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Grandparent asks board to reinstate middle- and high-school program for deaf, hard-of-hearing and nonverbal autistic students
Summary
A grandparent urged the board to investigate restarting middle- and high-school programs that serve deaf, hard-of-hearing and nonverbal autistic students so they can communicate directly with peers and teachers, and said state earmarked funds per student have been absorbed into broader special education funding.
"I'm here today to appeal to this board on behalf of the deaf, hard of hearing and nonverbal autistic children in middle and high school," Barbara Porter told the board during public forum, describing her grandson as a student in the district.
Porter said Cumberland County once operated middle- and high-school programs similar to an existing elementary program at Mary MacArthur Elementary that brings deaf and hard-of-hearing students together countywide to learn "where they are able to communicate, not only with their teacher directly, but also with other children who speak their language." She told the board those programs were cut and that now students attend their home schools and rely on American Sign Language interpreters, which she said isolates students and prevents direct communication.
Porter asked the board to investigate restarting dedicated middle- and high-school programs to meet both educational and social needs for these students. She also said the district received an additional $3,600 per deaf or hard-of-hearing child per year from the state but that the money has been rolled into the general special needs fund and redistributed across programs rather than used specifically for the deaf and hard of hearing. "We couldn't have a program that meets the educational and social needs of these children if that money was spent for programs specific to the deaf and hard of hearing," she said.
Porter also raised difficulty obtaining substitute interpreters and said the reliance on interpreters prevents direct student-teacher communication.
Ending
Porter concluded by offering to discuss the matter further with district staff and asked the board to investigate restoring dedicated programs at the middle- and high-school levels. The board did not announce a follow-up action during the meeting.
