Deafness or Auditory Impairment

Deafness or Auditory Impairment TEC 29.310(c), 300.8(c)(3), 300.8(c)(5), 89.104(c)(3), 1401((3)(A) means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

What's Required

The local educational agency (LEA) must ensure that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled (34 CFR

300.114(a)(2)(i) and 20 USC 1412(a)(5)(A).

The LEA must ensure that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily (34 CFR 300.114(a)(2)(ii)and 20 USC 1412(a)(5)(A).

The LEA must ensure that a continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services (34 CFR 300.115(a)).

The ARD committee must specify the appropriate instructional arrangement/setting as set forth in 19 TAC 89.63(c).

What We Do

Continuum of options:

• general education classroom with consultative support from a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing

• general education classroom with direct instructional services from a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing

• a combination of general education and self-contained special education classes with consultative and/or direct instructional services from a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing

• self-contained special education classroom with the consultative and/or direct instructional services from a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing

• self-contained deaf education classroom at the various campuses

• residential placement - Texas School for the Deaf

Components of services for students with Auditory Impairment:

• determined by the ARD/IEP Committee

• based upon individual needs of student

• includes infants/toddlers as determined by the ARD/IEP Committee

• includes services from a qualified interpreter as determined by ARD/IEP Committee

• includes technology support including FM systems and Captioning

Personnel have knowledge and competencies in the following areas:

• extent to which significant hearing loss impacts access to the general education curriculum;

• extent to which significant hearing loss impacts communication and social skills;

• alternative methods of communication;

• specially designed instruction;

• accommodations and modifications

• technology supports including FM systems, cochlear implants and closed captioning

Interpreting Services

What's Required

Interpreting services include interpreting/transliterating receptively and expressively for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

What We Do

• If the ARD/IEP Committee, indicates a student needs interpreting services to benefit from instruction, a referral to the Special Education Office-Coordinator will be initiated.

• Referrals may be made through a variety of sources:

  • ARD/IEP Committee,

  • parents,

  • teachers,

  • audiologists,

  • other professionals,

  • and students.

• To request a sign language interpreter for Hard of Hearing or Deaf parents of a student for ARD/IEP committee meetings, the Request for a Sign Language Interpreter form must be completed.

• The completed form is submitted via email to rosie.delgado@hayscisd.net or faxed to the Special Education Office at (512) 268-8251 at least 10 business days before the date of the special education function for which sign language interpreter services are required.

• When the request is approved, requesters will receive an email confirmation of the request.

• Each student’s need for related services is determined by the student’s ARD/IEP Committee as part of the individualized education program (IEP) process.

• In addressing placement decisions, the ARD/IEP Committee should "consider the student's language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the student's language and communication mode including opportunities for direct instruction in the student's language and communication mode."

• The ARD/IEP Committee should consider the student's language and communication needs when making the decision regarding which interpreting model is best for the student and in what situations an interpreter will be used and submit a request accordingly.

• Interpreting services employs a direct service model using one of several Texas Education Agency recognized options:

  • Oral Transliteration,

  • Cued Language Transliteration,

  • Sign Language Transliteration,

  • Sign Language Interpreting,

  • Communication Access Realtime Transcription (CART),

  • C-Print,

  • TypeWell, and

  • Deaf-Blind Interpreting.

Forms

Resources

• Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

• National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse