Visually Impaired Department
Pinole Valley High School - Room C213
2900 Pinole Valley Road, Pinole CA 94564  

Phone: (510) 307-4642
Fax: (510) 724-8829
Division Head: Sonja Neely-Johnson, SELPA Director
Administrator, Special Education: Rachel Avanessian
Secretary: Mika Chisaki

Referral Process Procedures For Referral For Visually Impaired Services

Services to students with visual impairment are mandated under the direction of state and federal guidelines:

• To be eligible for Special Education, "a pupil has a visual impairment which, even with correction, adversely affects a pupil’s educational per¬formance.” (California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Education, Section 3030(d)).

For educational purposes, the term visually impaired (VI) includes:

• Functionally blind students who, because of the severity of their visual impairment, rely primarily on senses other than vision as their major channels of learning.
• Low vision students who use vision as a major channel for learning.

Students who are determined, through assessment, to be visually impaired may receive Services for Students with Visual Impairment (VI), within the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), through the VI Program. Possible placements may include:

• Itinerant Designated Instructional Services (DIS) for Students with VI in elementary, middle and high school
• Itinerant DIS Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
• Preschool SH/VI SDC
• Preschool itinerant Designated Instructional Services (DIS)