After fierce debate, Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind could see 4-year extension

The Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind is poised to receive at least a four-year lifeline following a bitter, two-hour debate in the state Senate.

The future of the schools was an unexpected hot topic at the Legislature after the agency received unanimous and uncontested votes for a routine eight-year continuation earlier this year.

Thursday's debate over House Bill 2456 split along party lines and veered from concerns about educational excellence to "able-ism" to questions of whether the debate itself violated the Americans With Disabilities Act since there were limited opportunities for visually or auditorily impaired citizens to follow the proceedings.

The debate swirled around a welter of different timelines for the schools, technically a state agency, from as little as two years to as much as 10.

Failure to approve a continuation bill would mean the agency, created at statehood in 1912, would have to close. Despite the fierce debate, the extension was ultimately approved overwhelmingly by members of both parties in the Senate.

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Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, led the drive to shorten the agency's timeframe, arguing more legislative attention will help ensure the school provides top-notch education. The agency serves 2,200 students between its Tucson residential campus, its day school in Phoenix and through the services it provides to students in Arizona's other public schools.

"We stand for delivering the best possible services,” Hoffman said, as he advocated for a four-year extension. The shorter timeframe would better focus both the school's and the Legislature's attention on the school, he said.

Earlier, he had promoted a two-year continuation but agreed with the four-year proposal from Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, as a compromise.

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Democrats countered with their own proposal of 10 years, arguing it would send a message of stability to the school's students, parents and staff. Plus, the agency received a positive performance audit and unanimous support from the House.

“There is no evidence to support or suggest a shorter term is warranted," said Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe. He noted the Senate had just granted an eight-year continuation for the state Department of Liquor Licenses and Control with no fuss.

Mendez, along with other Democrats, said the argument for a shorter timeframe smacked of "ableism," a patronizing form of discrimination against disabled individuals.

"This proposal screams that the deaf and blind are not capable of deciding what is best for them," Mendez said.

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Democrats also complained that the bill was posted early Thursday morning, providing for scant public notice. Annette Reichman, the superintendent of the schools, sat in the Senate gallery, relying on a closed-caption television screen to follow the debate. Reichman is deaf and no interpreters were provided. She also has some vision impairments.

Democratic Sens. Catherine Miranda and Raquel Terán of Phoenix both suggested that the bill was a "vendetta" on behalf of Sen. Justine Wadsack before they were cut off by President Pro Tem T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, for floating unfounded theories.

Wadsack, R-Tucson, proposed a bill earlier this year that would have opened the schools to all students with disabilities. She later withdrew SB 1402 and said she would look to an ad hoc committee to explore the idea.

House still must approve timeline

Despite their objections, the Democrats, with the exception of Mendez, voted for the amended bill, which limits the school to a four-year continuation.

Several Republicans, including Bennett and Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, said they'd like to see an eight-year continuation, but voted for the compromise to four years.

Democrats are pinning their hopes on the House, where the bill passed with an eight-year continuation. A committee of House and Senate members will likely have to reconcile the conflicting versions of the bill.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind poised to get 4-year extension