Updates on ACLU of Delaware’s controversial complaint
Alex: Here are several updates on the ACLU of Delaware. I will review what happened in the last couple of months before sharing the updates.
Remember, at the end of December, the ACLU of Delaware, a state organization, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). They asked for an investigation on why there were too many deaf children being sent to the Delaware School for the Deaf and not getting the “golden standard” of Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). The complaint falsely called the Delaware School for the Deaf a segregated school and a restrictive environment.
Naturally, there was a strong pushback from the Deaf community. Many professionals in Deaf education spoke out. There was a Change.org petition started by Sara Nović that currently has over 30,000 signatures.
In January, the nationwide ACLU organization and its Deaf staff attorney West Resendes released an article that rebutted many of the false ideas in the ACLU of Delaware’s complaint. It said providing access to a natural signed language during early infancy is the evidence-based "gold standard" approach.
In February, the ACLU of Delaware put out a statement saying it has received feedback, apologized for the harm it's caused, and said it is now working on amending its complaint.
Okay, now pause all of this.
In a previous report, I explained that the ACLU of Delaware was probably working with a pro-LSL and anti-Deaf school activist, Nick Fina, who leads an organization called CHOICES Delaware, when they filed their original OCR complaint in December. The ACLU of Delaware never reached out to the Delaware School for the Deaf and its Director Mindi Failing before filing the OCR complaint. They seemed to only listen to Fina and others in his organization.
Now press “play.”
You would expect that the ACLU of Delaware would want to make sure they had a 10-foot pole to keep themselves separate from Fina for at least the time being. But that didn't happen.
Two weeks ago, Sara Nović said on social media that the ACLU of Delaware seemed to still be chummy with Fina because they posted an image of Fina and called him an "ambassador" in a general fundraising effort. Here is a screenshot, which was taken by Nović.
[Screenshot of @acludelaware with the words, “Ambassador Highlight: Nick Fina. ACLU-DE Supporter.” There is a general statement explaining that Fina is pledging a dollar-for-dollar contribution for the first $500 raised to his campaign for the ACLU of DE]
See that post? Nović said this image was deleted after she called them out. She provided some new information in a recent Instagram video, explaining that Fina and others in his LSL advocacy group did try to pass a law in Delaware last year that would affect deaf and hard of hearing children. This was new information for me and most of us.
I was able to read the text of the bill. It had similar talking points as the original OCR complaint. The bill called for the creation of a new statewide school district that would include a pre-kindergarten school that provides instruction in LSL. That bill did not pass to become law. But this is important -- the ACLU of Delaware wrote a statement that supported the bill and falsely called the DSD a “segregated” and “restrictive” school.
[Screenshot of a letter written by the ACLU of Delaware in support of the bill — dated March 6, 2023]
So this was all happening last year, several months before the OCR filing in December.
Nović said she’s concerned that, because of the posting of the image of Fina, the ACLU of Delaware is “still in bed with these LSL groups” and that “they obviously think we aren’t paying attention anymore…”
Many people on social media expressed gratitude to Nović for being vigilant.
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Alex: I checked the ACLU of Delaware’s website and saw that there is a "FAQ" and "FVC" (Frequently Voiced Concerns) that acknowledged that it received significant feedback from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and that it wants to apologize to the community on several points.
One was for saying LSL is a “gold standard.” Another apology was for using the word, “sue” on their social media graphic in December in their original OCR complaint. They said no one is going to court, there is no lawsuit.
So, what are the updates? Three things.
First, I was able to obtain a statement from Mike Brickner, the ACLU of Delaware’s executive director. He said he wants to “state unequivocally that we are not working with… Nick Fina on the amended OCR complaint…” Fina is out of the picture.
Secondly, Brickner said one of their attorneys and West Resendes from ACLU nationwide met with DSD Director Failing on Feb 29, 2024 and had a very productive meeting.
Thirdly, Brickner said they are still working on editing the ACLU of Delaware’s amended complaint and is getting feedback from West. Brickner pledged that West and the ACLU nationwide will be able to review the final version before it is submitted, probably in several weeks.
That’s all the updates for now.
Sara Nović post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C36fIcgMkhX/
West Resendes article: https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adults
ACLU of DE’s FAQ/FVC: https://www.aclu-de.org/en/deaf-hard-hearing-ocr-complaint-faq-fvc
Previous Moth stories on this topic:
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/recap-of-aclu-de-complaint-and-deaf-community-pushback
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/delaware-aclu-updates-interview-with-mindi-failing