While many disability accommodations focus on making classroom activities and academic materials accessible, another important area to consider is environmental accommodations for visually impaired students that focus on the physical classroom environment itself. Blind students and students with low vision often have specific information needs or access needs when accessing physical spaces, and this is especially true for students with CVI or neurological visual impairments that often interact with environments in a different way than students without visual impairments. Here are examples of environmental accommodations for low vision that I have personally used as a student with low vision, as well as environmental accommodations for visual impairment that I have assisted with implementing for other visually impaired students.
Documenting environmental accommodations for visual impairment
While they may not be specifically referred to as environmental accommodations, accommodations that relate to making physical spaces more accessible or modifying classroom environments for students with visual impairments are often included in IEPs, 504 Plans, or Disability Services files, as well as disability accommodations for standardized testing. Sometimes, environmental accommodations or modifications may be implemented more informally based on conversations with the student and their teacher or other school staff, who can assist with making their classroom environment more accessible through the use of simple accommodations or modifications.
On a day-to-day basis, many of the environmental accommodations I used as a student were not specified as part of my disability accommodations, though they were connected to accommodations I was already approved for. To share an example, I was approved for preferential seating accommodations, but this accommodation was implemented in different ways depending on the type of classroom I was in. I also had been approved for accommodations related to photophobia/photosensitivity (sensitivity to light) and used environmental accommodations like window coverings that were in the classroom to help with blocking out lights.
Related links
- How I Talk To Professors About Photosensitivity
- Learning to Self-Advocate With Low Vision
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
Classroom lighting accommodations for visual impairment
Visual impairment is a spectrum, not a binary, and lighting accommodations for students with visual impairments can vary widely depending on the type of condition or level of visual impairment that a student has. Some visually impaired students may be sensitive to the overhead fluorescent lights in the classroom and prefer less bright spaces, while other students may need additional lighting or task lighting to support visual access. Examples of environmental accommodations for visual impairment that relate to lighting include:
- Turning sections of overhead lights on or off to minimize the effects of glare
- Adding fluorescent light covers for overhead lights to reduce brightness or light intensity
- Opening or closing curtains/blinds for natural lighting
- Add curtains to windows to block out lights
- Using lamps instead of or in addition to overhead lights
- For students that prefer more light, allow for portable task lighting such as a desk lamp or book light
- When the projector is on, keep some lights on in the room so it is not completely dark
Fluorescent lights can have a flickering/strobe effect if they are not covered fully or maintained, which can aggravate photosensitivity or photophobia and contribute to eye strain for students with visual impairments, especially CVI or neurological visual impairments. It is critical that flickering lights be repaired as quickly as possible to minimize effects of eye fatigue, headaches, pain, or other adverse reactions that can make learning difficult or impossible.
Related links
- Lighting And Low Vision
- Five Common Technology Behaviors That Hurt My Brain
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- How To Make Classroom Videos Easier To See
Preferential seating accommodations for low vision
Preferential seating accommodations allow students to sit in a location that maximizes access to instruction and/or information presented at a distance. Most preferential seating accommodations do not list a specific location, rather they indicate that a student should have their desk in an area that best supports access to visual information. For students with visual impairments, this is commonly interpreted as sitting in the front row of the classroom.
In this context, preferential seating is separate from flexible seating accommodations, which may provide alternatives to the standard desk and/or chair used by the student. However, flexible seating accommodations may also play a role in how preferential seating is implemented if a larger desk is used.
The most common preferential seating accommodations include the following options:
- Positioning the student desk on a specific side of the room to support visual/auditory access. For example, a student may benefit from being on the right side of the room if they have limited vision and/or hearing on their left side, or use an interpreter/captioning tools.
- Sitting away from doors or windows.
- Placing the student near the instructor’s desk or work area.
- Sitting close to the board or screen during lectures.
- Positioning the student desk so they can use optical aids (e.g. bioptic) or magnification to enlarge information.
- Placing student in a low-distraction area of the classroom.
- Allowing students to move to different areas in the classroom for different activities.
- Having a reserved computer or tablet for class activities with accessibility settings configured
These accommodations may or may not be specified when a student is approved for preferential seating. In middle school and high school, I was expected to know what location(s) in the classroom would work best for me as a student with low vision. I typically remained in the same seat for the entire semester/school year and was not impacted by seating chart changes.
Related links
- Preferential Seating and Low Vision
- Elementary School Classrooms And Low Vision Accessibility
- Middle School Classrooms And Low Vision Accessibility
- Computer Lab Accommodations For Low Vision Students
- Participating In Drama and Theater Programs With Low Vision
Small group testing or alternative environments
For testing or exams, students with visual impairments may have additional accommodations such as extended time, different start times, or alternative formats that can be challenging to implement in a classroom testing setting. For this reason, small group testing or alternative testing environments may be approved for students with visual impairments; these may also be listed as reduced distraction testing environments. Examples of environmental accommodations that can be used for alternative environments can include:
- Small group testing or individual proctoring for exams. These alternate locations should be free of excessive noise and other sensory inputs that could be distracting for exams.
- Allowing students to go to a designated quiet space within the school to work on assignments, with permission from teacher
- Completing group activities in a flex space outside of the classroom when extra space is needed
Students with visual impairments should stay in the general classroom environment as much as possible, though there may be some situations where that is not possible. Whenever possible, I recommend having the student preview the alternative environment in advance so that they know where they are going and what to expect from the space; for example, I found it helpful to visit the room where I would be taking an exam so that I knew where it was located in relation to my classroom.
Related links
- Virginia SOL Test Accommodations For Low Vision
- Testing Accommodations For Low Vision Students
- Quiet Places At School For Students With Visual Impairments
Minimizing glare with environmental accommodations
Shiny surfaces like floors, windows, laminated items, desks, and whiteboards can all create glare, which can make it more challenging for students with visual impairments to use their vision effectively. While I take steps like wearing non-polarized tinted glasses and using screen protectors on devices to minimize glare, environmental accommodations like these also go a long way in making classrooms more accessible for students with visual impairments:
- Placing non-skid rugs or floor coverings underneath lights or windows to minimize reflections/glare on the floor
- Using a desk pad or other opaque surface to minimize glare from overhead lights
- Spraying laminated items with anti-glare spray
- Positioning student desks so they are not directly underneath fluorescent lights or next to windows
Since glare can make it challenging to copy information from a whiteboard or projector, having copies of information on the board like PowerPoints or copies of notes can be helpful for students with visual impairments as they take their own notes in class.
Related links
- Reduce Glare In The Classroom For Low Vision Students
- How I Decorate A Bedroom For CVI
- Flashing Lights and Photosensitivity in the Classroom
Environmental accommodations for classrooms
Many of my teachers loved to decorate their classrooms with fun and functional items such as posters with information to use during open-notes quizzes, floor seating areas for class activities and meetings, and large storage areas that had a ton of items closely spaced together. A lot of these items were difficult or impossible for me to access as a student with low vision, and in some cases, I had no idea that these items even existed because I couldn’t see them. Environmental accommodations for classrooms with visually impaired students can also include specific classroom areas or items, such as:
- Providing copies of classroom posters in an accessible format, if students are expected to look at posters for help with assignments, quizzes, etc.
- For floor activities (e.g. circle time), the student should sit on their “best side” so they can listen or follow along. For example, a student with worse vision in their left eye should position themselves so they can use their right eye more effectively.
- Adding large print or braille/tactile labels to items students are expected to access
- Minimizing visual clutter and complexity of items
- Storing items that the student accesses in a consistent location or separate location
- Offering options for accessing classroom library titles with assistive technology
- Making classroom jobs accessible for students with visual impairments
- Ensure surfaces and walkways are free of tripping hazards
To share another example of an environmental accommodation, one of my teachers had no idea why I couldn’t find a red folder that I was supposed to bring to the office, since they thought it was in an obvious location. They had placed the red folder on top of a red shelf, which had rendered the folder essentially invisible to me. I also had similar incidents with white paper on white desks and black styluses in a black drawer. High contrast surfaces are important for ensuring students with low vision can locate items independently!
Related links
- How To Create Accessible Classroom Posters For Students With Visual Impairments
- Accessible Classroom Library Ideas For Print Disabilities
- Elementary School Classrooms And Low Vision Accessibility
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Dear Elementary School Teacher
Staying organized in classroom environments
When I was in elementary school, the inside of my desk was a complete mess. I had trouble locating and identifying the items that were inside, since I couldn’t remember where anything was and there was too much visual clutter for me to make sense of what was inside. My middle school locker had a similar issue, because my black backpack and dark colored notebooks/binder blended into the gray locker, so it was a challenge for me to quickly grab items that were inside. One of the things that helped me overcome this issue was finding ways to organize my desk and locker so that I could identify items more quickly by having high-contrast items that had unique textures, as well as storing items in the same places each time. Examples of environmental accommodations that can help visually impaired students with organizational skills include:
- Having someone assist the student with identifying papers when cleaning out a backpack/desk
- Keeping accessible materials in storage areas that can accommodate larger paper sizes, tactile items, braille pages, etc.
- Using high contrast or colorful folders to keep papers organized
- Lining storage areas with a solid colored surface to help with contrast
- Placing homework reminders in a consistent location
- Using a shared folder system for digital content
While I didn’t use a blindness cane (white cane) before I started college, this is another item that students will want to have with them in classroom environments. Some students may prefer to have their cane folded at their desk or to have PVC pipe around the leg of the desk so the student can put their cane inside. Others may prefer to hang their cane in the classroom or rest their cane against the wall or on the floor in a place where students can’t trip over it.
Related links
- How I Keep Track of Assignments With Low Vision
- Implementing Shared Folders For Accessible Materials
- How To Create High Resolution Images For Low Vision
- Twelve Blindness Cane Storage Solutions
- Choosing A Backpack With Low Vision
Environmental accommodations for other school spaces
My visual impairment still exists even when I’m not sitting in the classroom, so I had to request environmental accommodations to access other parts of my school with low vision. Examples of environmental accommodations for visually impaired students that can be used at school include:
- Modified school locker with padlock or alternative lock if combination locks are not accessible
- Eating lunch outside of the cafeteria, if student finds cafeteria overwhelming for sensory reasons
- Giving student extra time to get to/from classes and navigate hallways
- Permission to use staff elevator with supervision
- Adding step nosing to stairs
- Braille and/or large print labels for rooms or other school spaces to aid with navigation
While all of these environmental accommodations can be useful for students with visual impairments, I found the cafeteria accommodation extremely helpful in middle and high school, as I found it challenging to navigate the cafeteria with low vision. I strongly recommend reading my post on school cafeterias and low vision!
Related links
- School Cafeterias and Low Vision
- School Lockers and Low Vision
- High School Hallways and Low Vision
- Participating In Drama and Theater Programs With Low Vision
- Concert Band and Low Vision
More environmental accommodations for low vision students
- For school events like graduation, environmental accommodations will need to be discussed with event organizers in advance. Learn more in Disability Accommodations For Graduation
- Wondering how I participated in gym classes with low vision? These environmental accommodations are different than the ones I used in the typical classroom, though I did benefit from things like adapted PE. Read more in Gym Classes and Low Vision: My Personal Experiences
- Although I don’t have an official CVI diagnosis, I have low vision as the result of an eye condition and neurological visual impairment. I write about some of the ways environmental factors influence my vision in Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Want to learn more about disability accommodations for low vision? Read Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
Published April 22, 2021. Updated December 2025