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Public commenters praise TUSD support for students with visual impairments; district outlines services
Summary
Speakers at a district meeting praised Tucson Unified School District’s services for students who are blind or have low vision. A district representative said TUSD supports about 200 such students and listed itinerant staff, orientation and mobility specialists, teachers of the visually impaired and paraprofessionals.
Public commenters and a district official described services and accommodations for students who are blind or have low vision in Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).
A public commenter opened by saying, “TUSD has always been phenomenal,” and credited teachers of the visually impaired, orientation and mobility instructors and other staff for going “above and beyond.” The commenter traced one student’s path through district schools — Bonilla, Myers Ganung, Dodge middle school and UHS — and said the student has been continuously enrolled in the district and maintained a 4.0 grade-point average.
A student who spoke recounted a wrestling anecdote to illustrate peer empathy: she said a visiting wrestler asked a coach for a blindfold “because she wanted to wrestle the way I wrestle,” and that moments like that show how classmates try to understand and work with students with disabilities. “My favorite thing about going to school is that the schools that I’ve gone to … realize that I have no limitations,” the student said, adding that staff “strive and they push me and they give me that motivation to do bigger things.”
A district representative said TUSD is “looking forward to partnering with our families of students who are blind or have low vision, as well as the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind staff who will be supporting students in this transition.” The official said the district has “about 200 students in Tucson Unified School District that either have low vision or are blind or deaf and hard of hearing.”
The official listed the staff who currently support those students: itinerant staff, orientation and mobility specialists, teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs) and paraprofessionals, and noted that related-service providers have some experience in this area. The district said it intends to grow existing services and expand support for a broader array of students.
The remarks combined personal testimony about classroom inclusion and extracurricular accommodations with an administrative summary of existing supports. No formal motions or votes were recorded in the provided transcript; the district’s stated next step was to expand partnerships and services.
