National Association of the Deaf

As president of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), I am writing to you about the crisis concerning the South Dakota School for the Deaf (SDSD). As you know, there is a proposal to cut $2 million from the school, close the campus, and move to an outreach-only model. The NAD believes this would be a huge mistake. There has not been sufficient time to study how current services to students would be affected. Further, closing the school would eliminate one of the placements on the continuum of alternative placements mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).