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Minnesota Academies for the Blind and Deaf
Students attending the academies represent all regions of the state and often have additional disabilities. The Federal law under the individuals with Disabilities Education Act 'IDEA' mandates that services be provided by the Academies to meet the educational needs for a free and appropriate education, within the least restrictive environment. The two academies have been service providers for over 130 years. The analysis of the two campuses suggested the need for several interventions within a strategic plan. Based on a collaborative decision-making process, solutions for the improvements of the two campuses were proposed. Renovations, expansions, and upgrading and additions were envisioned in two campus master plans to group functionally related areas, to allow for the expansion of growth areas, and to improve pedestrian movements and increase vehicle accessibility. Work meetings included site gaming visualization that included 3-dimensional program representations that allowed all student representatives to participate in the planning process.
