Lawmakers Fight Plans to Close Deaf School

Pennsylvania state lawmaker Ken Smith says he's ready to file a lawsuit if the Scranton State School for the Deaf is shut down. Smith met with state educations this past week and came away convinced there is no plan to accomodate students at the school. Governor Ed Rendell has proposed ccutting the entire $7.35 million budget earmarked for this school year. There is talk that one solution would be working with the nonprofit Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf to create a new school. In the meantime, state senator Robert Mellow plans to introduce an amendment to stop the school’s closing until legislators can review the situation. The unexpected news of the plan to close the school has upset students, parents and teachers at Scranton.