The primary goal of this study was to explore how educational interpreter supervisors defined, experienced and approached their work in K-12 schools in the United States of America. A secondary goal was to examine how they interpreted, navigated and enacted educational and interpreting policy in their jobs as supervisors. A comparative case study…

The COVID-19 pandemic placed stress on all aspects of the educational system. Many state departments of education acknowledged the disruption to individualized education program evaluation and implementation but insisted that evaluation timelines and services continue undisrupted. School psychologists were therefore forced to navigate the…

Little literature exists documenting how K-12 American Sign Language-English interpreters are supervised or evaluated, or how supervision and evaluation affect interpreters and deaf and hard of hearing students. To address this gap, the author asked 230 educational interpreters about their experiences of supervision. Using a critical policy…

Members of the Deaf New American community reported they arrived in the United States with no formal education, unable to read or write in their native language, and had zero fluency in English. Efforts to educate them have floundered, and the study aims to find out why and how to fix the problem. Interviews of eight Deaf New Americans yielded…

Sometimes parents just do not know where to begin once their child has been diagnosed as deaf or hearing impaired. This booklet helps answer some of the questions these parents might have. A resource section has been included for parents and professionals for future reference. One of the most important things to remember is that, once a child has…

Once their child has been diagnosed as deaf or hearing impaired, parents may not know what to do. This booklet will help answer some of the questions these parents might have. A resource section has been included for parents and professionals on pages 43-44, for future reference. One of the most important things to remember is that, once a child…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has always had "individual" as part of its spirit and its letter. However, as a parent and an advocate who has attended many Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, Janet DesGeorges has discovered that getting to "individual" can sometimes be a challenge,…

Late-deafness means deafness that happened postlingually, any time after the development of speech and language in a person who has identified with hearing society through schooling, social connections, etc. Students who are late-deafened cannot understand speech without visual aids such as speechreading, sign language, and captioning (although…

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are required to participate in all state and district assessments similar to their peers without disabilities. This includes assessments used for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I accountability purposes for demonstrating proficiency in academic content, assessments used…

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), amended in 2008, is a federal law intended to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities. It applies to employers, state and local government agencies, places of public accommodation, transportation facilities, telephone companies, and the U.S. Congress. Under Title II of the ADA,…

The Supreme Court case of University of Texas et al versus Walter Camenisch, which involved the complaint of a deaf graduate student that the University had violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for refusing to pay for a sign language interpreter, is presented. The basis of the complaint was that the university received federal…

In failing to address procedural or substantive issues regarding Section 504, the Supreme Court has not guided lower courts in interpreting a widely significant statute, leaving basic questions of defining rights and obligations unanswered. A full review of the entire Camenisch case, involving services to a deaf student, is needed. (MSE)

Until the 1960s, people who were Deaf and mentally ill lacked access to psychological treatment. Few mental hospitals and clinics had interpreters available, and few psychologists and mental health professionals had knowledge of sign language. Major court decisions and federal laws have effected change, culminating with the Americans With…

Intended for the professional workers with the deaf as well as for members of the legal profession, the text considers problems, including interpretation, that the deaf may have in coopeating with the legal system. Specific areas of legal concern covered include the following: contracts and relationships, injuries and accidents, criminal offenses,…

A condensed version of a brief filed in the case of a deaf graduate student requesting that the university provide a sign language interpreter is presented. Arguments concern the misconstrual of previous court rulings, of the law, and of whether or not the specific program in question must be federally funded. (MSE)