Insurers now must cover hearing aids for Idaho kids

Idaho lawmakers have changed state law so that insurance companies are required to cover hearing aids, speech therapy for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. You can read the official rule here. KTVB-TV has a video report:

Artist creates Mural: Doesn't Bother to get the Signs Right

A new mural in downtown Idaho Falls shows an incorrect use of ASL. The ACLU of Idaho commissioned artist Kelly Sheridan to create the work in partnership with the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation. Read more about it from the Idaho State Journal here and KPVI-TV has a video report below.

Idaho School For The Deaf And Blind Makes A Splash

Deaf-Blind students in Idaho hit the slopes and the pool on consecutive days. KMVT-TV has a video report.

Search for Shooting Suspect

Police are looking for a deaf man in connection with an Idaho shooting--but the call might have been a fake. So far, no crime has been found in Twin Falls related to a call that came in Friday evening. Someone identifying themselves as a interpreter for the deaf called for emergency help. The person claimed a deaf man had shot his or her mother. Police tracked the call to a particular block in Twin Falls, but found no problems.

The first day with a cochlear implant

KTVB-TV offers a video report on an Idaho woman on the day her implant was turned on (captions included).

Forced to Wear Implant

An Idaho judge is threatening a deaf man with a contempt charge for refusing to make his deaf daughter use her cochlear implant. Shaun McLaughlin isn't making her wear the external portion of the implant when she's with him, so Orton Miller went to court to force him to do it. A judge signed an order requiring the girl to wear the external portion during waking hours because doctors told the mother this will improve her speech.

School Demands Proof of Service Dog

North Idaho College refused to allow a man use his service dog on campus until he proved it was really a service dog, according to a complaint he has filed against the school. Anthony Cruz suffers from spinal stenosis and diabetes and says his dog alerts him if his blood pressure drops too low. Cruz wants to study to become a paralegal, but The school, which maintains it is working within ADA law, declared his dog was a companion animal and that it could not attend class with him. Since Cruz missed the first meeting day, he was dropped from the class, forcing him to withdraw from the college.

Football Team's Secret Weapon

An Idaho high school football team is undefeated so far this season and according to KWVT-TV "some of the thanks for that perfect record is due to the Senators' own style of communication." Read about the team's deaf player in the video below (no captioning).

Osmond Brothers Benefit

Osmond Brothers performance to benefit local deaf children in Idaho. There's a video report from KIFI-TV below on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

Learning 2 Languages

An Idaho newspaper takes a look at how deaf immigrants are learning two languages at once here.

Idaho Tax Credit

Donors to Idaho's Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing may get a new tax break. A committee in the state House has passed a measure to boost the income tax credit for several state agencies including the Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The governor supports the move. The measure would increase the credit from $100 to $500 for a single filer and from $200 to $1,000 for a couple. The change for companies would be $5000, up from $1,000.

"We Will be Forced to Close"

KTVB reports on plans to shut down the Idaho school for the deaf and blind. No captions but here's the text.

Gov: Phase Out Deaf Agency

Governor Butch Otter wants to cut fuding for the Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by 2014. He proposed the change during his State of the State address last week. The Council's current budget is $179,000, slashed from $279,500 in fiscal 2008. The governor's office says it hopes to find funding for the agency from other places besides the state.

School Chief Retires

Idaho's school for deaf and blind superintendent has called it quits. Mary Dunne has retired after 37-years with the Gooding school. She took over as superintendent two years ago. Budget cuts forced the facility to cancel its summer programs.

Funding Shift

Idaho’s school for the deaf and blind in Gooding is now under a newly formed board. State lawmakers decided to move it out from under the education board and created the Idaho Bureau of Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind. The school dropped its summer programs as part of an effort to slice more than half-a-million dollars from the yearly budget of nearly $9 million. With the change in administration, the school now can access money from the education stabilization fund because it falls as a line item in the public schools budget.

School Eliminates Programs

The Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind is cutting it’s professional development programs and summer camp. Its residential program is under scrutiny as well because of state budget cuts. Some 80 students live on campus.