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Special Education

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Sensory Impairment
The term shall include the following:

Hearing — The capacity to hear, with amplification, is limited, impaired, or absent and results in one or more of the following: reduced performance in hearing acuity tasks; difficulty with oral communication; and/or difficulty in understanding auditorally-presented information in the education environment. The term includes students who are deaf and students who are hard-of -hearing.

Educational Programs in Massachusetts

Approved Private Schools:

  • Beverly School for the Deaf
    Beverly School for the Deaf seeks to enhance the lives of Deaf and hearing children and their families living with communication and developmental challenges by providing comprehensive educational and communication-rich programs.

  • Clarke School for the Deaf/Center for Oral Education
    The Clarke School for the Deaf is a world leader in educating hearing-impaired children. For more than 130 years, the pioneering auditory/oral programs have taught deaf and hard of hearing children to listen and talk. They have trained hundreds of teachers for placements in schools around the world. In addition, Clarke offers comprehensive services and programs to help individuals of all ages who experience hearing loss.

  • The Learning Center for Deaf Children (TLC)
    TLC offers a challenging program of academic excellence for Deaf students from infancy through high school. The Learning Center's curriculum fosters knowledge and respect for both American Sign Language (ASL) and English, and for American Deaf and hearing cultures.

  • Willie Ross School for the Deaf
    WRSD offers a full array of educational programs from the Early Childhood level through the Secondary level. Students are eligible for admission to Willie Ross at age two-years, nine months. Students may remain enrolled at WRSD until the age of twenty-two or upon their graduation.

Public Separate Day School

  • The Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
    The Horace Mann School educates all students by creating diverse learning environments that develop their full academic, social, technical and vocational potentials so that that they can be life long learners, responsible citizens and active participants in both their deaf and hearing communities.

Collaborative Programs

  • The SEEM Collaborative Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program
    The SEEM Collaborative Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program is a day school that services children in grades PreK–3 who have moderate, severe, or profound hearing loss. The program's mission is to prepare students for a successful transition to a mainstream school in their sending district.

  • The READS Collaborative program for children who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing
    The READS Collaborative program for children who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing provides educational services within a public school setting for preschoolers through age 22. Students are introduced to mainstreamed classes in the lower elementary grades, as appropriate, to gradually introduce them to using an interpreter. When entering high school, students have the option of taking general education classes and/or enrolling in vocational programming. The Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Program provides services tailored to each student's type of hearing loss, communication needs, and choice of amplification (hearing aids or cochlear implants).

  • The CAPS Education Collaborative
    The CAPS Education Collaborative provides programs for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students at the preschool, elementary, and high school levels. Programs are designed to meet the range of learning needs in a variety of group configurations, including 1:1 instruction. Individual staff members accompany students from the program who are integrated into general education classes.

Educational Programs in New England

Massachusetts Organizations/Resources

National Organizations and Resources

Last Updated: March 20, 2024

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