VIDBE-Q Volume 65 Issue 4
methods, and to supplement state and local educational agency provision of the
instruction and services of the Expanded Core Curriculum." You can learn more
about how you can support this powerful legislation at
https://cogswellmacyact.org/ways-to-get-involved/. Vociferously advocating for
the passage of the Cogswell-Macy Act may be the single most effective action that
TVIs can take to assure that all students with visual impairments receive
appropriate services to meet their academic and functional needs.
Nearly half a century ago, a question was asked about how to "fit" all of what
children who are visually impaired need to learn into the 18 to 21 years of pre-
adult development. A satisfactory answer to that question continues to elude the
profession today. We are closer to understanding and communicating what those
needs are and some innovative practitioners are creating ways within the current
system to affect change with the students they serve. Now we need to collectively
mobilize to assist policy makers, families, and other professionals to accept that an
educational system committed to the inclusion of its most diverse learners must
incorporate the notion that some students are best served, at least for some of their
educational experiences, in environments that may not always involve typical
students. Achievement of that goal is the important work of professionals in the
next 50 years.
