ABSTRACT
It was printed in the July 1992 edition of Educare, the journal of SKILL, the national bureau for students with disabilities. Rather than simply reiterate the basic factual information available in that journal, the author draws out the significance of the Act for visually-impaired students, but to convey the full implications of the Act it is first necessary to consider how it passed through Parliament. Many of the detailed implications of the legislation are currently being worked out by the Further Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (FEFCs) and by the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (HEFCs). The Department For Education has issued guidance to local education authorities (LEAs) and discussions are under way between FEFCs and LEAs to clarify their respective responsibilities. It is equally clear that the FEFC will pay appropriate funds to an independent college where the provision is secured.
