[VIDEO DESCRIPTION AND TRANSCRIPT: The NAD logo appears as a light watermark in the bottom right corner. The NAD CEO Howard A. Rosenblum is sitting at his desk.
HOWARD: Hello, for this month’s Ask Howard Anything, I want to discuss some serious challenges we face legally and politically. Right now Congress is looking at who to approve for specific political positions that are appointed by the President. One of the biggest challenges we have now involves education, especially Deaf Education. The NAD was founded and has been fighting for 137 years to obtain better education for deaf and hard of hearing children. The most critical point in a deaf and hard of hearing child’s life starts at birth and parents must decide what to do. Often those deaf and hard of hearing children have no language. It is important to support families who do not have the resources to understand what to do. We must provide all the resources they need, invite them into our community as friends, socialize with them so they can understand their child’s needs of having access to both ASL and English. These deaf and hard of hearing babies need language acquisition which will lead to language fluency and future success.
So, how do we overcome these challenges? Currently, there are two important federal laws that are up for re-authorization. One is the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) and the other is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Both laws have been established for years but now they are up for re-authorization which means Congress will re-visit the bill to figure out if we should keep the bill as is, keep the bill with some changes, or get rid of the bill entirely.
The NAD, along with other groups, have been persistent in telling Congress both bills are important. Now, for EHDI, we proposed some modified changes to help make the bill stronger. Our proposed changes are designed to give more support to the parents more and guide them towards understanding how access to language is important — both ASL and English — for success. With the new Congress, this means more work in telling Congress about EHDI. The same applies for the other law, IDEA. The IDEA was established to protect the rights for all deaf and hard of hearing children and children with disabilities to go to school. Deaf and hard of hearing children didn’t have that right before the IDEA existed. The IDEA is important because it mandates a continuum of educational settings, which must include deaf programs and deaf schools. It is important for parents to know that deaf programs or schools for the deaf are available for their deaf and hard of hearing children and understand why it is important to provide access to ASL and English.
While these federal laws and keeping Congress aware of their need are important, advocacy must happen not only on the federal level but also the state level. Federal and state levels both have education laws and have education agencies. At the federal level, the Department of Education looks at federal laws to determine how to implement and apply through education policies. At the state level, the state Department of Education is the agency that decides how to carry out the federal education requirements in its state. State legislators can also propose additional education laws for their state. The school districts are also involved in the education process as agencies. Between both the federal and state levels — there’s a lot to monitor! We need to make sure Congress and state legislators know what is important for deaf education.
The NAD is already working with different organizations to inform Congress and state legislators as well as the federal and state Departments of Education what is important. However, the NAD does not have to be the only one doing this — you can help the deaf community to ensure that all deaf and hard of hearing children have access to language from birth and throughout their educational experience to become successful. Tell your state legislators and your state Department of Education the importance of ASL and English for all deaf and hard of hearing children. Tell your Representative at the federal level, those in Congress and the Senate, to re-authorize EHDI and IDEA with the changes proposed by the NAD and other supporting groups. It is also worth mentioning to your Representatives and Senators as they consider who to vote for various positions, especially the Secretary of Education. The person who they vote for should understand the importance and value of IDEA and EHDI. They must consider those two important bills before deciding who to approve.
That’s what the future looks like for us as we work towards the success for all deaf and hard of hearing children. We need your help and we thank you for your support.
Video fades to a soft white background with several different font types showing “NAD” very quickly. Copyright video ends with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) logo centered. Blue text below the logo appears, “A production of the National Association of the Deaf (copyright) 2017 All Rights Reserved”.