School For the Deaf Access Bill Advances In Senate

An education bill approved by an Indiana Senate committee today would, in part, let private school students with disabilities enroll in the Indiana School for the Deaf.  Right now, the law only allows for public school students with Individualized Education Plans, or IEP’s, to enroll.

Advocating for the bill is private school student Paige and her mom, Keri Moore.  Paige is deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other. Eventually, she won’t be able to hear at all. She could enroll full-time at the Indiana School for the Deaf, but she says she still wants the academic challenge of her private school.

Keri says her daughter has had to work twice as hard in classes.

“Working and trying to hear and figure things out during her school days because of lack of communication has been breaking her down.  Even though she manages, it’s emotionally and physically exhausting for her,” Keri Moore says.

House Bill 1420 would allow Paige Moore to take core classes at her private school, and electives for learning things like sign language, at the School for the Deaf. She would also be able to participate in sports there, something she’s struggled to do at her current school.

The Moores have advocated for the bill throughout the legislative session, because Keri Moore says, it would ease the challenges her daughter faces. Paige Moore told her mom last year, that something needed to change.

Some lawmakers have said they want to expand the provision to include the Indiana School for the Blind. The Senate Education and Career Development committee approved the legislation, and it now heads to the full chamber for consideration.