Families and Caregivers

CVI and the IFSP/IEP: Expanded Core Curriculum

Every student with a visual impairment – including every CVI learner – must master two curricula: the general education curriculum and the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). In school, students engage with the general education curriculum (reading, math, social studies, science, etc.) no matter the service plan. For students with visual impairments, the general education curriculum does not provide the necessary skills for independent living. This is where the ECC comes in. Nine ECC areas must be considered for a student with CVI in the IEP (and outside of school, too). In an ideal world, the entire team – including teachers, therapists, coaches, and families –  takes responsibility for the ECC to ensure coverage during school, at home, and in the community. 

Nine Areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)

1 Compensatory or Functional Academic Skills, Including Communication Modes

2 Orientation and Mobility

3 Social Interaction Skills

4 Independent Living Skills

5 Recreation and Leisure Skills

6 Career Education

7 Use of Assistive Technology

8 Sensory Efficiency Skills

9 Self-determination

Why the ECC is essential for students with CVI

ECC skills are important for the quality of life, well-being, and independence of a student with CVI. By developing these skills, individuals with CVI have improved access to their academics, home life, recreation, community involvement, and professional life.

As with the general education curriculum, students with CVI require explicit instruction in these nine ECC areas, which provide “those essential independence skills needed for living and working. The ECC should be used as a framework for first assessing students with visual impairments, then for planning individual goals and objectives.”1 

“The expanded core curriculum provides opportunities for equality for the blind and visually impaired; to NOT teach it is to deny this basic human right.” 2

Phil Hatlen

Renowned leader in the education of children who are blind and visually impaired

How to get started with the ECC for CVI

The ECC was initially created for students with ocular visual impairment, so IEP teams must adapt assessment and implementation to meet the CVI needs of an individual. Start with a CVI-specific functional vision assessment (e.g., the CVI Range), which will reveal what accommodations and modifications the student requires over a day. (A CVI Schedule can remind the team what is needed). Then, conduct a learning media assessment (e.g., the Sensory Balance Approach) to find the learning modes – visual, auditory, and tactual – that are best for any given task or setting. Finally, adapt the ECC assessment to meet this student’s CVI needs identified in the reports.

A smiling young woman wearing a life vest kayaks on the lake.

Recreation and leisure is one of the essential components of the ECC. Like the young woman kayaking in this photo, every child with CVI should have the opportunity to develop lifelong skills to access sports and other leisure activities.

ECC Assessments for CVI

Currently, the majority of ECC resources available are not appropriately adapted for the learning needs of students with CVI, but this does not change the fact that students with CVI require (and are entitled to) thoughtful, person-centered development and implementation of the ECC. For this reason, a small cohort of educators is developing a CVI-specific resource to address this gap. The resource would provide an overview of guidelines and considerations for ECC assessment, goal development, recommendations, and implementation of activities and adaptations supporting children and youth with CVI to succeed in each ECC area. (More on this soon!)

What assessments are available now?

Learn More

The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) For Students With CVI, Ellen Mazel, CVI Teacher Blog

An Introduction to the Expanded Core Curriculum, Paths to Literacy

What is the Expanded Core Curriculum?, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

The Expanded Core Curriculum, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (this is an excellent comprehensive resource with links to protocols and assessment tools)

CVI and the IFSP/IEP

Everyday CVI Strategies

1Roman-Lantzy, Christine. Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention. 2nd ed., AFB Press, 2018.
2Tietjen, Matt. “Constructing the Visual World.” October 2018. The What’s the Complexity Framework: Designing a Visually Accessible School Day for the Child with CVI. Perkins eLearning Course.

Share This