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Share Your Views on the Infant and Toddler Program (IDEA)
By advocacy | June 14, 2007
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Infant and Toddler Program (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It can be found at http://idea.ed.gov/static/partCNprm.
If you have an interest in deaf and hard of hearing babies, please send your thoughts to the Department on appropriate programming for these babies and their families.
Comments on the NPRM must be received by July 23 and can be sent in the following ways:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov, select ‘‘Department of Education’’ from the agency drop-down menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, select ED–2007–OSERS–131 to add or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for submitting comments, accessing documents, and viewing the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’ link.
- Postal Mail: If you mail your comments about these proposed regulations, address them to Alexa Posny, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4109, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–2600. Please allow plenty of time for your comments to arrive.
Here are some points you may wish to make in your comments:
1. Introduce yourself and your program or interest in Part C. Name any deafness-related organizations you are a member of. Describe the successes and challenges you have seen in your early intervention program. The Department will benefit from learning more about deaf and hard of hearing children and the best ways to serve them, especially since more deaf and hard of hearing children are being identified early and enrolling in early intervention.
2. Thank the Department for specifically mentioning the needs of deaf and hard of hearing children, especially in relation to:
- the listing of early intervention services, where sign language is included.
- the definition of special educators, where teachers of deaf and hard of hearing children are included.
3. However, note that some clarification is needed in describing how to provide sign language services to children and families. It must be clarified that sign language services are not speech-language pathology services, and speech-language pathologists are not qualified to provide them. Speech-language pathologists have no training or expertise in this area. Sign language services must be provided by teachers of the deaf and/or other qualified personnel with the requisite knowledge and experience.
4. Part C should include “special factors” provisions similar to those in Part B of IDEA that address the language and communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing children as well as specific needs of children in other disability categories.
5. Add any further comments of your own, and thank the Department for the opportunity to comment.
Topics: General |
June 14th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Unlike the wonderful program in Georgia, Babies Cant Wait, California’s Healthy Families is unable to provide assistance to parents of deaf children in advancing their choice of hearing loss solutions. California deaf society remains a bloody jungle and issues are oftentimes tied up in nasty tug of wars.