[Menvi-discuss] Public School is Denying Braille Music

Wed Oct 30 15:04:54 UTC 2013

Thank you all for your feedback.  I forgot to mention that at this point, the student (9th grade) is interested in a career in accessible technology/rehabilitation with a minor in music.  So he is not pursuing music as his major, but plans to do so as a minor.  Ultimately, I don’t think this should matter though.  He is very musically talented and has played piano for 10 years, he does singing & piano performances already, and he does plan to perform music to get him through college as well as a side job as an adult.    Up until now, he has learned by ear, but realizes the importance of learning to read music.  Now that he is in a high school choir program and his sighted peers are going to be learning to read music, he wants to learn as well.  

I just wanted to give you this additional bit of info in case it makes a difference in advice.  Thank you all for your feedback.  We greatly appreciate it.  

From: Brandon Keith Biggs 
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 10:50 AM
To: This is for discussing music and braille literacy 
Subject: Re: [Menvi-discuss] Public School is Denying Braille Music

Hello,
Her whole entire argument is moot. You are requesting that the materials of the class be made accessible to your son. This falls completely under the equal right to education. Even if her argument was relevant, the instructor there is not qualified to teach Braille music, so your student would have to get teaching from an instructor who knows Braille music. Because this is a class in the school and because your student wants to take it, the school must provide equal access, as long as equal access does not cause "An undue burden" for the district. 
We are talking about national law and not state law as well.
A Braille music instructor is $35 an hour and each piece of Braille music is $50 where abouts.
If they don't provide the music for your student, they are very much limiting your child's college acceptance to a music college. If they want to see someone who didn't know Braille music and who auditioned for conservatory just have them look at me. 6 conservatories turned me down mostly because I couldn't read music.
Thanks,

Brandon Keith BiggsOn 10/30/2013 5:52 AM, Kellé Tyson wrote:

  Hello David,

  I was hoping you could provide to me any clear references to the law regarding a public school providing braille music.  

  My son, who is totally blind, is in public education and has a choir class where the students will soon be learning to read music.  The school has provided the text to him, but not the music.  I have pursued this with the school and they are still not going to provide the music in braille.  They say it’s because it is an elective class, not a core curriculum class.  However, there are a certain number of elective classes he needs in order to graduate and this is one of the electives.

  Can you provide me with specific info that will help me pursue this issue and get them to provide to him in braille the same as they are providing to the other students?  

  I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me or direct me to someone who is very knowledgeable of the law. We live in Michigan.  

  By the way, following in quotes is her response to my request for braille music for my son.  Please keep in mind, I am not asking that the TCVI teach it to him, only that they put the same braille music in his hands that his peers are using.  They have provided him braille text only.   I have been clear about this, but they keep responding this way:  

  “Kelle, if you remember, we have had numerous conversations regarding the Braille music code in the past.  We have discussed music as an elective versus part of the core curriculum and the instructional time that is involved in those classes.  There have been several different types of software/devices that have been discussed with varying reviews by resources consulted as we thought through the process.  The question continues to come down to Braille music and its instruction.

  As the year began, Chaesa secured the list of songs that the choir will be singing this year and those have been and continue to be brailled for Brandon.  Those are currently available to him throughout instruction.  Also, Chaesa is working with the choir instructor to develop a process of monitoring Brandon’s participation and progress in choir.  This will then be reported out as part of the overall student progress.  It is my understanding that the choral director sees Brandon as accessing and progressing in the curriculum.  >From the information I have been given, I also understand that there is a brief warm up exercise that begins the choir period.  In talking with Chaesa, I asked some questions that may help the instructor and Chaesa to determine if there is a need for an additional Braille support for this warm up exercise and if so, what might that look like.  

  The framework in which we provide services challenges us to empower students to access and progress within the curriculum.  We work on functional skills.  There is a difference between the educational model of service provision and the medical model.  We experience these differences across the continuum depending upon need.  When we think about the medical versus the educational model, services that may be observed are:  both Hearing and Vision, Occupational and Physical Therapy, Social Work, and Speech and Language.   In determining the quantity and duration of services, the question to answer focuses on the student’s resulting capability to access and progress in the general curriculum.  The ability to do so involves functional skills within the educational environment which is the educational model. 

  Looking at the law, the Michigan Rules for “Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment; Special Requirements” we see that there is a minimum of 30 semester hours which supports learning for the Teacher Consultants in the area of instruction for those who are visually impaired.  Within those itemized tasks, proficiency in the use and transcription of the literary Braille and Nemeth codes is stated.  The law goes on to state “including adapting materials for students with visual and unique educational needs…use of date to identify individualized instructional strategies that enhance learning through modification of the environment.”  The requirement for these Teacher Consultants to learn and teach Braille music code is not stated in the law.

  In order for an individual to be able to offer instruction in a particular area, the individual must first have knowledge and ability in that area.  If the Teacher Consultants for the Visually Impaired are not required nor instructed in a given area (Braille music in this case), they are not then able nor expected to teach something that they do not know.  You have shared in the past your resources and references to the larger community for those with visual impairments.  I do not know of your current findings regarding Braille music instructors nor your particular student’s interest in pursuing instruction beyond that of the school choral class.  Those options are yours to pursue as a parent should you see the need and/or have the desire to do so.

  I am hoping that this information is of help to you and answers your question.  You should be hearing and seeing more progress information regarding Brandon’s choir class.  That information should help to guide the instructor, Chaesa, Brandon, you and me in pursuit of his educational goals.  I look forward to hearing more about the data collection as Brandon’s progress is monitored.”

  David, thanks for your time.

  Kellé Tyson 

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