After 15 years in Flint, on the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD) campus, the Michigan Department of Education, Low Incidence Outreach (MDE-LIO) has moved back to Lansing to a location within the Library of Michigan.

The MDE-LIO is funded through the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Office of Special Education (OSE).

The project provides technical assistance and resources to serve and improve the quality of education for students with visual impairments and those who are deaf and hard of hearing, including those with multiple impairments.

The MDE-LIO previously operated as the Michigan School for the Blind (MSB) on a campus in Lansing. Low student enrollment eventually ended the need for a physical school for the MSB; however, students with visual impairments in the state still needed services. In 1997, the MSB moved to Flint to share the MSD campus. At its new location, the MSB continued as a services outreach project with the new name MDE-LIO.

MDE-LIO director, Collette Bauman, notes that the project is able to operate successfully from anywhere in the state; however, she is excited about being centrally located in Lansing.

The new location brings the MDE-LIO main office closer to many of the other state projects who collaborate to provide services for the benefit of students. The proximity to the MDE, OSE also eases the MDE-LIO’s ability to work closely with the state.

Vital materials, including equipment for producing Brailled text, were moved to the new location. Great effort was made to complete the moving process quickly, avoiding a negative impact on the MDE-LIO’s ability to provide services.

The new office space is housed in the same building as the Michigan Historical Museum. As a result, the MDE-LIO is reunited with one of its prized possessions from its days as the MSB—a piano used by Stevie Wonder during his time as a student at the MSB. The piano is on display at the Michigan Historical Museum.