AUM seeks board approval for master’s to train teachers of students with visual impairments

Auburn University at Montgomery asked the Alabama State Board of Education to approve a new educator preparation program aimed at training teachers to work with students with visual impairments and blindness.

Dr. Derek Smith, dean of AUM’s College of Education, told the board the program is a 30‑hour master’s that will enroll candidates who already hold teaching certificates and will include 21 hours (seven courses) focused on visual impairments, including Braille, Nemeth (math Braille), orientation and mobility, and deaf‑blind instruction. Students will also take two advanced special education courses and complete an intensive practicum in partnership with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, the Alabama School for the Blind and the Helen Keller School.

"We have created a 30 hour master's program," Smith said, and the college has won a U.S. Department of Education grant that he said will support the program’s launch and enable training "up to 40–50" new specialists over five years.

Board members questioned whether the program could continue if federal grant funding changed. Smith said AUM’s provost has committed institutional support and that the college has sustained similar niche programs previously, noting demand from local education agencies that need these specialized teachers.

The board’s chair introduced a resolution requesting approval for AUM to proceed, but the transcript does not record a formal vote during the meeting.

Next steps identified in the presentation included finalizing program details, completing practicum arrangements with the state’s residential schools for the blind, and moving the approval resolution through the board’s formal process.

Because no vote appears in the record provided, the board’s formal action on the request was not resolved in the transcript.