Student Referrals

All new student referrals made to the Blindness Skills Specialist office will be given prompt attention to assure that the student and school district receive quality services. 

The process to quality a new student referred will be as follows:

1. Once their family, eye care doctor, local district or other appropriate agencies have referred the student, the BSS office will contact the referring party to collect necessary information. Necessary information will include:
   • parents name 
   • student's name, age and grade 
   • eye condition 
   • acuity 
   • updated eye report 
   • concerns of the school or family 
   • contact person 
2. The parents or guardian will sign a release of information and consent to test form. 
3. Information will include a recent eye report from the student's eye care doctor, related health information, and any assessments performed.
4. The information will be reviewed, and then the district will be given the names of appropriate certified vision professionals to assess the student's educational needs. Recommendations will be made as to services necessary to meet the educational needs of the student. Consultation will be provided as to locating service providers within the regional area to assist the school. 
5. The district will be requested to complete a survey and evaluation questionnaire on the student and services. This will assist the BSS office in determining the level of services provided for the student.
6. The service provider will monitor the progress of the student's educational progress and report information on a quarterly basis to the BSS office. This is for record keeping purposes.

Eligible Students have one of the following (These are verified through an updated eye report from an eye care doctor):

• 20/70 or worse vision in the better eye with best correction.
• A 20-degree field loss in the better eye with best correction.
• Other disabilities along with a visual impairment.

All students with visual impairments or blindness in the Southwest Missouri Region are maintained on the BSS caseload. As new referrals qualify for services, they are added to the BSS caseload.

Please contact the BSS office at 417-836-8872 with all new referrals or questions about services provided by the office.