Proposal Increases Schools Money for Deaf

Some parents of deaf children hope the state legislature lets their children be educated in districts close to home, instead of being sent to the state school for the deaf in St. Louis. The proposal would provide state aid to local school districts to educate deaf children. Oran resident Dan Heeb, the father of a deaf student, says he’s struggling to educate his son at home instead of sending him more than 100 miles away to the state schoolf or the deaf in St. Louis. Heeb and other parents tell the senate education committee the state deaf school limits student growth by focusing on use of sign language. Another parent, Corrie Stoverink, from Leopold, says it’s a shame the state won’t pay schools to teach deaf children to speak…and won’t let them learn close to home. The senate education committee has recommended passage of the bill, although time might be against it.