ACLU of Delaware calling for investigation into discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing youth

DELAWARE – The ACLU of Delaware is calling for an investigation into the Delaware Department of Education’s systemic discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing youth.

We’re told the discrimination includes lack of access to vital therapy programs and over-referrals to the Delaware School for the Deaf, which violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

According to the complaint, Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) therapy is considered a “gold standard” approach designed to teach a child to use the hearing provided by a hearing aid or cochlear implant for understanding speech and learning to talk. This therapy, we’re told, is most effective between the ages of 0 to 3, and because the window for treatment is so small, it is critical that students are given access to LSL as early as possible.

Under Delaware’s birth mandate, children are protected by IDEA-funded programs the moment their hearing loss is detected. These protections should guarantee access to critical therapy like LSL, yet despite the ACLU’s repeated attempts to obtain basic information about the LSL program in the state, officials refused to provide any records to demonstrate that the state has been providing the therapy it claims to offer.

We’re told that in October, DDOE officials admitted in an email exchange to a parent seeking LSL services for their child that there is only one LSL provider in Delaware and that when that provider took a multi-month leave, the state had no plan in place to provide critical LSL services to its deaf and hard-of-hearing youth. Officials with the ACLU say this deprived children of vital therapy hours and progress they cannot get back.

The complaint is also alleging that DDOE over-refers students to the Delaware School for the Deaf, violating students’ rights to be educated in their “least restrictive environment” under the ADA and Section 504.

The full complaint can be found here.