2011 Connecticut Code
Title 10 Education and Culture
Chapter 174 Education of the Blind
Sec. 10-298. Powers and duties of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind.

      Sec. 10-298. Powers and duties of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind. (a) The Board of Education and Services for the Blind shall, annually, as provided in section 4-60, submit to the Governor its report, containing a statement of the activities of the board during the preceding year. Said board shall prepare and maintain a register of the blind in this state which shall describe their condition, cause of blindness and capacity for education and rehabilitative training. The board may register cases of persons whose eyesight is seriously defective and who are liable to become visually disabled or blind, and may take such measures in cooperation with other authorities as it deems advisable for the prevention of blindness or conservation of eyesight and, in appropriate cases, for the education of children and for the vocational guidance of adults having seriously defective sight but who are not blind. The agency shall establish criteria for low vision care and maintain a list of ophthalmologists and optometrists that are exclusively authorized to receive agency funds through established and existing state fee schedules for the delivery of specifically defined low vision services that increase the capacity of eligible recipients of such services to maximize the use of their remaining vision.

      (b) The board may accept and receive any bequest or gift of personal property and, subject to the consent of the Governor and Attorney General as provided in section 4b-22, any devise or gift of real property made to said board, and may hold and use such property for the purposes, if any, specified in connection with such bequest, devise or gift.

      (c) The board shall provide the Department of Motor Vehicles with the names of all individuals sixteen years of age or older who, on or after October 1, 2005, have been determined to be blind by a physician or optometrist, as provided in section 10-305. The board shall provide simultaneous written notification to any individual whose name is being transmitted by the board to said department. The board shall update the list of names provided to the Department of Motor Vehicles on a quarterly basis. The list shall also contain the address and date of birth for each individual reported, as shown on the records of the board. The department shall maintain such list on a confidential basis, in accordance with the provisions of section 14-46d. The board shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Motor Vehicles to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.

      (1949 Rev., S. 1611; September, 1957, P.A. 11, S. 13; 1961, P.A. 539, S. 7; 1963, P.A. 386, S. 5; P.A. 77-147; P.A. 83-307, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-546, S. 27, 173; P.A. 89-12, S. 1, 3; P.A. 05-156, S. 1; P.A. 06-130, S. 7.)

      History: 1961 act changed inspection requirement from once every three months to annually, made preparation of register compulsory and clarified right to aid those with defective eyesight but not blind; 1963 act changed the name of the board; P.A. 77-147 added Subsec. (b) re acceptance of bequest or gift of real or personal property; P.A. 83-307 inserted new Subsec. (b) to require Connecticut Institute for the Blind to submit proposed operating budget for Oak Hill School to board of education and services for the blind, relettering former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 84-546 made technical change in Subsec. (a), substituting "activities" for "doings"; P.A. 89-12 deleted provision re the power of the board of education and services for the blind to visit, inspect and report on the Connecticut Institute for the Blind in Subsec. (a), deleted former Subsec. (b) re annual submission of proposed operating budget for Oak Hill School and relettered the remaining Subsec. accordingly; P.A. 05-156 amended Subsec. (a) to require agency to establish criteria for low vision care and maintain a list of ophthalmologists and optometrists that are to deliver services to persons with low vision, and to substitute "rehabilitative" for "industrial" and "disabled" for "handicapped" and added new Subsec. (c) re board's duty to provide Department of Motor Vehicles with the names of persons 16 years of age or older who have been determined to be blind; P.A. 06-130 amended Subsec. (c) to require the board to include addresses and dates of birth for each person reported to Department of Motor Vehicles and to require department to maintain the confidentiality of the list, effective June 2, 2006.