For two years, I've been grappling with a crucial question: How can we embrace the principles of the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) in deaf education without sacrificing the vital role and benefits of deaf schools? Join me as I explore this challenge, rewind to the visionary work of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, and propose a path forward to preserve these essential institutions for future generations of deaf students.

Transcript: The purpose of the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) has been to de-institutionalize people with disabilities for their betterment.
I ask “How can we de-institutionalize deaf education without sacrificing deaf schools and all the perks they contain?”
I have been trying to answer this question in the past two years.
Rewinding to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet’s vision.

Gallaudet was way ahead of his time. Remember, he was born in the 18th century. During that time, America had banned the importation of new slaves from Africa and had won the American Revolutionary War, becoming independent from British control. The northern part of the USA was generally more developed and educated. People there were religious and generally did not support slavery. The concept of Abolition was brewing. Gallaudet was a very religious man.

Gallaudet was among the leaders who ended 3,000 years of hearing subjugation, a history dating back to ancient Egypt. The Ebers Papyrus contains a text that reads "Ear-That-Hears-Badly."

Ancient Egypt: one of the first written records to describe hearing loss is the Ebers Papyrus which is an ancient Egyptian text. Dating back to 1550 BC, this medical text includes remedies for common health issues that people dealt with. The Ebers Papyrus includes a remedy to treat “Ears that Hear Badly”, a problem that impacts hearing. The recipe includes using ingredients like olive oil, ant eggs, and even bat wings. This points to possibly softening earwax which can block sound from traveling through the ear.

Gallaudet’s vision include: Provide education for the Deaf; Establish a System of Communication; Create a deaf community; Serve as a model for other schools in USA

Gallaudet was first to suggest borrowing the language of signs in religious exercises and lectures to schools for the deaf.
He was a very skilled teacher for deaf kids. His wife was deaf.
His son, Edward who was CODA said that Thomas can express and communicate by using facial expressions called countenance and body language WITHOUT using hands or arms yet people understand him both hearing and deaf.

Gallaudet’s goal was to teach deaf children so that these deaf individuals could become teachers themselves and educate more deaf people. Look at today. His goal has been realized and accomplished. Now we have deaf leaders and hearing allies taking over many deaf programs and deaf schools across the country. Still, more work needs to be done. But now, with LRE and IDEA, and the dwindling number of deaf schools...

I believe we can find common ground among hearing and deaf constituents and preserve as many deaf schools as possible. There have been ideas circulating about consolidating deaf schools into a few regional centers instead of maintaining individual state deaf schools. In fact, if you think about it, there are a few thriving deaf schools that could serve as models for regional deaf schools: Riverside, Texas, Indiana, Maryland, and Florida, among others (e.g., RMDS).

Since Gallaudet’s goal has been accomplished, now is the time to develop long-term strategic goals for these struggling deaf schools for the deaf children of tomorrow. Matthew Malzkuhn suggests deaf sovereignty, proposing that we deaf people take this challenge into our own hands. I like this idea. Instead of deaf sovereignty, how about ASL sovereignty to include hearing allies like CODAs and NERDAs? Together, we can find common ground and approach state and the US government to say, "Okay..."

We need to save money, right? And lessen the burden on society, right? So, here's the plan for how we can significantly improve education for the deaf and popularize ASL for everyone, all while preserving deaf school facilities across the USA. Let's repurpose these schools instead of closing them down.
More to come…