My answer to this question is “NO!” I believed any states not have Right to Close Deaf Schools for “any” reasons! Of course! I do wish I have my own power to help this out because I know it is very important for any Deaf and Hard of Hearing children to attend any Deaf Schools to earn their own better education for their own goals future than under any kind of “puppets.”

I want any of you to read these sentences where I copied them from the “SigNews” stated as you can read them. “No Child Left Behind Act Hurting Deaf Kids?” and read more in there as I found these sentences here they stated “Deaf children, who can’t learn language skills by hearing typically, fall behind grade level in reading.” and another sentence stated “Families with a deaf child must learn American Sign Language in order to teach their child. Not all parents are up to that challenge and simply figure that they will let the school take care of the communication and literacy gaps that develop. Because of this deaf children are often robbed of a great deal of learning time and it makes it difficult for them to learn because they are not immersed into sign language from an early age.”

How can we improve any of these mainstreaming schools for any Deaf children to learn “reading”? Since there are so many parents who not willing to learn ASL and many of these mainstreaming teachers also not willing to learn ASL then how can any Deaf child learn? I want to read any of your comments here to help me out with how can any Deaf child learn if they cannot go to any Deaf Schools? Then where else would any Deaf children be able to learn? There are so many questions I would ask from my own most concerns here! I need all of your feedbacks here, please….

Thank you for sharing that exchange with us. While Rosaline has provided practical advice about the status of Deaf schools, I still feel uneasy about their legal footing.

As Joseph Pietro Riolo aptly explained in his entry (#10), this “continuum of alternative placements” theory does not necessarily ensure the survival of state-funded Deaf schools.

A state could still decide to shut down a Deaf school and refer all Deaf students, as appropriately placed per their individual IEP’s, to go to KDES or MSSD. (I’m not sure about KDES; do they have dorms or not?)

Also, how can one protect Deaf schools against the overarching LRE provisions of the IDEA? How can that be reconciled against the “continuum of alternative placements” afforded to Deaf students? One concern is that, in light of the Rowley SCOTUS decision, court challenges to school closures may not be successful, in any cause of action.

In a nutshell, don’t take things for granted. Vigilance and political activism on the state level is needed to keep these schools open. This holds more true in an era of declining tax revenues and intense budgetary pressures.

Deaf schools need to move forward into hearing school yet demand ASL fluent teachers and higher expectations in education. Many Deaf schools few Deaf teachers as role models since few Deaf adults seek teaching degrees. Deaf schools struggle to push off lower expectations and lower educational standards put on them by hearing teachers. Deaf students would move on to seeking jobs into the ASL teaching field that hearing are taking because Deaf are not seeking the higher education then need.

Deaf students should still have dorms where they can be bussed to them since social interaction is gained mostly from dorm life while school attendance focuses on the educational aspect of each child.

Deaf students in hearing schools will break down barriers of segration and isolation that is caused from keeping Deaf students within Deaf Institutes. Even the word institute is a negative impact that needs to be changed to using the word schools. The Deaf will be able to impact hearing individuals at younger ages like elementary, middle, and high school age to show that we have more in common than in differences. Deaf would gain a better ground of acceptance and teach diversity of cultures through this joint placement.

Deaf have the greatest impact on who?? Their lost peers that are forced to grow up Orals. Orals will no longer face isolation and wil be subtle impacted to the ways of Deaf community and the advantages of being bilingual.

I could not find the definition for “special schools” and so, I could not say precisely what the term is supposed to mean. My impression after reading the comments and discussions on continuum of alternative placements at the beginning of the document at http://idea.ed.gov/download/finalregulations.pdf (search for the word “continuum” that appears on several pages such as 46556, 46585 to 46588) is that the states are not absolutely obligated to have the deaf schools if they can provide the similar settings in other places such as part of hearing schools. For example, a state can designate one floor of a two-floor building in a hearing school only for the deaf students. Or, a state can designate several classrooms in a hearing school only for the deaf students.

The language of obligation to provide a stand-alone deaf school is missing from the regulations. This may explain why the regulations are silent on stand-alone deaf school. This is not limited to deaf schools but also includes blind schools and specialized schools for students who have behavior problems. The regulations do not explicitly require these schools to exist in each state.

That’s my current understanding and I could be wrong.

Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com

Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain.

With fewer deaf children being born, better hearing aids, CI’s (!), more options are open to parents and deaf children, and you cannot keep a school open for 9 children, as was mooted here, it is just not economic sense. And it was London too where you would expect traditionally higher numbers. Pupils were in fact bussed in from outside the catchment area.

Local educational Authorities in the UK who fund these things, are now not willing to bus/fly/ or boat in (!) deaf children from all over to keep a school open, not least because parents won’t go with this, and once a prent says no, then you have no pupils to attend.. Many are opting for ‘inclusive’ education, the idea is sound and very welcome, parents can keep a closer eye on the deaf childen’s progress and intervene if it isn’t right. If a school is 50 or more miles away complacency sets in.

However the poor support is a moot point.

Many parents want children near their homes, and not willing to send them to boarding schools far away…..and even want deaf children in the same class as hearing siblings, which is understandable and natural.

There is a case for SOME specialist deaf schools, I would think that means those deaf children who cannot function even with support in mainstream. My son was one of these, a number of his peers were not, only about 10% of classmates needed intensive or specialised education. Out of my son’s class of 17, only 4 were deemed as needing a special environment.

Really, it is the access and educational and inclusion debate that is confused here. Catch 22, if deaf children do not get support, then this drives the need for more deaf schools to be supported, and preserved, but more deaf schools then defeat the inclusion, and access policies, our government is now committed to, and an option many parents no longer support.

We know also, there are deaf who don’t want, and even claim they don’t NEED inclusion, or even, deaf schools foster community and culture so deaf children should NOT be included in mainstream education and then face losing this, but they have their objectors to this viewpoint, from other deaf, from mainstream, from government, but most vitally from parents.

It is far from the first time, culture versus education has been argued. Did not Gallaudet have this debate ?

As for special education, something to think about… that there is no mention of the need of special schools to exist… but as long as “special schools” is in the law, the Deaf schools have a right to exist…at no charge (meaning no budget cuts?)

I feel like as long as the public is not aware of the laws, governments can do away with health agenicies and special education.

I might be wrong though.

I got the definition from http://idea.ed.gov/download/finalregulations.pdf which is found at http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view . After going to http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view , click on the word “Regulations” in the left side near the bottom. At the top of the next webpage, a large PDF file of the regulations is available for downloading. The longer way is to click on “Assistance To States For The Education Of Children With Disabilities” under “Regulations” and the definition of “continuum of alternative placements” is located in Part B Section 300.115 which refers to Part A Section 300.39 (300.38 seems to be a typo).

The whole Section 300.115 states:

[Start of Section 300.115]

300.115 Continuum of alternative placements.

(a) Each public agency must ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services.

(b) The continuum required in paragraph (a) of this section must –

(1) Include the alternative placements listed in the definition of special education under 300.38 (instruction in regular classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions); and

(2) Make provision for supplementary services (such as resource room or itinerant instruction) to be provided in conjunction with regular class placement.

[End of Section 300.115]

The whole Section 300.39 (the section 300.38 that is mentioned above seems to be a typo) states:

[Start of Section 300.39]

300.39 Special education.

(a) General.

(1) Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including–

(i) Instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and

(ii) Instruction in physical education.

(2) Special education includes each of the following, if the services otherwise meet the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section—

(i) Speech-language pathology services, or any other related service, if the service is considered special education rather than a related service under State standards;

(ii) Travel training; and

(iii) Vocational education.

(b) Individual special education terms defined. The terms in this definition are defined as follows:

(1) At no cost means that all specially designed instruction is provided without charge, but does not preclude incidental fees that are normally charged to nondisabled students or their parents as a part of the regular education program.

(2) Physical education means—

(i) The development of—

(A) Physical and motor fitness;

(B) Fundamental motor skills and patterns; and

(C) Skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports); and

(ii) Includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education, and motor development.

(3) Specially designed instruction means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child under this part, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction—

(i) To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child’s disability; and

(ii) To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that the child can meet the educational standards within the jurisdiction of the public agency that apply to all children.

(4) Travel training means providing instruction, as appropriate, to children with significant cognitive disabilities, and any other children with disabilities who require this instruction, to enable them to—

(i) Develop an awareness of the environment in which they live; and

(ii) Learn the skills necessary to move effectively and safely from place to place within that environment (e.g., in school, in the home, at work, and in the community).

(5) Vocational education means organized educational programs that are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, or for additional preparation for a career not requiring a baccalaureate or advanced degree.

[End of Section 300.39]

As usual, do not rely on the above as the official copy of the regulations. Go to the official source to obtain the official copy of the regulations (and laws).

Certainly, the regulations do mention the “special schools” but it does not necessarily mean that the special schools must exist in order to satisfy the regulations.

Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com

Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain.

This begs a question which I hope is valid enough for me not to be attacked for my known candor and being a Devil’s Advocate from Hell: if there’s not enough demand (i.e. a state-run school and center with with just 12 students on the campus with one per grade) why keep it open? Why not dignify this sending them to the next feasible school for the deaf even if accomplished by the novel idea of transporting them by plane as Tennessee does within state for its students living in the Memphis area but going to school in Knoxville! I was told the same goes for Wisconsin. I know the plane thing is costly and “scary” for some but in net terms does it save the state money? Just food for thought. This is just one idea within many ideas I have myself such as opening another school with its own governance in a certain Deaf-strong state most corrupted by favoritism and all which the state folks can’t really discern from crap.

The reason why schools are closing is that there aren’t enough students to justify keeping the schools open.

Another option to consider:

Deaf schools need to embrace the new technologies head-on. Hire qualified SLPs, audiologists, etc. and encourage the use of oracy in addition to signacy and literacy. Maryland School for the Deaf is doing that now. There needs to be a balance between the use of sign language in social situations and the use of the hearing aids/CIs and speaking in the classrooms.