What is the Purpose of the Census?

The census identifies children and youth with deafblindness. Based on this information, the OCDBE receives funding to provide technical assistance to schools, agencies and families of identified children and youth. The census allows for the opportunity to identify and address educational needs of children and youth with deafblindness.

If you have a child you need to register or have any questions about the census, please contact Lynia White, the Census Coordinator, at (800) 229-0844.
To download a copy of the Census Referral 2007 form, click here.
To download a copy of the Census Referral form in Spanish, click here.

To download a copy of the 2007 Census Report, click here.

What is deafblindness?

Deafblindness 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 and children with blindness.
*Children under 3, intervention

AND

Degree of Hearing Loss
Mild (26-40 dB loss)
Moderate (41-55 dB loss)
Moderately Severe (56-70 dB loss)
Severe (71-90 dB loss)
Profound (91+ dB loss)
Diagnosed Progressive Loss
Documented Functional Hearing Loss

Degree of Vision Loss
Low Vision (Visual Acuity of 20/70 to 20/200)
Legally Blind (20/200 or less or field restriction of 20 degrees or less)
Light Perception Only
Totally Blind
Cortical Visual Impairment
Documented Functional Vision Loss
Diagnosed Progressive Loss

OR

Have documented hearing and vision losses that, if considered individually, may not meet the requirements for auditory impairment or visual impairment, but the combination of which adversely affects the student's educational performance.

OR

Have a documented medical diagnosis of a progressive medical condition(s) that will result in concomitant hearing and visual loss that, without special education intervention, will adversely affect the student's performance.

Note: Deafblind DOES NOT mean totally deaf and/or totally blind. Most individuals who are deafblind have some usable hearing and vision. If you suspect that a child has a combination vision and hearing loss please contact our office for additional assistance.

Confidentiality

The OCDBE is required under federal regulation (Section 622 of the Education of the Handicapped Act, as amended) to identify children and youth who are deafblind in Ohio. In anticipation of your concern whether disclosure of information without parental consent would violate FERPA, please be assured that all information requested is for the purposes outlined in Reg. 99.31 (ca) (6) and shall be utilized and disposed of as provided therein.

Reg. 99.31 (Prior Consent for Disclosure NOT Required) provides as follows:

1. An educational agency or institution may disclose personally identifiable information from educational records of a student without the written consent of the parent of the eligible student if the disclosure is:
2. To organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs, and improving instruction, The term [sic] "organizations" includes, but is not limited to, Federal, State, and local agencies, and independent organizations.

FAQs about the OCDBE Census

Q: My student is reported under IDEIA (part B) under another category, such as multiple disabilites. Can he/she still be on the deafblind census?

A: Yes. Students may be added to the deafblind census even though they may have been reported as having multiple disabilities on the December 1 School Count, or as blind on the registry of the American Printing House for the Blind.

Q: Do I need to get parental permission to report a child?

A: No, but we do ask you to advise parents that you are referring their child to us, and request permission to share their information (address, phone number, email, etc.) with us so that we may offer information and services to them.

Q: Can we report only once a year?

A: No. While overall data collection occurs once per year, we encourage you to update census information whenever changes occur or new students are identified. This will ensure accuracy with mailings to homes and schools.

Q: What about confidentiality?