Legal Definitions
Classification of students attending public school districts should be guided by the following definitions. The student's classification is important because it will guide the IEP team in developing the student's program, related services, and essential team members.
Deaf-blindness
Sec. 300.8(c)(2)
Deaf-blindness means 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 children with deafness or children with blindness.
Sec. 300.8(c)(7)
Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness or mental retardation-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.
Blindness/Visual Impairment
Sec. 300.8(c)(13)
Visual impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.
Deafness/Hearing Impairment
Sec. 300.8(c)(3)
Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Sec. 300.8(c)(5)
Hearing impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section.
