Secondary School Outcomes among Students Who Are D/deaf and Hard of Hearing in Special Education

What is it about?

Many students who are D/deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) in the United States receive special education (SpEd) and related services in school. This involves an individualized curriculum for the student's unique needs and services needed to meet the goals of this curriculum, such as speech therapy, assistance with hearing devices, translators, assistance with note-taking, and more. This study found that more than 65,000 students receive services each year, most students spend most of the day in the general education classroom, most students graduate, and few drop out. Mainstreaming increased over time, meaning that students increasingly spent more time in general education and less in special education.

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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Prior studies have demonstrated that this population was increasingly mainstreaming from the 1970s to the 1990s. This study confirms that this trend has continued in more recent years. This trend informs resource planning for policymakers.