I support this petition for an immediate policy statement from Secretary Paige concerning acoustics as an issue of national importance for functionally hard of hearing children, specific acoustical considerations in the IDEA reauthorization for development of an IEP including reasonable criteria of 0.4 secs. reverberation and 35dB ambient noise, public recognition of acoustics as a barrier for children with hearing loss by the government, immediate field trials and research on the impact of acoustics on functionally hard of hearing children, to address the needs of millions of functionally hard of hearing students in poor acoustical environments in schools.

As advocates of functionally hard of hearing children in public schools with communication disabilities who are negatively impacted by ambient noise and reverberation, we assert inappropriate acoustics create a barrier to speech intelligibility in all classrooms. Our children, and millions others, miss parts of speech, opportunities for literacy and math skills, language used by peers, and the dignity of citizenship. As acoustical barriers currently impact over seven millions high risk children, it is an issue of national significance, and as such, we ask Secretary Paige and the President to immediately acknowledge this issue.

1. We ask Secretary Paige to immediately issue specific Policy Guidance on specific room acoustical modifications and accommodations for children protected under IDEA, similar to that issued by the Secretary on October 30, 1992, re Deaf Students Education Services. In that Policy Guidance, the Secretary aptly noted, "Because deafness is a low incidence disability, there is not widespread understanding of its educational implications, even among special educators. This lack of knowledge and skills in our education system contributes to the already substantial barriers to deaf students in receiving appropriate educational services ... the Secretary believes that the unique communication and related needs of many children who are deaf have not been adequately considered in the development of their IEPs ... Any setting which does not meet the communication and related needs of a child who is deaf, and therefore does not allow for the provision of FAPE, cannot be considered the LRE for that child."

With a growing number of parents and advocates who are asking for appropriate acoustical evaluations and modifications for these millions of children, some offered even at no cost to school districts, and nonetheless refused, school districts must agree to provide some measure of appropriate and objective evaluation and modifications within a reasonable measure to the classroom standard of 0.4 secs. reverberation and 35dB ambient sound.

2. Second, because this is an issue of national significance, we request the President and Secretary Paige to initiate field trials for acoustical evaluations and research, possibly through the Field Initiated Study Program, NIDR, or the IDEA provisions beginning with the most at risk, hearing impaired students. These studies must include parents and educating parents as IDEA indicates.

3. Government support for an "Adopt a Classroom" campaign across the nation to coordinate private corporate support with acoustical modifications.

We continue to find that hearing loss, as a low incidence disability, is not well understood and that the communication needs of our children are often not recognized due to the subtleties of hearing loss. It is very difficult to advocate successfully for appropriate accommodations, especially for the "invisible" accommodation of acoustics for this hidden and misunderstood disability.

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