Deaf / Hard of Hearing

Each student with hearing loss is an individual with unique strengths and talents that must be identified and considered when designing educational programs to facilitate growth in deficit areas. Therefore, hearing acuity by itself should not be the sole criterion for determining appropriate programming for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) defines two terms related to hearing acuity: Deafness and Hearing Impairment. According to IDEA 2004,

• Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, and that adversely affects a child's educational performance.
• Hearing impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but is not included under the definition of deafness.

IDEA 2004 also provides clarification concerning related services for students with a medical device that is surgically implanted (e.g., a cochlear implant).    Federal Regulations : 300.34 Related services

Hearing loss and corresponding interventions vary greatly from student to student and from program to program. The goal for any student who is deaf or hard of hearing should be to develop an effective program that addresses the student's individual strengths and needs, and prepares him or her to be a successful adult.   To help in developing the educational program, the current Chapter 14 regulations in PA require a Communication Plan be completed for students who are deaf or hard of hearing as part of the IEP process.   This Communication Plan drives the development of IEP goals and placement decisions.

It is essential that students using sign language as their communication method receive accurate information from their educational interpreter. The student may not be able to access academic content if the educational interpreter cannot interpret what is communicated in academic settings.    Therefore, the current Chapter 14 regulations contain a requirement that educational interpreters achieve at least a 3.5 score on the Educational interpreter Performance Assessment and/or be nationally certified and complete 20 hours of professional development annually.   For more information on these requirements please refer to the Educational Interpreter webpage on the PaTTAN website.