We all know that public education is free for all students. However, for students with disabilities, a free education doesn’t necessarily mean an “appropriate” one. For students with a hearing impairment disability, under IDEA, a free appropriate education must be designed to fit the educational needs of the student. A student's specially designed IEP which is a legal contract can provide specific needs that must be implemented under IDEA.
Hearing impaired students may need FM (frequency modulation) devices in the classroom to amplify sound, hearing aids, or even a sign language interpreter who can translate learning objectives into an equal playing field for them. Equality could mean having an additional specialized interpreter in classes where a lot of dialogue and transfer of information are being provided to students. There are other defined resources that may be individualized to support the learning acquisition of students with hearing difficulties. Providing hearing impaired students with a free appropriate education is not a philosophical debate, but a mandate to insure that school districts and school communities are in legal compliance with IDEA.
