HD51 - Trends in the Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing


Executive Summary:
House Joint Resolution 114 (HJR114) was initiated as the result of the actions of a coalition of individuals concerned about the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. These individuals included parents, educators and consumers who are themselves deaf or hard of hearing. The Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as lead agency for the study, convened a representative task force and proceeded to explore current trends in education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing and the implications of a Deaf Child's Bill of Rights as a possible action in the Commonwealth. The study included a review of literature, Department of Education data, current state and federal mandates, and five focus groups. As a result of these activities, four primary issues were identified, as follows:

1. Educational programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing must recognize unique needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing through a range of options and appropriate academic standards.

2. Parents of these students need clear, unbiased information to assist in making critical decisions about their children's education.

3. All personnel who serve students who are deaf or hard of hearing must have specific and appropriate training in the educational and communicative implications of hearing impairment.

4. The role of adults who are deaf or hard of hearing should not be overlooked by parents, educators or the community at-large.

Around these issue statements, the Task Force formulated a series of recommendations with a request for the Education Committees of the General Assembly to forward the recommendations to the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Resources, as well as the Superintendent of Public Instruction for implementation and follow-up. The recommendations include:

• The Virginia Department of Education should support local school divisions in their efforts to respond more effectively to the unique needs of learners who are deaf or hard of hearing by updating and/or reissuing earlier guidance papers; disseminating the U.S. Department of Education's policy guidance statement on "Deaf Students Education Services"; encouraging the full range of choice in educational programs and maintaining residential/day education as an option for students who are deaf or hard of hearing; and by disseminating the U.S. Department of Education list of captioned films and other accessible materials to all school divisions.

• The Virginia Department of Education should document the effectiveness of education for deaf students by conducting a study to determine ongoing data collection needs to maintain information on achievement levels of students who are deaf or hard of hearing and by examining the use of the Literacy Passport Test (LPT) as an indicator of achievement for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and, as appropriate, encouraging all students who are deaf or hard of hearing to take the LPT at the required intervals.

• The Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will assist in the revision of existing materials and will develop new materials to assist parents in making decisions regarding their child's communication and education needs. In accomplishing this, the Department will work with the Department of Health, the statewide network of Parent Resource Centers, Early Intervention, as well as with the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, and local interagency coordinating councils, to develop and disseminate materials and conduct workshops for parents of children with hearing impairments on such topics as Choices in Education and Transition to Adulthood (specific to students who are deaf or hard of hearing) and to prepare material for professionals who may interact with parents during the developmental stages.

• The Virginia Department of Education should revise the requirements for an endorsement in hearing impairment such that teachers would have demonstrated competency in the mode of the communication that is appropriate to the child in the classroom.

• The Secretary of Education should re-examine the need for a teacher training program in Virginia designed to prepare teachers of students with hearing impairments.

• The Department of Education and VDDHH should continue to respond to and implement the recommendations of "Educational Interpreters in Virginia Public Schools" (October 1993) regarding the training, qualifications and role of educational interpreters.

• The Department of Education should provide technical support and plan for routine in-service training for regular education teachers, administrators, and on the unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing students, and on the use of Deaf adults as role models.

• The Virginia Department of Education and local school divisions should be mindful and actively seek to employ persons who are deaf or hard of hearing in positions such as teachers, administrators, secretaries, guidance counselors, instructional aides and other school personnel to act as role models.

• The State Board of Education and the state level Special Education Advisory Committee should be aware that the educational needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing are unique and are not necessarily represented on advisory groups and boards without the participation of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• The Virginia Association of the Deaf, Self Help for the Hard of Hearing, Inc., Tidewater Association for Hearing Impaired Children, mentor programs ("Big Brothers, Big Sisters" as a model), and other consumer groups should make it an organizational priority to make themselves available to the public schools as role models.