Miss-Delectable
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Legislators Tour State's Deaf and Blind School - KCPW
Yesterday's tour of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind was the first time in nearly a decade since lawmakers visited a USDB campus. Spokeswoman Kim Smale says it's important for legislators to know how the agency works.
"It's really hard for us because we do work really hard for the kids and we work really hard to get the funding for a very small group of kids in Utah. They require a lot of money to educate," Smale says. "And often times people who make these decisions have never even been to a school."
Being familiar with the agency and its services is even more important now, with two proposals coming before the Legislature in the upcoming general session. Lawmakers will consider whether to restructure USDB's administration, its admissions process and classroom structure. They also will consider whether to relocate the Jean Massieu School for the Deaf, temporarily housed at the Connor Street building in Salt Lake City. Smale says lawmakers need more than a working knowledge of a complex educational system.
"They need to know what an impact we make on this population. That we are succeeding as a population and we are doing are best to make sure that these kids are educated, and well cared for and that we are doing right by them," she says.
USDB serves about 2,100 visually and hearing impaired students statewide. About 400 of them are enrolled in USDB, the rest attend their neighborhood schools, with support from USDB's auxiliary services. To compare, Utah's public education system enrolls more than 500,000 students.
Yesterday's tour of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind was the first time in nearly a decade since lawmakers visited a USDB campus. Spokeswoman Kim Smale says it's important for legislators to know how the agency works.
"It's really hard for us because we do work really hard for the kids and we work really hard to get the funding for a very small group of kids in Utah. They require a lot of money to educate," Smale says. "And often times people who make these decisions have never even been to a school."
Being familiar with the agency and its services is even more important now, with two proposals coming before the Legislature in the upcoming general session. Lawmakers will consider whether to restructure USDB's administration, its admissions process and classroom structure. They also will consider whether to relocate the Jean Massieu School for the Deaf, temporarily housed at the Connor Street building in Salt Lake City. Smale says lawmakers need more than a working knowledge of a complex educational system.
"They need to know what an impact we make on this population. That we are succeeding as a population and we are doing are best to make sure that these kids are educated, and well cared for and that we are doing right by them," she says.
USDB serves about 2,100 visually and hearing impaired students statewide. About 400 of them are enrolled in USDB, the rest attend their neighborhood schools, with support from USDB's auxiliary services. To compare, Utah's public education system enrolls more than 500,000 students.