Students with hearing loss in Delaware face 'systemic discrimination,' ACLU-DE claims
Update: ACLU-DE put this complaint under review on Jan. 2, following backlash from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, advocates.
The ACLU of Delaware has lodged a formal complaint against the Delaware Department of Education, laying out claims of discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing children systemwide.
Filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the complaint announced Dec. 21 calls on the agency to investigate the possibility of "systemic discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing youth, including lack of access to vital therapy programs and over-referrals to Delaware School for the Deaf."
ACLU-DE believes current practices violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The state has yet to formally receive a copy of the complaint, according to a DDOE spokesperson, but plans to review and respond.
"The mission of the Delaware Department of Education is to empower every learner with the highest quality education through shared leadership, innovative practices and exemplary service," DDOE said in a statement. "That includes support for students to receive services in the least restrictive environment."
In the complaint, one issue relates to "Listening and Spoken Language" therapy. Delaware children are supposed to be guaranteed certain protections whenever hearing loss is detected, according to ACLU-DE, such as access to this "critical" therapy designed to teach a young child to use a hearing aid or a cochlear implant for communicating.
ACLU-DE claims that isn't happening.
Claim: Not enough providers
The complaint explains that, back in October, the state Department of Education said there is only one LSL provider in the state — and "when that provider took a multi-month leave, the state had no plan or structure in place to provide critical LSL services to its deaf and hard-of-hearing youth." As these advocates see it, that deprived children of vital therapy hours.
"After seven years of successful operation starting in 2013, the LSL program suddenly stopped receiving referrals,” said Nick Fina in a statement, as project lead for CHOICES Delaware, a grassroots organization for children with hearing loss.
One special education attorney called it critical − and mandated.
SCHOOL FUNDING: New report calls on Delaware to spend more, update school funding to follow students
"For children learning to communicate and understand using spoken, aural language, research-based therapy at a very young age is both critical to cognitive development and legally required," said Caitlin McAndrews of McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse and Ryan P.C., in the release. "We hope that the state will recommit to delivering high-quality LSL therapy to this young population that literally cannot speak for itself.”
Claim: Over-referrals to Delaware School for the Deaf
Next, ACLU-DE claims that the department over-refers students to the Delaware School for the Deaf — violating, the complaint says, the students' rights to be educated in the least restrictive environment under ADA.
"On average across the country, only 9% of K-12 children with hearing loss attend a school for the deaf," ACLU-DE said in its release Thursday. "In Delaware, that number is over 40%. This staggering discrepancy reflects a systemic failure to consider and provide resources that fit the unique needs of each student."
ACLU-DE closed its release with the hope that investigators will "act swiftly" to inspect what it deems systemwide failures.
Deeper: Can over-the-counter hearing aids correct usage disparities? Delaware will find out.
Next read: What people with hearing aids wish you knew: 'Our struggles don't discount us'
Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: ACLU: Delaware practices discriminate against kids with hearing loss
