Compendium of Budget Information for the 2012 General Session
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Agency: State Board of Education Line Item: Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Function The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) were established in 1896 to meet the educational needs of children with hearing or vision impairments. USDB serves children with sensory impairments from birth through 21 years of age and their families. USDB helps children with hearing and/or visual impairments to become competent, caring and contributing citizens. They operate an educational resource center that supplies educational materials to other agencies serving sensory impaired children. Annually, the USDB provides educational services to approximately 2,000 Utah students through three major programs. These programs include a residential program, self-contained classrooms, and a student consultant program. The Utah State Board of Education is designated in statute as USDB's governing body. In addition to the State Board of Education, the USDB Advisory Council acts as an advisory panel to the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent, and the USDB Superintendent. The role of the USDB Advisory Council is outlined in a following section. Statutory Authority Statutes governing the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind can be found in Section 53A, Chapter 25 and Chapter 25b. UCA 53A-25b-101 to 501 detail the creation of the USDB, establishes the State Board of Education as USDB's governing board, details the authority and duties of the superintendent of USDB, and details student entrance, program, and assessment criteria. Intent Language The Legislature intends that the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind allocate $100,000 of the appropriation for the Support Services program to construct an accessible playground at the Salt Lake campus. Funding Detail The $203,800 in positive nonlapsing balance for FY 2011 is due to overspending on the part of USDB.
Program: Instructional Services Function The Instructional Services division provides educational programs for the deaf, blind, and deaf-blind children of Utah. It provides residential, daytime, and extension programs in a number of locations throughout the state. The following explanations detail significant programs within the division of Instruction. All programs are geared toward meeting the instructional and educational needs of students served by USDB. Teacher Consultant Program - The Teacher Consultant Program provides regular classroom teachers in the school districts with assistance on how to best meet the educational needs of hearing or visually impaired students. Educational Resource Center - The Educational Resource Center provides materials and equipment to every instructional program throughout the state that has a hearing or visually impaired student. Services include: captioned films for the hearing impaired; braille, large print, and recorded materials; a professional book collection related to sensory impairment; a parent resource library; a textbook depository; visual aids and teaching aids that support the curriculum; and books for recreational reading at appropriate reading levels. Parent Infant Program - The Parent Infant Program provides home based vision and hearing services to families with children who are sensory impaired from birth through three years of age. Deafblind Services - USDB provides services to individuals with dual sensory impairments from birth through age 21. Consultants provide services statewide. Services include, but are not limited to, training, technical assistance, mentoring, teaching and interacting techniques, curricula and learning environment modifications and adaptations, the use of appropriate communication systems, etc. Self-Contained Classrooms & Consultant Services - In addition to the programs detailed above, USDB operates many self-contained classrooms throughout the state. USDB also provides consultant services to deaf, blind or deaf-blind students who remain in their local school districts for their education. The self-contained and consultant services represent the largest portion of USDB operations. USDB established geographical service regions (North, Central, and South) for the School for the Deaf and School for the Blind. Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center (USIMAC) - USIMAC is a state extension service of the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC), which was created under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act in 2004. NIMAC is a federally-funded, national electronic file repository that makes National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) files available for the production of core print instructional materials in specialized formats. These formats, such as braille, audio, or digital text, are developed on behalf of qualifying blind, visually-impaired or print-disabled students in elementary or secondary schools. NIMAC receives source files in NIMAS format from textbook publishers, and makes these files available for download to authorized users. USIMAC has been designated as the authorized user for the State of Utah and it is funded through the USDB line item. An important note by NIMAS regarding these source files is that they are not student-ready files that can be handed off directly to a student in the classroom. In order to create the braille, audio, digital text, or other format, appropriate technology and training are necessary to convert files into the finished product. USIMAC has been created within the State of Utah in order to fulfill this federal requirement. USIMAC was first funded in the 2008 General Session. (Source information: USDB administration and NIMAC.) General services provided by USDB include early detection and diagnosis, family support and intervention, core curriculum, additional and adapted core subjects, and transition services for those students progressing to higher education institutions. Funding Detail
Function The Support Services Division provides functions of USDB related to Administration, Educational Support, Residential Care Oversight, and Transportation. The following paragraphs detail each of the major operating sections of support services: Administration - USDB administration executes the schools' business management (coordinated through the State Office of Education), personnel services, and data processing functions. Educational Support - Educational Support includes professional staff that support the educational goals of students as outlined in their Individual Education Plans (IEP). These professionals include audiologists, orientation and mobility specialists, physical therapists, and psychologists. Resident Services - In some cases, a student's IEP indicates that educational goals may be better fulfilled in a residential program. USDB supports four residential cottages (which hold 12 students) and two housing units that hold up to 18 students. Students reside at the school during the week and return home for the weekend. Transportation - Students that receive educational services in a USDB self-contained classroom are bussed from home to the location of their school each day. The Support Services Division provides coordination between the student's residence and the closest classroom based on disability and classroom capacity. In addition, the division may coordinate the transportation of residential students on the weekends. Other Support Services - In addition to those services mentioned above, USDB has staff to provide food services at school and in the residential facilities, as well as staff to perform building and ground maintenance. Funding Detail
Function The Advisory Council was created to act as an advisory panel to the State Board of Education when considering the educational needs of deaf, blind, or deaf/blind students. Council members are appointed by the State Board of Education based on their interest and knowledge of the educational needs of students attending the schools. In addition to the general educational needs of students with sensory impairments, the Advisory Council may make recommendations or give advice to the State Superintendent and the State Board of Education with respect to the continued employment of the USDB superintendent. The council may also wish to provide input on staff positions, school policy, budget, and operations. Funding Detail Funding in this section represents the interest and dividends derived from the investment of the permanent fund created for the Schools for the Deaf and Blind at statehood. The State Treasurer invests the permanent fund and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration oversees the lands. UCA 53A-25b-307 designates the use of these funds to the Educational Enrichment Program for Hearing and Visually Impaired Students.
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