NAD and Laux Law files lawsuit against Arkansas over survey, Deaf/Blind schools merger
The Arkansas Association of the Deaf, the NAD, and the Laux Law Group in Arkansas announced they filed a federal lawsuit against the Arkansas Department of Education to challenge the results of a recent state survey on the future of the Arkansas School for the Deaf and the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
This lawsuit is coming at a time when Arkansas lawmakers have introduced a bill, HB 1810, to transfer the Deaf and Blind schools into a new entity, the Arkansas School for the Deaf and Blind and declare an emergency to speed up the process. Despite objections from the Arkansas Association of the Deaf, the bill passed out of a House Education meeting today, according to the AAD’s Facebook page.
[Video clip of AAD President Kitsonia Hancock encouraging those who were opposed to the bill to email their legislators.]
[Full-screen image of an excerpt from a post by AAD Vice President Jeff Prail that reads,
“Urgent Opposition to HB1810 – A Call for Transparency and Accountability
Dear House Education Committee,
I write to you not as the Vice President of the Arkansas Association of the Deaf but as a concerned citizen who fears that Deaf voices are being ignored. Despite raising concerns with the ASBVI and ASD Board of Trustees, the Attorney General, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), and the Governor’s office, we have been met with resistance… There are community members who do not support HB1810. Do not allow a select few to decide what is in our best interest without hearing all sides. Do you want your legacy to be one of division, or one that upholds the values of transparency, fairness, and the rule of law?
Sincerely,
Jeff Prail”
[End full-screen image]
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced last year that she wants to rebuild the schools after hearing concerns that some facilities were aging. THV11 News said the Arkansas legislature has $30 million dollars set aside for the project.
[News clip from TH11 News announcing that Governor Sanders plans to build new facilities for the Arkansas Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Some buildings will see minor updates while others could be fully demolished and placed. Sanders says she’s going to prioritize student safety and happiness so that ASD and ASB will thrive as they were intended to. The legislature has $30 million set aside for the project.]
A press release from the NAD and Laux Law regarding the lawsuit explained that in December 2023, the state of Arkansas published an online survey to seek input from the state’s deaf and blind communities on the future of the schools but it did not provide ASL translations or audio descriptions and therefore violated federal law.
[Image of press release with the heading reading, “FED LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF ARKANSAS ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF CHALLENGES RESULTS OF RECENT STATE SURVEY, SEEKS TO BAR CHANGES TO DEAF SCHOOL”]
There was a Zoom news conference today hosted by the NAD and I was able to watch and participate.
The NAD’s Legal Director Brittany Shrader said students have a right to have an education that meets their communication needs and that the needs of Deaf and Blind children differ significantly.
Drake Darrah, a NAD counsel, said this case is special because it is on behalf of the Arkansas Association of the Deaf, which is an affiliate chapter of the NAD.
Mike Laux of the Laux Law Group said he’s concerned that the Arkansas government wants to steamroll the physical buildings of the schools of the Deaf and Blind.
The plaintiffs explained that the Dec. 2023 survey was in English and had multiple choice questions and a text box for respondents to write their thoughts. They said the survey was not well drafted, confusing, and with no ASL access, prevented people from giving good responses. Community members only had about two weeks over the holiday break to respond.
Shrader said the survey was not insignificant because it asked questions about the education of both Deaf and Blind children. She said if more Deaf people were able to participate, they would have shared that they don’t want the schools to be merged.
Laux said the state could use the survey to support lawmakers’ decision.
Shrader said she’s concerned that HB 1810 wants to drop a requirement that the school board has at least one deaf person who uses sign language. When I looked at HB 1810, you can see that there is a strikethrough on this sentence.
[Full-screen image of HB 1810. A strikethrough is placed through the phrase, “There shall be at all times one (1) member of the board who is a deaf person who fluently utilizes deaf sign language.”]
The Arkansas House Education Committee met today on HB 1810. The Superintendent of Arkansas School for the Deaf, Nicole Walsh, was there at the committee meeting and appeared very supportive of the bill to merge.
[Video excerpts from the Arkansas House Education Committee Meeting on 3-20-2024 showing Supt. Nicole Walsh saying, “It’s a pleasure to be here.” A later clip shows her explaining how the merger allows nurses/medical staff to be available to more students and that they have more streamlined services and better efficiency.]
KaAnn Varner, who is the Elementary Principal at ASD, testified in support of HB 1810. She said she was initially resistant to the idea of a merger, but changed her views after doing research.
[Video excerpts from the Arkansas House Education Committee Meeting on 3-20-2024 showing Varner saying, “I’m here in support of this bill and I have to say that when we first started talking about the merging of the two schools, I was resistant. Nicole knows that! But through a lot of research as well as lots of analysis on my own part, I really see that both campuses have a lot of needs and I believe that merging them is as good thing. The education of both schools can continue… Honestly the method of instruction is slightly different but I think the needs being met are the exact… They need to learn literacy. They need to learn how to read. They need to learn math. All children need to learn independence and independent living skills.. Change is hard, but change can be good. I hope you vote in support for the bill. Thank you.”]
So, there are two major things happening at the same time surrounding ASD: HB 1810 to merge the Deaf and Blind schools and the lawsuit from NAD and Laux Law challenging the survey.
Laux said in the Zoom conference that he feels there is a race with legislators with HB 1810 and their lawsuit. He said they would take additional actions to halt the implementation of HB 1810 and have a court tell the state to disregard the survey results and republish the survey with auxiliary aids.
So, this is the recap of the situation. I hope to do a follow-up report.
HB 1810: https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKNUkCgtcJA
https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/new-schools-arkansas-deaf-and-blind/91-837ae9f5-cf55-4845-ac93-2aa0d86f4ef8
House Education Committee Meeting: https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00284/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20250320/-1/30926?mediaStartTime=20250320102840