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Parents and experts tell Arlington ISD board delays, uncertified interpreters impede deaf students' access
Summary
Three public commenters — a UTA professor of deaf studies and two parents of deaf preschool children — told the Arlington ISD Board of Trustees the district is slow to register transfer students and repeatedly provides uncertified or absent ASL interpreters, calling for system changes and better records access.
Three speakers at the Arlington ISD Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 2 urged the board to change district practices for deaf students, saying registration delays, gaps in interpreter services and difficulty obtaining education records harmed children and families.
Dr. Lisa Lee Egbert, who identified herself as a University of Texas at Arlington professor and an expert in ASL and deaf studies, said registering two nephews in Arlington schools took five weeks. “We tried to register, 1 in high school, for 5 weeks. We tried. We called your office, called the school,” she told trustees during open forum. “If I got ahold of a person, they'd say, 'I'm sorry. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what to do.'”
Why it matters: Commenters said the problems affected basic access — attendance, classroom participation and family engagement —…
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