A Program for Deaf-Blind Independence

The Iowa School for the Deaf has a special programs to help deaf-blind students gain independence. A dozen students in the program have jobs and one "just completed a seasonal position." Read more in The Daily Nonpareil here.

Ruling on Firing of Deaf School Teachers

A judge has overturned a decision by an arbitrator about the firing of two teachers at the Iowa School for the Deaf over what administrators said was poor performance. Read the full story from Associated Press here.

Gally's ASL poetry contest

An eighth-grader who attends the Iowa School for the Deaf student won Gallaudet University’s national American Sign Language poetry contest. Read more about the 13 year old who wrote the poem “Impressing the Girl” in the Omaha World-Herald here.

Iowa Deaf Community wins battle with Theater Co.

An Iowa theater has put off production of the stage show Tribes until deaf actors can be found. The Deaf community in Cedar Rapids did not support the play because a hearing person had been cast in the main role of a deaf person. Here's more in a video report from KCRG-TV.

Students win national competition

A dozen deaf students in Iowa won a competition sponsored by the foundation of NFL deaf football player Derrick Coleman. They had to make a video about why being deaf and hard of hearing was no excuse. Here's a video report from KWWL-TV.

Reversal of ruling terminating deaf mother's parental rights

A deaf Iowa woman has gotten custody of her baby back. An appeals court said the state Human Services Department failed to properly provide her a sign language interpreter. The Iowa Appeals Court has reversed a ruling that took away the parental rights of a deaf woman to her infant child. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports on the full story here.

Deaf-Blind center opening in Iowa

Charles City, Iowa is preparing to become the first regional site for deaf and blind students. KIMT-TV has a video report.

A voiceless classroom

The student newspaper at Iowa State University interviews the only deaf faculty member on campus in an article here. Michael Ballard is part of the reason ASL will be an approved minor at the school by the end of this academic year. Below is a video interview the newspaper did with Ballard.

City pays former alderman in settlement

Davenport, Iowa is formally apologizing to one-time alderman Keith Meyer. It's part of an out-of-court settlement for an employee knocking softly on the hard of hearing man's door. The city will also pay Meyer nearly $50,00o dollars. You can read the apology here and details about the incident in the Quad City Times here.

Iowa School Super to Retire

The superintendent of the Iowa School for the Deaf is retiring. Iowa's Gazette reports that Patrick Clancy will end his less than two years term in the post on June 30th of next year. The board was criticized when it appointed Clancy because he does not sign and did not seek input from the deaf community when making the decision. The search for a new superintendent begins early next year.

Hamilton Honor

Hamilton is honoring Kathy Miller as its Iowa 2013 Deaf Community Leader. She earned the award for her work at the Iowa School for the Deaf and involvement in groups like the Deaf Services Commission of Iowa and the Council Bluffs Deaf Club. She serves as president of the Iowa Association of the Deaf. Born deaf, Miller was taught the oral method as a child and mainstreamed. When she got a chance to attend the Iowa School for the Deaf, her world opened up, learning sign and meeting her husband. Find out more here.

Judge weighs in on Implant Lawsuit

An Iowa couple's lawsuit against Advanced Bionics is moving forward. Dennis and Melissa Eggerling claim the company's HiRes 90k cochlear implant damaged their daughter's hearing and caused other harm. The implant had a moisture problem--the same problem that led Advanced Bionics to recall the unit in 2004 (it was recalled again in 2010). The company blamed outside vendor AstroSeal for the defect, but the federal government decided Advanced Bionics did not have FDA approval to switch to AstroSeal as a parts supplier. In the Eggerling case, Judge Mark Bennett did not sign off on everything the Eggerlings claimed, but Bennett allowed enough for the case to proceed. Advanced Bionics isn't commenting on the case. You can see the ruling here and more details about the case here. A Swiss company, Sonova Holding, owns the Valencia, California-based cochlear-implant maker. With about a fifth of the market, Advanced is number two in the field.

State Deaf School Report

Iowa School for the Deaf

An audit of the Iowa School for the Deaf shows the Council Bluffs facility has an average enrollment of 101 students and spends more than $94,000 on each one (during the year ending June 2012). That's a drop from the previous year which had an average enrollment of 108 and cost of more than $99,000 per student. The outreach services provided to students also fell from 31 to 27 sites. You'll find more details on the report from the Office of Auditor of State here.

Deaf Student Wins State Competition

A deaf student won this year's Poetry Out Loud competition for the entire state of Iowa. Dakota Meyer is a junior at Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. He took the title at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines with his performance of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's A Psalm of Life and Edwin Arlington Robinson's Miniver Cheevy and Richard Cory. The effort earned $200 for Meyer and $500 for his school. Next month, Meyer heads to D.C to represent Iowa in the Poetry Out Loud National Finals. The contest will hand out $50,000 in awards and school stipends. Meyer is only the second deaf student to compete in the national contest. The first came from Oregon four years ago.

The man who crafted the ADA law is retiring

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he will not run for a 6th term next year. Harkin is 73 and been a member of the US Congress for nearly 30 years. A Democrat, he is the 7th most senior member of the body and chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. His most significant achievement came in 1990 when he authored the Americans with Disabilities Act and helped it through the legislature. Harkin says the Americans with Disabilities Act was inspired by his deaf brother, Frank, whom he watched struggle against social barriers. The ADA law prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training and other conditions and privileges of employment.

Graduate of School for the Deaf aims to break barriers

Read profile of an Iowa school for the deaf grad who has interned for a Senator and at the White House here.

Book author encourages students

Her parents were told by doctors not to sign with her as a child. But now she's written a book about her family to encourage the deaf. Read the story here.

Keep the School Open

A special committee says the Iowa School for the Deaf should stay open. The Iowa Board of Regents wanted to know whether it should be combined with the Iowa School for the Blind and moved to Des Moines or shut down. Besides keeping the school open, members of the committee are recommending that the state give deaf students the option of three regional centers. The findings will be formally presented next week.

Police: Con Man Jailed

An Iowa man is behind bars for taking as much as $200k from a deaf woman. Police say Austin McDaniels, who also deaf and went by other names like Randall Rogers and Barry Minter, pretended he was an attorney and convinced the woman that she was in legal trouble for the way she was selling TTY machines. A woman named Chris Story has been charged with being part of the scam. Prosecutors say McDaniels gambled away most of the money he received. He could get up to 20 years in jail.

Hearing on Plans for School

The future of the Iowa School for the Deaf will be discussed at a hearing Monday. Internet access will allow discussion from several different locations. The Iowa Board of Regents is considering consolidating services now provided at the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School located in Vinton. The Board of Regents is scheduled to next meet December 5. Any decision the Board makes will have to first gain the approval of the state legislature.