Pete Buttigieg spotlights Deaf education needs in disability policy proposal
[Transcript] Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, released a 19-page policy agenda for people with disabilities on November 2nd that includes a plan to address language deprivation among deaf people.
In the very first paragraph of the document, Pete mentions Deafblind lawyer Haben Girma as one of America’s most notable people with disabilities.
On page six, in a paragraph under a heading that says “Promote access to effective communication and language-rich environments in schools,” Pete mentions that “90 percent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents” and that “professionals often encourage families to focus on spoken language, which can lead to Deaf children not acquiring a fully developed language in critical early years.” Pete said he will work with the Department of Education on “early intervention through transitions to college and careers.”
Also on page six, in a paragraph under the heading, “Increase funding to recruit, support, and retain special education teachers,” Pete said he would “support improved recruitment, support, and retention of Deaf teachers in Deaf schools.”
Pete’s paper used capital D in all references to deaf people.
There are several parts of Pete’s paper that have policies that would benefit deaf people — such as making sure that jails and prisons fully abide by ADA regulations, improving people’s access to and earnings under SSDI or SSI programs, and supporting the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (which has several sections that recognize and respect deaf people’s right to sign language).
It’s yet another sign from Pete that he’s ready to work with and embrace Deaf people. He had a deaf RIT student, Andy Pleasants work with him during his campaign over the summer. This is the same person that gave Pete his sign name on a Twitter video, which prompted Pete to respond in a video with ASL. I did a story on that on April 25.
Pete was at the top of a Des Moines Register poll in Iowa with 25% of likely Democratic caucusgoers saying he was their first choice for president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in second place with 16%. Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders are tied in third at 15%.
https://storage.googleapis.com/pfa-webapp/documents/PFA_Disability_white_paper.pdf
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/pete-buttigieg-signs-asl-response-to-deaf-supporter
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/2019/11/17/pete-buttigieg-leads-new-iowa-poll-warren-sanders-biden-follow/4198100002/
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