Deaf Texans opposes HB 3458; LA Times column on Kade West
Deaf Texans opposed to HB 3458
There are multiple deaf people in Texas who are speaking out in opposition to a bill in the Texas legislature that would allow the Texas governor’s office to appoint two new members to the Texas School for the Deaf’s board and decide who will become the “presiding officer.”
The bill, HB 3458, if it is passed into law, would effectively allow the governor to hand-pick anyone to become the leader of the TSD board.
The Deaf Network of Texas said in a statement on Saturday, “We feel that Governor Abbott and the House Public Education Committee are conspiring to control the future of our precious Texas School of the Deaf. Their motive is obviously political and suspicious in nature.”
The Deaf Network updated that there is a similar version of HB 3458 in the Senate.
I have seen posts on Facebook from several people in the TSD community and representatives of the Texas Association of the Deaf explaining that TSD’s board has nine members with 51% of it made up of deaf individuals and those who have experience working with deaf children.
So the proposed bill would change that by adding two people with no involvement with the Deaf community and they potentially could take over.
Deaf Texans are encouraging people to contact state representatives on the House Public Education Committee through letters, calls, and emails to express opposition to the bill.
I’ve included four links in the transcript where you can view what Deaf Texans are saying about the bill and their proposed actions.
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LA Times column on Kade West
The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Plaschke wrote a column about a 20-year-old deaf and autistic basketball player named Kade West, who plays for the Cerritos College basketball team in Los Angeles county. It is a touching and controversial story. I will provide a recap and the link to the column is in the transcript.
The column explained that Kade had a tough upbringing in Southern California but found stability during his high school years at the Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham, Massachusetts. He had a passion for basketball.
In the summer of 2021, Kade, back at his home in Southern California, went to a Cerritos College basketball class and developed a bond with coach Russ May. When the basketball season began that year, Kade would attend every practice and help out with the team as an unofficial manager. He then decided to try out for the team for this season and the coach gave him a spot on the roster, saying he earned it. He had a jersey with No. 15 on it.
But there was one big problem. Kade was not eligible to play on the team because he did not complete the required 12 academic units to play in accordance with the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). The column said Kade’s special needs prevented him from completing the 12 academic units. His family filed a waiver but it was not processed quickly.
Two months ago, Cerritos College was playing in an away game. The waiver was not yet approved, so Kade was still considered ineligible by the CCCAA. The team was up by 20 points and there were two minutes remaining. The coach decided to let Kade play in the last two minutes. His teammates cheered him on. It was an awesome moment, but after the game, the CCCAA suspended Coach May for a game for playing an ineligible player. Kade’s uniform was stripped.
The waiver was eventually cleared and Kade got to play in several more games for several minutes, but the “ineligible player” situation led the CCCAA to order the team to forfeit their win. The team lost their standing to get a first-round bye in the postseason tournament and later lost their opening game.
The column quoted the coach as saying, “Yes, I broke a bylaw, but is this what our society has become? Shouldn’t this be something we celebrate?”
The column said Kade was emotional about it, but has recovered and plans to continue playing for the team next season. The coach is supportive. The family will have to file another waiver.
So, that’s the touching story of Kade West and his story is not over.
TSD / HB 3458 Links:
Deaf Network of Texas:
Texas Association of the Deaf:
https://www.facebook.com/txad1886
Vlog:
Vlog #2:
LA Times story on Kade West:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-03-12/cerritos-college-penalized-for-helping-kade-weston
Video of game: