Section III: Background

Educational Placement Options for Children Who Are Deaf

United States statistics for 1994 (the most current figures available when this study began) indicate that approximately 9,000 children who are deaf attended residential programs for the deaf, 3,704 attended day schools for the deaf, and 30,347 were enrolled in some type of local public school program (Moores, 1996). The educational placement options available to families of children who are deaf have changed drastically over the course of United States history.

Moores listed the five basic school programs available to children who are deaf as (pp. 16 -18):

1. Residential schools
2. Day schools
3. Day classes
4. Resource rooms
5. Itinerant programs

Furthermore, as many as 12 variations of these five basic placements may exist in any of the fifty states. (These educational placements may also use any number of communication methods, including American Sign Language or other sign systems, oral communication, or total communication.)

(Please note: underlined terms are defined in the Glossary in the Appendix.)

The array of educational options may be limited when geographic service areas are taken into consideration. Families residing in geographic areas where services for children who are deaf are severely limited, may experience a reduction in availability of educational options. Brantlinger and Guskin (1987) noted that parents of children with low-incidence disabilities and/or those who reside in rural areas experience problems obtaining suitable services for their children. Urban areas generally offer a wide range of educational programs for children who are deaf. In contrast, more remote areas are frequently less affluent and characterized by having limited personnel in specialized fields, less educational expenditure per child, and fewer community resources.

Federal Legislation

One of the most significant factors in the expansion of program options for individuals who were deaf during the twentieth century, was the passage of legislation protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities. The U.S. Congress passed Public Law 94-142 (The Education for all Handicapped Children Act) in November 1975. This law required state and local agencies to provide appropriate educational services for disabled children and youth from the ages of 3 to 18.

One of the major components of this legislation influenced the educational placement options (see Educational Placement Options section above) for children who are deaf by establishing the concept of least-restrictive environment. This section of the law states that, as much as possible, handicapped children should be educated with non-handicapped children. Another important feature of the legislation required the development of an annual Individualized Education Program (IEP) for all children receiving special education services (Cantor & Cantor, 1995).

The passage of Public Law 99-457, in September 1986, extended the age of eligibility for special education services to include children from birth to three, and to their families. PL 101-476 extended the period of eligibility for special education services to age 21. The enactment of PL 94-142 and subsequent re-authorizations (including PL 101-476 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] of 1990 and 1997), reflected a continuing evolution in the approach to educating individuals who are deaf (Moores, 1996). Residential schools and day schools are no longer the only placement options for parents to consider. Other types of educational options available for children who are deaf include day classes, resource rooms, itinerant programs, private schools, and home schools. As the quantity of options for children who are deaf continue to increase, questions of effectiveness and quality must also be addressed. More specifically, these questions require attention:

• Do all parents have access to these types of programs?
• What differences exist between urban and rural settings with regard to availability of programs, quality of service (including student access to information and communication), and student population?

Rural Special Education

Rural schools comprise the majority of the nation's school systems and remain extremely diverse (Helge, 1984a). With the passing of federal legislation, rural schools have been forced to address the educational needs of children with disabilities within the local school system.

Rural school districts serving students who are deaf often face unique problems. Because of the low incidence of deafness, these districts lack the critical mass of students needed to ensure proper grade-level placement (Moores, 1996). Often teachers are required to teach a small group of children with varying degrees of hearing loss and at multiple grade levels. Other problems that may plague small rural districts include a lack of qualified personnel, inadequate transportation, and reduced funding.

A study conducted in 1990 by Stone (cited in Wengerd, Hayes, & Luetke-Stahlman, 1995) found that teacher turnover rates in rural areas are 30 to 50 percent annually, and the most common reason cited for teachers leaving centered on feelings of isolation. In rural districts many of the educators who provide services to students with disabilities do not have specialized certification or training in deafness. Consequently, many educators are issued "emergency certification" in order to fill positions requiring a special educator (Helge, 1984a).

Parents in these districts must wrestle with questions such as: If the professionals and service providers working with these students who are deaf have no specialized training in the area of deafness, how can they adequately inform parents about the education placement options available to their children? Furthermore, are they equipped to assist the parents in assessing the individualized needs of children passing from one educational level to another?

Rural school districts, however, do have certain advantages when compared to urban settings. On the positive side, rural districts often have a relatively high trust factor, close family ties, a sense of community, and a willingness to volunteer in helping individuals with disabilities (Helge, 1984a). Another conceivable advantage of working in rural settings is that special education teachers often have the same group of students over a period of several years. In that environment, teachers may enjoy watching the children grow and mature from year to year and develop a special bond with pupils (Wengerd, et al., 1995).

About the Author

Vicki L. Wolfe completed her dissertation studies at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, during the spring of 1999. Funding for her research study was received through Gallaudet University's Pre-College National Mission Program (now Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center). Wolfe taught elementary-age children who are deaf for a number of years and worked as a graduate research assistant for the Postsecondary Education Consortium at The University of Tennessee during her graduate studies. She and her husband, Derick, are the proud parents of an adopted daughter who is profoundly deaf. Wolfe is currently the Department Chair of Education at Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, Alabama.