Section R277-800-2 - Definitions(1) "Accessible media producer" means a company or agency that creates fully-accessible, specialized, student-ready formats for curriculum materials, such as: (2)(a) "Assessment" means the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities pertaining to the fields of vision and hearing.(b) An assessment may include the following areas of focus:(i) a valid, reliable and appropriate assessment given to determine eligibility for placement and services by a team of qualified professionals and a student's parent or guardian;(ii) a functional assessment accomplished by observation and measurement of daily living skills and functional use of vision or hearing, or both; and(iii) academic evaluations as part of the Statewide School Accountability System, including an alternate assessment with appropriate accommodations as indicated on a student's I E P.(3)(a) "Campus-based program" means a program provided by USDB that offers an alternative to an outreach program for students, ages three to 22, who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or deafblind.(b) Under a campus-based program, services are provided by qualified USDB staff at a USDB site.(4)(a) "The Chafee Amendment to the Copyright Act" or the "Chafee Amendment" is a federal law, 17 U.S.C. 121, that allows an authorized entity to reproduce or distribute copyrighted materials in specialized formats for students who are blind or have other print disabilities without the need to obtain permission of the copyright owner.(b) Authorized entities under the Chafee Amendment include governmental or nonprofit organizations that have a primary mission to provide copyrighted works in specialized formats for students who are blind or have other print disabilities.(5) "Child Find" means activities and strategies designed to locate, evaluate, and identify individuals eligible for services under the IDEA.(6) "Consultation" means a meeting for discussion or seeking advice.(7) "Designated LEA" means the local education agency assigned by a student's IEP or Section 504 team to have primary responsibility for ensuring that all rights and requirements regarding individual student assessment, eligibility services, and procedural safeguards are satisfied consistent with the IDEA.(8) "Deafblindness" or "deafblind" means written verification provided by a medical professional stating that an individual has concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for students with deafness or students with blindness.(9) "Deafness" is a hearing impairment that is so severe that the student is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, and that adversely affects a student's educational performance.(10) "Educational Resource Center" or "ERC" is a center under the direction of the USDB that: (a) provides information, technology, and instructional materials to assist children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, and deafblind in progressing in the curriculum; and(b) facilitates access to materials, information, and training for teachers and parents of children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, and deafblind.(11) "Extension classroom" means a classroom provided by an LEA where USDB provides a full-time classroom teacher and related services to students who remain enrolled in the LEA's general education programs.(12) "Hearing loss" is an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a student's educational performance, but that is not included under the definition of deafness.(13) "National Instructional Materials Access Center" or "NIMAC" is a central national repository that receives file sets in the NIMAS from publishers to maintain, catalog, and house for future reference file sets for states to use with students who have print disabilities and require accessible alternate formats.(14) "National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard" or "NIMAS" means the electronic standard that enables all producers of alternate formats for students with print disabilities to work from one standard format available from publishers for this purpose.(15)(a) "Outreach program" is a program provided by the USDB that offers an alternative to a campus-based program for students ages three to 22 who are blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or deafblind.(b) In an outreach program, services are provided at a student's resident school or at a designated school by a qualified teacher of the blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, or deafblind.(16)(a) "Related services" means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with disability to benefit from special education.(b) Related services may include:(i) speech-language pathology services;(iii) interpreting services;(iv) psychological services;(v) physical and occupational therapy;(vi) recreation, including therapeutic recreation;(vii) early identification and assessment of disabilities in students;(viii) counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling;(ix) orientation and mobility services;(x) health services and school nursing services;(xi) social work services in schools;(xii) parent counseling and training; or (xi) low vision services.(17) "Section 504 accommodation plan" means a plan required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is designed to accommodate an individual who has been determined, as a result of an evaluation, to have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.(18) "Technical assistance" means assistance to public education employees, licensed educators, parents, and families in significant areas of need by someone who has the expertise necessary to give council and training in designated areas.(19) "Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center" or "USIMAC" means a center that receives NIMAS electronic file sets and produces them in the accessible alternate format required by students with print disabilities.(20)(a) "Visual impairment," is an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a student's educational performance.(b) "Visual impairment" includes both partial sight and blindness that adversely affect a student's educational performance.(21) "Weighted pupil unit" or "WPU" means the basic unit used to calculate the amount of state funds for which a school district or charter school is eligible.Utah Admin. Code R277-800-2
Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2017-20, effective 9/21/2017Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2020-04, effective 2/7/2020Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2021-07, effective 3/11/2021Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2023-12, effective 6/7/2023Amended by Utah State Bulletin Number 2024-16, effective 8/7/2024