National Deaf Education Reform Movement Now Web-Accessible at  ndepnow.org 

The debate over deaf education has continued for decades and yet one thing remains unchanged--the average deaf or hard of hearing student continues to leave school with a third to fourth grading reading level and deficient in most academic subjects. Even with the advent of newborn hearing screening, early identification of hearing loss, and new technologies, our children may continue to face a limited future. Communication and language are the foundations for all learning, and yet American law and educational policy do not recognize this fundamental truth, and, indeed, often work against it.

The goal of the National Deaf Education Project (NDEP) is to see the development of a communication and language-driven educational delivery system for deaf and hard of hearing students in the United States. In collaboration with a national parent organization, Hands & Voices, a new website has been created for the express purpose of providing information to parents, educators, consumers, professionals, and others involved in trying to improve the education of deaf and hard of hearing children.  The web site, www.ndepnow.org specifically focuses on efforts to transform that system into a strong and appropriate communication and language-driven model that meets the unique needs of our children.  The website is also a repository for state initiatives on deaf education reform, including examples of The Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights as passed in several states, the Statement of Principle, links to activities throughout the nation including The National Agenda, and a variety of other information regarding NDEP and its work.

Information as well as the keynote presentations from the first National Summit on Collaborative Educational Programming, held in Atlanta on April 28-29, 2005, are posted. Planning for the 2006 Deaf Education Summit is underway.  This conference will be held in Riverside, CA on May 16-17, 2006 following the CEASD meeting.  

Please visit the site and share this news release with your colleagues.  We look forward to the work ahead as we all seek an educational system that fully and appropriately serves the academic, communication and language needs of all children who are deaf or hard of hearing.