Help with ADA as applies to deaf/hh kiddos being mainstreamed??

[ThreeLittleBear]

My daughter isn't going to be 3 for several months, but here in Colorado both private and public preschools fill up fast. (they aren't a requirement, so there are only a handful of public ones) But her services coordinater (the one who helps me find all the services that she can benift from, like in home OT sessions, sign instructor, etc) says I need to start the whole enrollment process next month if I want her to be able to start around her 3rd b'day.

There is no elementary school in our district with a program for deaf/hh kids. However in the next district over, there's a fabulous one. They have specialized classes for them, speech, PT, and OT people on staff. They have interpreters for kids with deaf/hh parents. And they also have "mainstream" classes that the kids can move into when they are ready. But one thing I like about their mainstream classes is that because of the deaf/hh program there is a higher percentage of deaf/hh kids in their mainstream classes. Also alot of hearing siblings go there too.

Now the problem. Because it's in a different district, my daughter would have to be seen by a panel from our school district to have her needs assessed. If they feel they can adequately meet all her needs in our district, then she won't be allowed to go to that other elementary school.

So - my question is: how do I find the part of ADA that applies to our situation? and how do I handle this situation? Has anyone else run into this, and how did you handle it?

I forgot to add, my daughter has profound hearing loss in both ears, but last month had a CI activated on the right side.

 

[ismi]

You're going to be dealing with three laws: the ADA, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (called "Section 504" or just "504"), and IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IDEA states that all disabled children are entitled to a "Free Appropriate Public Education". It covers the IEP process, where your child will have an Individualized Education Plan.

Hope that gives you enough keywords to start googling. You might want to start your research here; the site is a bit ugly, but the info is good. This site is also good, even though the information is primarily targeted towards parents of students with learning disabilities.

One note from my own experience, although it will be a while before this applies to your daughter: make self-advocacy one of the goals on her IEP. This serves two purposes; one, it helps her learn to articulate her needs and preferences, and that will be very useful later on in life when you're not advocating for her. Two, it opens up a "gray area" where she can request an accomodation she needs that maybe isn't in her current IEP (they have to be redone at least annually, IIRC) by saying that she's self-advocating for it.

Good luck!