Goal 1: Students and their families will be referred to an appropriate education program within 30 days of identification of a suspected visual impairment. Teachers of students with visual impairments and orientation and mobility (O&M) instructors will provide appropriate quality services.

Goal 2: Policies and procedures will be implemented to ensure the right of all parents to full participation and equal partnership in the education process.

Goal 3: Universities with a minimum of one full-time faculty member in the area of visual impairment will prepare a sufficient number of teachers and orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists for students with visual impairments to meet personnel needs throughout the country.

Goal 4: Caseloads will be determined based on the assessed needs of students.

Goal 5: Local education programs will ensure that all students have access to a full array of service delivery options.

Goal 6: All assessments and evaluations of students will be conducted by or in partnership with personnel having expertise in the education of students with visual impairments and their parents.

Goal 7: Access to developmental and educational services will include an assurance that textbooks and instructional materials are available to students in the appropriate media and at the same time as their sighted peers.

Goal 8: All educational goals and instruction will address the academic and Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) based on the assessed needs of each student with a visual impairment.

Goal 9:  Transition services will address developmental and educational needs (birth through high school) to assist students and their families in setting goals and implementing strategies through the life continuum commensurate with students' aptitudes, interests, and abilities.

Goal 10: To improve students' learning, service providers will engage in ongoing local, state, and national professional development.

While all ten goals are critical to the success of children and youths who are blind or visually impaired, Goal 8, which addresses the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), has been identified as a priority goal to teach the total set of disability-specific skills needed to lead full, independent lives. The need for instruction in each area of the ECC is determined through assessment of individual students. The nine ECC areas include:

• Compensatory Access Skills such as Communication Modes
• Independent Living Skills
• Assistive Technology Skills
• Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Skills
• Recreation and Leisure Skills
• Sensory Efficiency Skills
• Social Interaction Skills
• Career Education
• Self-Determination

Pennsylvania, like other states, has responded to the National Agenda and tailored it to meet its particular strengths and challenges. Pennsylvania's Approach to the National Agenda (PANA) is the customization of the National Agenda to meet the educational needs and priorities of children and youths with visual impairments, deafblindness, and visual and multiple disabilities in the Commonwealth.

For additional up-to-date information about the National Agenda, go to http://www.tsbvi.edu/agenda/. For information regarding Pennsylvania's Approach to the National Agenda (PANA), go to http://www.panationalagenda.com