indicate whether you are currently employed on an Emergency Permit in the area of blindness and low vision
  • List teaching licenses you currently hold or are eligible for in the state of Indiana

Step Two:
Complete the PASS Exceptional Needs: Visual Impairment Program Application Form. Program brochure attached in PDF format

Step Three:
Complete and print the self-assessment on distance learning and computer technology.

Step Four:
Get a letter of recommendation from your current supervisor (if currently teaching); or a letter of recommendation from someone who is familiar with your teaching and interpersonal skills (if not currently employed); or a letter of recommendation by one of your undergraduate professors (if a recent graduate).

Step Five:
Write an essay on your philosophy of teaching, your understanding of the role of a teacher of the visually impaired, and your reasons for deciding to pursue this license (maximum length 1,500 words).

Step Six:
Mail your application packet and make sure to include the following items:

  • Your completed application form
  • A copy of your university transcripts
  • A letter of recommendation
  • Your written essay on your philosophy on educating students who are blind or have low vision
  • Your completed self-assessment on distance learning and computer technology

Mail to:

PASS
Blumberg Center
Bayh College of Education
University Hall 009W
401 North 7th Street
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809

Phone: 1-800-622-3035

process for determining acceptance into the program

Once an individual has submitted their completed application packet to PASS, it will be reviewed to ensure the individual meets the minimum requirements to be considered a qualified applicant for the Program.

Priority status will be given to applicants who are currently working in a local education agency (LEA) with an Emergency Permit in the area of blindness and visual impairment and have a caseload of eligible students who are blind or visually impaired assigned to him or her. All qualified applicants will be placed into the pool of applicants within the parameters outlined in the lottery process.

Once a qualified applicant is selected via the lottery system they become a prospective candidate for the Program. You will be notified in writing, indicating whether or not you were selected as a prospective candidate.

After receiving notification of acceptance into the Program, prospective candidates must immediately apply for acceptance into the Indiana State University, College of Graduate and Professional Studies and meet the university's enrollment criteria. Acceptance into the distance education Visual Impairment Licensure Program is not acceptance into graduate school.

Please note that distance education is not for everyone. Distance education requires self-motivation, discipline, and an ability to independently complete assignments in a timely manner. Web-based learning can be best described as a facilitated self-study. There are traditional training programs throughout the country that may be better suited for some individuals' learning styles. The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) tries to keep an updated list of those programs at www.aerbvi.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=107.

The distance education used for this program incorporates modules that originated from Project Within Reach, a grant project from Stephen F. Austin University. The modules have been adapted to cover the required Indiana Teacher Standards.

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