the Assembly: “That year, the state’s three schools for the deaf enrolled more than 750 students.
Today, two schools remain open, educating just over 100 students.
The enrollment decline has several causes: the widespread adoption of vaccines against diseases that can cause deafness, like Rubella; a 1990s state policy that pushed deaf and hard of hearing students into mainstream schools; and evolving medical technology like cochlear implants and digital hearing aids.
Statewide, more than 1,500 deaf and hard of hearing students are educated in their local public schools, though in most counties there are so few deaf students that they often are isolated and unable to speak to anyone directly except an interpreter.
But parents who’d like to send their children to the residential school for the deaf often have difficulty getting their child out of a traditional public school.
That might soon change. Currently, a deaf student must be referred from their local school district to attend one of the deaf schools, and the districts usually choose to educate the child.”