Recap of article about Deaf education in North Carolina
A news outlet in North Carolina, The Assembly, published a long, detailed article about Deaf education in the state. Its headline is “Why the State’s Deaf Schools Declined—and Could Rise Again.” It was written by Ren Larson. I’ll recap the article.
In 1996, the state had three Deaf schools with over 750 students in enrollment. They were the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton, the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf in Wilson, and the Central North Carolina School for the Deaf in Greensboro. The third one closed in 2001.
Today, there are only just over 100 students in both schools (NCSD and ENCSD).
The author pointed out three causes for the enrollment decline: the widespread adoption of vaccines against diseases like Rubella that can cause deafness, a 1990s state policy that pushed deaf and hard of hearing students into mainstream schools, and new technology like cochlear implants and advanced hearing aids.
There are more than 1,500 deaf and hard of hearing students in North Carolina who attend local public schools.
The article explained that in North Carolina, a deaf student must be referred from their local school district to attend one of the deaf schools but the districts usually choose to educate the child.
But that may change after the NC legislature passed a bill that requires the deaf schools to operate independent of the state’s Department of Public Instruction and set their own admissions criteria. This means parents would have more power and say into whether their deaf child should stay in a public school or go to a deaf school.
The director of ENCSD, Michele Handley, told the news outlet that she wants to reach out directly to parents to discuss their options.
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The article explained that North Carolina’s fifth-largest district, Cumberland County Schools, has more than 50,000 students across 84 elementary, middle and high schools. 77 of these schools have deaf and hard of hearing students. In that district, elementary-aged deaf students are clustered at one particular school. But when they reach middle school, they usually either go to a public school where they are the only deaf child in that grade or start attending a Deaf school.
A state legislator who is supportive of Deaf schools, Hugh Blackwell, said he feels that some public school districts refer deaf children with additional disabilities or behavioral issues to Deaf schools because they don’t want to handle it.
The article said the Deaf schools and a Blind school in Raleigh are now working on getting legislative support to get funds for the transition to become fully independent by July 1st.
https://www.theassemblync.com/education/deaf-schools-north-carolina/