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Deaf school lawsuit rejected | argusleader.com | Argus Leader
The state can close the 130-year-old School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls after a federal judge ruled against a group of parents who sued to keep it open.
Parents of eight deaf or hearing-impaired students claimed that closing the school and replacing it with outreach education and contracted services would deprive students of their due process rights and violate the state constitution and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs think their children would benefit most from a traditional deaf education program in a residential institution setting.
But U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol, who made a summary judgment Sept. 30, said the parents failed to identify a fundamental change in how students were educated away from the Sioux Falls campus. He added that the Legislature gave the Board of Regents the power to run the institutions under its control in a way that best fits the purpose of each institution. The Board of Regents oversees the school.
"(The board) has acted within that power in providing programs for deaf persons under the age of 21 who reside throughout the state regardless of whether the instruction itself occurs at the Sioux Falls location," Piersol said.
Shawn Nichols, a lawyer for the parents, said the issue goes deeper than the school and added that students are not receiving as good of an education as they would at the School for the Deaf.
"It's not just about the school itself, it's about preserving the quality of education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the state of South Dakota," Nichols said. "It goes back a number of years, long before the regents decided to close the school. We've tried through legislation to affect change. That didn't seem to get us anywhere. The court system, unfortunately, was a point of last resort to affect change."
Nichols said the way the judge ruled "basically gives the regents free rein to do whatever they want in terms of education without any checks and balances."
While some of the plaintiffs' children were denied entrance into the school, at least one had a child drop out, alleging the teachers displayed inadequate deaf communication skills and many high school classes were dropped, according to court documents.
Nichols said the parents can appeal the summary judgment, which typically must be done within 30 days.
"At this point, we're reviewing the decision and weighing our options," Nichols said. "And obviously, we're incredibly disappointed with the result and feel for the families that are affected by the decision."
The School for the Deaf had an on-campus enrollment of more than 130 students in the 1970s but dropped to just five students last year.
Jack Warner, executive director of the Board of Regents, said declining enrollment started in the 1970s because of advances in technology such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, which allowed students to attend mainstream classes.
About 400 deaf or hearing-impaired students attend local schools throughout the state, and about 21 others are served through contracts with Brandon Valley and Harrisburg school districts.
Warner said that when the school had more students, it featured an effective learning environment. But that's not the case anymore, he said, with so few students.
"The reality was there were five students spread among several different grades, so none of them had peers in a given grade, learning academic subjects as well as sign language," Warner said.
Warner said he thinks the quality of sign language instruction is effective at the contracted schools.
Part of the 14-acre Sioux Falls campus still is being used, but residence halls and classroom buildings are vacant. The regents will study future use of the campus, including possible sale or lease of buildings and land, Warner said.
"There is not a sense of urgency about the property," Warner said. "We would have to relocate the auditory testing lab and the administrative offices, so that's something we would have to plan for and there's likely to be expense involved with that. We're just weighing all the options right now."
The state can close the 130-year-old School for the Deaf in Sioux Falls after a federal judge ruled against a group of parents who sued to keep it open.
Parents of eight deaf or hearing-impaired students claimed that closing the school and replacing it with outreach education and contracted services would deprive students of their due process rights and violate the state constitution and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs think their children would benefit most from a traditional deaf education program in a residential institution setting.
But U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol, who made a summary judgment Sept. 30, said the parents failed to identify a fundamental change in how students were educated away from the Sioux Falls campus. He added that the Legislature gave the Board of Regents the power to run the institutions under its control in a way that best fits the purpose of each institution. The Board of Regents oversees the school.
"(The board) has acted within that power in providing programs for deaf persons under the age of 21 who reside throughout the state regardless of whether the instruction itself occurs at the Sioux Falls location," Piersol said.
Shawn Nichols, a lawyer for the parents, said the issue goes deeper than the school and added that students are not receiving as good of an education as they would at the School for the Deaf.
"It's not just about the school itself, it's about preserving the quality of education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the state of South Dakota," Nichols said. "It goes back a number of years, long before the regents decided to close the school. We've tried through legislation to affect change. That didn't seem to get us anywhere. The court system, unfortunately, was a point of last resort to affect change."
Nichols said the way the judge ruled "basically gives the regents free rein to do whatever they want in terms of education without any checks and balances."
While some of the plaintiffs' children were denied entrance into the school, at least one had a child drop out, alleging the teachers displayed inadequate deaf communication skills and many high school classes were dropped, according to court documents.
Nichols said the parents can appeal the summary judgment, which typically must be done within 30 days.
"At this point, we're reviewing the decision and weighing our options," Nichols said. "And obviously, we're incredibly disappointed with the result and feel for the families that are affected by the decision."
The School for the Deaf had an on-campus enrollment of more than 130 students in the 1970s but dropped to just five students last year.
Jack Warner, executive director of the Board of Regents, said declining enrollment started in the 1970s because of advances in technology such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, which allowed students to attend mainstream classes.
About 400 deaf or hearing-impaired students attend local schools throughout the state, and about 21 others are served through contracts with Brandon Valley and Harrisburg school districts.
Warner said that when the school had more students, it featured an effective learning environment. But that's not the case anymore, he said, with so few students.
"The reality was there were five students spread among several different grades, so none of them had peers in a given grade, learning academic subjects as well as sign language," Warner said.
Warner said he thinks the quality of sign language instruction is effective at the contracted schools.
Part of the 14-acre Sioux Falls campus still is being used, but residence halls and classroom buildings are vacant. The regents will study future use of the campus, including possible sale or lease of buildings and land, Warner said.
"There is not a sense of urgency about the property," Warner said. "We would have to relocate the auditory testing lab and the administrative offices, so that's something we would have to plan for and there's likely to be expense involved with that. We're just weighing all the options right now."
