Michigan BSBP Transition Services for Blind and Visually Impaired Students

What BSBP Does for Transition-Age Students

The Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) is Michigan's specialized vocational rehabilitation agency for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. It operates under the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) — the same department that houses Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) — but runs a separate, parallel track designed specifically for vision loss.

For transition-age students (14 to 26), BSBP provides vision-specific services such as orientation and mobility training, braille literacy instruction, assistive technology calibrated for vision loss, and summer vocational programs built around the unique employment barriers blind and low-vision students face.

The distinction matters because families often don't realize BSBP exists as a separate option. If your student's IEP team mentions vocational rehabilitation, they're usually talking about MRS. Students who are blind or visually impaired should be referred to BSBP for vision-specific vocational rehabilitation — and BSBP can be coordinated with MRS if they also need other vocational-rehabilitation services.

Pre-ETS Through BSBP

Like MRS, BSBP offers Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) to students ages 14 through 26 who are enrolled in school. The five core Pre-ETS services — job exploration, work-based learning, postsecondary counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy instruction — are the same, but BSBP delivers them through a vision-specific lens.

Pre-ETS can be accessed without a formal vocational-rehabilitation eligibility determination. The current School Verification of Student with a Disability form identified for MRS Pre-ETS is MRS-4.0b; ask BSBP for its current referral and documentation requirements rather than assuming the MRS form applies.

Key differences from MRS Pre-ETS:

• Assistive technology: BSBP Pre-ETS includes screen reader training, magnification software, and other adaptive tools specific to vision loss — not just general workplace readiness.
• Orientation and mobility: Learning to navigate unfamiliar environments independently is built into the career exploration component.
• Braille and alternative format skills: Students learn to produce and consume materials in formats that prospective employers and postsecondary programs will expect them to manage.

Summer Work Programs

BSBP coordinates specialized summer programs that give transition-age students real work experience in structured settings. Two examples:

• Summer Job Engagement: Paid or unpaid work placements paired with daily living skills instruction and peer networking with other visually impaired young adults.
• Careers and Canine Connections: Combines vocational exploration with orientation and mobility experiences, giving students exposure to guide dog partnerships and independent travel skills alongside career development.

These programs fill a gap that school-year IEP services often miss: the chance to practice independence in unfamiliar environments without the safety net of a familiar school building.

Full Vocational Rehabilitation Through BSBP

When a student is ready for intensive, individualized employment services — typically during 11th grade or at least a year before exiting school — they should apply for a full vocational rehabilitation case with BSBP. The process mirrors MRS: once eligibility is confirmed, the student and their BSBP counselor develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) with a specific job goal and the services BSBP will fund to reach it.

BSBP can fund adaptive technology for the workplace, college tuition assistance, career-technical training, job coaching, and other supports tailored to the student's employment goal. Because BSBP follows a separate, vision-specific vocational-rehabilitation pathway, ask BSBP about its current intake and service-priority rules rather than assuming that MRS's Order of Selection applies.

That distinction matters. Students should confirm BSBP's current intake and service timelines directly instead of assuming that MRS waiting-list timelines apply.

How to Get BSBP Into the IEP Meeting

Before the school can invite an outside agency that may be responsible for providing or paying for transition services — including BSBP — it must obtain written parental consent (or the adult student's consent). But the school isn't required to initiate the invitation. If your student is blind or visually impaired:

1. Request in writing that the school invite a BSBP transition counselor to the next IEP meeting.
2. If the school doesn't have a BSBP contact, families can reach BSBP directly through the LEO website and request a referral.
3. Ask the IEP team to document BSBP services as transition services in the IEP — this creates a formal record that the coordination happened.

Starting the BSBP relationship early — at 14 or 15 through Pre-ETS — means the student has a working relationship with their BSBP counselor years before the full VR case needs to open.

The Michigan IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes step-by-step referral timelines for both BSBP and MRS, with the agency consent forms and key contacts you need to get the process started.

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