www.deafchildren.org
Education Advocacy at the NAD By Caroline Jackson Since its establishment in 1880, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has sought to foster and promote educational excellence in deaf and hard of hearing students. Our students are the future, and we recognize the vital role that education plays in supplementing parents’ efforts to prepare the young members of our community for a lifetime of success. We further recognize the importance of making certain that these students receive access to appropriate educational tools – including sign language – to ensure full linguistic and communication access for deaf and hard of hearing students in all walks of life. As budget cuts threaten the quality of educational services provided to deaf and hard of hearing students, the NAD has dramatically increased its educational advocacy efforts, adopting a multi-pronged approach to address educational challenges. Over the past year, the NAD board has taken several steps to foster direct support for educational advocacy for individual deaf and hard of hearing students, to compile critical research
regarding education and communication for deaf and hard of hearing youth, and to develop a long-term strategy for improving deaf education nationwide. First, NAD headquarters has recently welcomed a new staff attorney, Caroline Jackson, who has received a two-year Skadden Fellowship to advocate for the language and communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing students through Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings and other avenues. Given the limited resources of the NAD, Ms. Jackson’s work will focus on impact cases. Parents and advocates for deaf and hard of hearing students can contact Ms. Jackson for technical assistance and other advocacy support by e-mailing nad.info@nad.org or calling (301) 587-1788. Second, the NAD board is creating a nationwide network of trained grassroots educational advocates (EAs) via state associations and national affiliates, devoted to serving the best interests of deaf and hard of hearing youth. Training for the EAs began this past summer at the 2012 NAD Conference in Louisville, Ky., with three days of 29