National Association of the Deaf

The COED is to "identify factors that pose barriers to, or factors that facilitate

   1. educational performance and progress of students who are deaf in high school;
   2. educational performance and progress of students who are deaf in post secondary education;
   3. career exploration and selection;
   4. job performance and satisfaction initial post-secondary employment; and
   5. career advancement and satisfaction."

Supporting COED

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is currently working to get a Commission on Education of the Deaf (COED) enacted this year. The COED will study and identify factors that are a part of the educational performances of deaf and hard of hearing students in high school and post-secondary programs, which include colleges, universities and technical schools. Career exploration, job training, advancement and satisfaction, as well as other employment issues, will also be studied.

Current Status

The COED provision is a part of the Education of the Deaf Act. The provision has been, for legislative purposes, incorporated in the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill. The Senate and the House have already passed their own versions of the HEA bill. Congress is currently in conference to work out differences between the two versions before sending a mutually agreed upon HEA bill to the President.

The Senate version (S.1882) already has a provision for establishing COED. The House version has no such provision, so the NAD is currently working on getting the House to agree. At press time, the House resists that particular provision.

If you wish to have the House accept the Senate language and approve establishing the COED, you can share your opinions with Chairman William Goodling of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. His phone number is (202) 225-5836 and his fax number is (202) 226-1000.

If enacted, the COED will be the second such commission in 10 years. The first commission made 52 recommendations in 1988. Action has already been taken on some of these recommendations, but a great deal more needs to be done, especially because of numerous changes in deaf education since the last COED.

Why a COED is Needed

Some high school programs or schools for the deaf and hard of hearing have been closed. More and more deaf and hard of hearing students are attending public schools alone or with a few other deaf and hard of hearing students. Often, these programs do not provide appropriate services. There has been no comprehensive study to find out if they, as well as those deaf and hard of hearing students in deaf schools and programs, are getting an appropriate education and a chance to succeed in life.

We need this comprehensive study to find out what is happening to our deaf and hard of hearing students. We need to find out if they are able to find employment and if they are able to succeed in their career choices. Without such information, we cannot take appropriate action to help our deaf and hard of hearing students and adults.

Purpose and Duties

The COED is to identify which education-related factors help and which ones hinder successful post-secondary education experiences and employment.

The COED is to "identify factors that pose barriers to or factors that facilitate

1) educational performance and progress of students who are deaf in high school;

2) educational performance and progress of students who are deaf in post secondary education;

3) career exploration and selection;

4) job performance and satisfaction in initial post-secondary employment; and

5) career advancement and satisfaction."

The language for the COED specifically defines deaf people as "all persons with hearing impairments, including those who are hard-of-hearing, those deafened later in life, and those who are profoundly deaf."

The COED will have 18 months from the time it is established to prepare and submit a final report.

COED Members

The Secretary of Education will appoint 13 people to serve on the commission, based on recommendations made by a variety of specified educational programs and national associations, including the NAD. Members should be "individuals who have broad experience and expertise in deafness, program evaluation, education, rehabilitation and job training generally, which expertise and experience shall be directly relevant to the issues to be addressed by the Commission." Such members should be appointed no later than 90 days after the date of enactment.