WAC 180-82-130
Assignment of persons providing instruction of Braille to students. (1)
No certificated school district employee shall be assigned to provide
instruction of Braille to students who has not demonstrated competency with the
grade two standard literary Braille code by:
(a) Successful completion of the National Literary
Braille Competency Test; or
(b) Successful completion of the Braille competency
test developed at Portland State University; or
(c) Successful completion of any other test approved
for use by the state board of education.
(2) No classified school district employee working
under the supervision of a certificated school district employee, which
certificated employee meets the requirement of subsection (1) of this section,
may produce Braille material or provide instruction in the Braille code unless
the employee has demonstrated competency with the grade two standard literary
Braille code as provided under subsection (1) of this section.
(3)(a) Each school district is responsible for
monitoring the appropriate assignment of personnel under subsections (1) and
(2) of this section.
(b) Any person under subsections (1) and (2) of this
section shall have one year from the date of request to successfully pass the
testing requirement under subsection (1) of this section.
(c) The
(4) The state board shall establish a test review
committee which shall be responsible for developing criteria to evaluate a test
under subsection (1)(c) of this section. No test shall
be considered for approval by the state board under subsection (1)(c) of this section unless it has been evaluated by the
test review committee and a recommendation for approval or disapproval has been
submitted to the board. At a minimum, the membership of the committee shall
include persons representing:
(a) National Federation of the Blind of Washington;
(b) Washington council of the blind;
(c) Association of education and rehabilitation of the
blind and visually impaired of Washington;
(d) Washington instructional resource center for the
visually impaired;
(e) Washington state school for the blind; and
(f) Office of the superintendent of public
instruction.
(5) A person who has met the requirement of subsection
(1) of this section shall maintain their facility with the grade two standard
literary Braille code by:
(a) Completing ten hours
every five years of continuing education; or
(b) Successful completion every five years of one of
the tests under subsection (1) of this section.
(6)(a) For the purpose of subsection (5)(a) of this
section, the continuing education option may be satisfied by:
(i) Completing the
equivalent of ten clock hours through completion of college credits as provided
under WAC 180-85-030
(1) and (2); or
(ii) Completing ten clock hours of continuing
education as provided under WAC 180-85-030
(3) and (4); or
(iii) Completing the equivalent of ten clock hours
through completion of continuing education units through a college or
university. One continuing education unit shall equal not fewer than ten clock
hours of attendance.
(b) For the purpose of subsection (5)(a) of this
section, "continuing education" shall mean one or more of the
following:
(i) Instructional
methodology in Braille;
(ii) Improving Braille code skills; or
(iii) Maintaining or refreshing Braille code skills,
not including technology or software. "Braille code skills" means
literary, music, and the Nemeth code of mathematics and scientific notation.
(c) For the purpose of subsection (5)(a) of this
section, an approved provider of continuing education may include:
(i) The National Braille
Association;
(ii) The Library of Congress;
(iii) The Braille Authority of North America;
(iv) A regionally accredited institution of higher
education under WAC 180-78A-010(6);
(v) An educational service district;
(vi) The American Foundation for the Blind;
(vii) The Association of Education and Rehabilitation
of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Washington;
(viii) The American Foundation for the Blind annual
American Braille literacy conference; or
(ix) Any other entity approved by the state board of
education based upon a recommendation to approve from the test review committee
established under subsection (4) of this section.
(d) For the purpose of subsection (1) of this section,
a person who holds a Library of Congress transcriber's certificate is exempt
only from the testing requirement under subsection (1) of this section. If an
individual earns the Library of Congress transcriber's certificate, they shall
be deemed to have met the continuing education option under subsection (5)(a) of this section.
(e) Individuals who seek through subsection (5)(a) of this section to remain eligible to work with
visually impaired students are responsible for documenting completion of
continuing education. Such individuals are strongly encouraged to provide a
copy of their documentation to their employing school district. The
documentation shall not be collected by the state board of education. However,
the documentation could be audited for purposes of compliance with basic
education appropriation requirements under WAC 180-16-195.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 28A.305.130
(1) and (2), 28A.410.010,28A.150.220
(4). 01-13-110, § 180-82-130, filed 6/20/01, effective 7/21/01; 99-04-008,
§ 180-82-130, filed 1/21/99, effective 2/21/99.]