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Services for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

What We Do:

Overview of Services

Fairfax County covers over 400 square miles in Northern Virginia. The Fairfax County Public School system is the 12th largest in the nation. Enrollment for the current school year exceeds 165,000 students. There are 150 countries and 100 different languages represented by the student body. Of these 165,000 students, the county provides special education services to over 23,000 students.

This packet provides the essential information on Fairfax County Public Schools services, programs, and outside resources to meet the needs of over 500 deaf or hard of hearing students in Fairfax County. Special education services for deaf or hard of hearing students begin at birth and continue through secondary school or through age 21. Instruction in three communication modalities is offered at specific sites throughout the county. The communication modalities include Auditory/Oral, Cued Speech and Total Communication.

Parents are an important part of the IEP team, which determines the communication option that best meets the needs of their child and their family. The students' educational and communication needs are assessed on a regular basis and at the student's annual IEP. Parents are encouraged to be an active participant in that process. Teachers and professionals working with deaf or hard of hearing students are committed to providing ongoing education for parents to assist them in their crucial role as primary educator for their child.

A continuum of services is available for all students. Educational services range from itinerant services delivered in base schools to self-contained classes at site-based programs.

Students who are able to participate in general education classrooms receive support from an itinerant teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing in their neighborhood schools. Itinerant teachers also provide services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing students in other special education programs countywide.

Students, who require a more intensive level of service and/or instruction at the parent/infant, preschool, elementary or secondary level, may attend one of the five site based programs within the county. At the elementary level, three elementary sites provide instruction in one of three modality options. These communication modalities include Auditory/Oral, Cued Speech, and Total Communication. Elementary site-based students who require significant instructional and/or special support services as they reach the secondary level are served at one middle school and one high school. All five site-based programs are located within a five-mile radius of each other in the center of the county.