Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-315)
TITLE IX – AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS
PART A – EDUCATION OF THE DEAF ACT OF 1986 (as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, Public Law 114-95)
SEC. 901. LAURENT CLERC NATIONAL DEAF EDUCATION CENTER.
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY-
(1)
(A) The Board of Trustees of Gallaudet University is authorized, in accordance with the agreement under section 105, to maintain and operate the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center (referred to in this section as the ‘Clerc Center’) to carry out exemplary elementary and secondary education programs, projects, and activities for the primary purpose of developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative curricula, instructional techniques and strategies, and materials that can be used in various educational environments serving individuals who are deaf and individuals who are hard of hearing throughout the Nation.
(B) The elementary and secondary programs described in subparagraph (A) shall serve students with a broad spectrum of needs, including students who are lower achieving academically, who come from non-English speaking homes, who have secondary disabilities, who are members of minority groups, or who are from rural areas.
(C) The elementary and secondary programs described in subparagraph (A) shall include-
(i) the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, to provide day facilities for elementary education for individuals who are deaf, to provide such individuals with the vocational, transitional, independent living, and related services they need to function independently, and to prepare such individuals for high school and other secondary study; and
(ii) the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, to provide day and residential facilities for secondary education for individuals who are deaf, to provide such individuals with the vocational, transitional, independent living, and related services they need to function independently, and to prepare such individuals for college, other postsecondary opportunities, or the workplace.
(2) The Model Secondary School for the Deaf may provide residential facilities for students enrolled in the school-
(A) who live beyond a reasonable commuting distance from the school; or
(B) for whom such residency is necessary for them to receive a free appropriate public education within the meaning of part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS-
(1) The Clerc Center shall-
(A) provide technical assistance and outreach throughout the Nation to meet the training and information needs of parents of infants and children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and
(B) provide technical assistance and training to personnel for use in teaching (i) students who are deaf or hard of hearing, in various educational environments, and (ii) students who are deaf or hard of hearing with a broad spectrum of needs as described in subsection (a).
(C) establish and publish priorities for research, development, and demonstration through a process that allows for public input;
(2) To the extent possible, the Clerc Center shall provide the services required under paragraph (1)(B) in an equitable manner, based on the national distribution of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in educational environments as determined by the Secretary for purposes of section 618(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Such educational environments shall include-
(A) regular classes;
(B) resource rooms;
(C) separate classes;
(D) separate, public or private, nonresidential schools; and
(E) separate, public or private, residential schools and homebound or hospital environments.
(3) If a local educational agency, education service agency, or State educational agency refers a child to, or places a child in, one of the elementary or secondary education programs to meet its obligation to make available a free appropriate public education under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the agency or unit shall be responsible for ensuring that the special education and related services provided to the child by the education program are in accordance with part B of that Act and that the child is provided the rights and procedural safeguards under section 615 of that Act.
(4) If the parents or guardian places a child in one of the elementary or secondary education programs, the University shall-
(A) notify the appropriate local educational agency, educational service agency, or State educational agency of that child’s attendance in the programs;
(B) work with local educational agencies, educational service agencies, and State educational agencies, where appropriate, to ensure a smooth transfer of students to and from those programs; and
(C) provide the child a free appropriate public education in accordance with part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and procedural safeguards in accordance with the following provisions of section 615 of such Act:
(i) Paragraphs (1), and (3) through (8) of subsection (b).
(ii) Subsections (c) through (g).
(iii) Paragraphs (h), except for the matter in paragraph (4) pertaining to transmission of findings and decisions to a State advisory panel.
(iv) Paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (i).
(v) Subsection (j)-
(I) except that such subsection shall not be applicable to a decision by the University to refuse to admit a child; or
(II) to dismiss a child, except that, before dismissing any child, the University shall give at least 60 days written notice to the child’s parents and to the local education agency in which the child resides, unless the dismissal involves a suspension, expulsion, or other change in placement covered under section 615(k).
(vi) Subsections (k) through (o).
(5) The University, for purposes of the elementary and secondary education programs carried out at the Clerc Center, shall-
(A)
(i) select challenging State academic content standards, aligned academic achievement standards, and State academic assessments of a State, adopted and implemented, as appropriate, pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1) and (2)) and approved by the Secretary; and
(ii) implement such standards and assessments for such programs by not later than the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic year;
(B) adopt the accountability system, consistent with section 1111(c) of such Act, of the State from which standards and assessments are selected under subparagraph (A)(i); and
(C) publicly report the results of the academic assessments implemented under subparagraph (A), except where such reporting would not yield statistically reliable information or would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student, and the results of the annual evaluation of the programs at the Clerc Center, as determined under subparagraph (B).
The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University is a federally funded center with exemplary elementary and secondary education programs for deaf and hard of hearing students and is tasked with developing and disseminating innovative curricula, instructional techniques, and products nationwide while providing information, training, and technical assistance for parents and professionals to meet the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students from birth to age 21.