Inclusion As a Practical Matter

gists believe that full inclusion, with all its appropriate supports, will cost as much, if not more than, the present system. Political conservatives see inclusion as a means of reducing expenditures drastically , while not necessarily taking the consequences for services into consideration. Appropriate supports do not fall within the latter group's purview. In conclusion, as school administrators of programs for deaf children, we are at a crossroads. We can continue doing business as usual and face the likelihood of being forced to do our business very differently, or become active change agents and influence the destiny of the education of deaf children. References Fuchs, D. (1994, January). Plenary address to the Conference on Inclusion of the American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (PL 101-476), 20 U.S.C. § 1400-1495 (1990;. Oberti v. Clementon School District. 19 IDELR 908 (3d Cir. Court, 1993). Patrie, C. (1993, July). A confluence of diverse relationships: Interpreter education and educational interpreting. Keynote address to the convention of the (RID) Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Ramsey, C. (1993). A description of classroom language and literacy learning among deaf children in a mainstreaming program . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. Inclusion As a Practical Matter Brian D. McCartney Superintendent Michigan School for the Deaf I shall be brief. I have a hearing disability and have experienced mainstream and residential educations on both sides of the teacher's desk, as a student and as an educator . I think the concept of inclusion for all students who are deaf is idealistic -attractive in many respects yet impractical. Many local school district officials support full inclusion, but the primary concern of some is the added cost of educating students in special classes or in schools outside their district. Others truly believe in the principle of educating children with disabilities in regular classes within their local schools, but have little understanding of these students' needs for special services. We need to look at educational program needs of deaf students regardless of where they attend school. In doing so, costs will begin to emerge. 1. Qualified teachers and/or qualified support services personnel are crucial in the implementation of every deaf student's Individual Education Plan (IEP). Needed personnel may include a speciallytrained teacher or teacher-consultant , audiologist, speech therapist, psychologist, social worker, interpreter and/or sign language instructor , and depending on extraordinary needs, perhaps even an occupational or physical therapist . This is not to say that all must be full-time employees, but all must be available as needed. 2. Communication accessibility must be ensured. This requirement may be met through the use of educational staff who are capable of signing and reading signs for themselves and/or through the use of sign language interpreters. Some students may require the use of an oral interpreter. In Michigan, there are approximately 3,000 school-aged deaf students with only 48 nationally certified interpreters. Another 174 interpreters are registered through the state's Quality Assurance (QA) program, with three levels of accuracy , ranging from 60 to 80 percent . Teachers and other staff members often take locally-taught sign language courses. On a voluntary basis, 125 staff from local school districts in Michigan have participated in Signed Communication Proficiency Interviews (SCPI), and have demonstrated on the average a proficiency rating of Intermediate on that test. 3. A range of current technology and assistive devices needs to be available to the deaf student. Among these are computers, assistive listening devices, captioned video, visual signaling systems, and TiY's. Few local school district personnel know much about the applications and costs of such systems. 4. Accessibility to all school activities should be available to every deaf student. These activities may cover a range of interests from sports to drama and extend well beyond the normally scheduled school day. Often local school personnel unintentionally exclude deaf students from these school activities in the mistaken belief that it is sufficient to focus on academics . Inclusive education involves all school activities. 5. Deaf and deaf minority role models need to be available to all deaf students. This means that sizable programs should hire deaf individuals as teachers...