Professional Preparation General Overview

How Do I Become a VI Professional

Why Become a VI Professional: Fact Sheets

Click below to view or download a Fact Sheet.

Professional Preparation

• Visual Impairment (VI) and Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Preparation in Texas
• Typical Roles and Responsibilities of VI Professionals
• Becoming a Classroom Teacher in Texas

Emergency Permit for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

• To be eligible to apply for the Emergency Permit for TSVIs, the individual must meet certain criteria.
• Download Process for Obtaining the Emergency Permit for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments for more information. (Word) (PDF)

Resources for Recruiting VI Professionals

• Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI) flyer
• Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) flyer 
• Spotlight On Visual Impairment Professionals – PBS Spotlight On video (5 minutes)

Quick Links

• VIP Home Page – SFASU – Visual impairment and orientation & mobility program information from Stephen F. Austin State University
• Reach Across Texas Home Page – TTU  – Application process, scholarship program, visual impairment, and orientation & mobility program information from Texas Tech University
• Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities – The Sowell Center promotes quality research to address the academic and social needs of school-age students with sensory disabilities and provides public service to assist local, national and international constituencies.

Texas Fellows

Texas Fellows are recruiters! Texas Fellows and their Candidates will receive a TSBVI publication or free registration to a TSBVI-sponsored training event.

Find out how you can become a Texas Fellow. Click Texas Fellows to fill out an application or to obtain more information. 

Personnel Preparation Advisory Group

In 1991, the Personnel Preparation Advisory Group (PPAG) adopted goals to insure that personnel preparation programs will:

• Prepare qualified teachers of students with visual impairments and O&M specialists so that professionals will be available to all students with visual impairments including those with additional disabilities and who are deafblind.
• Be accessible regionally and locally.
• Meet the standards delineated by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and the Visually Impaired (AERBVI), Texas Education Agency (TEA), and the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).
• Include a theoretical base, skill development, and practical application experiences.
• Collaborate to utilize all available resources to the best of their ability. Resource options include (but are not limited to) instruction, personnel, funds, and technology.
• Be coordinated with professional development systems in the state.
• Include mentorship programs at both preservice and in-service levels.

Summary of Need for VI Professionals in Texas

A review of education professionals who work with Texas students with visual impairments, including a description of selected characteristics, projections of attrition, and projected future needs.     

For more information about professional preparation, contact: