Tribunal ordered half-day instruction by a teacher of the deaf rather than mandating a cueing resource teacher.
The parents of a profoundly deaf 11-year-old student appealed the school board's placement decision, requesting that the student continue to receive a resource withdrawal teacher fluent in cued speech.
The school board raised a preliminary objection that teacher qualifications were beyond the scope of a placement appeal, which the Tribunal dismissed, finding that placement includes considering the nature of programs and services.
On the merits, after hearing extensive expert and educator testimony regarding the student's dependency on cued speech and need to develop oral, lip-reading, and social skills, the Tribunal declined to order a cueing resource teacher.
Instead, the Tribunal ordered that the student spend 50% of the day in a regular class with a cueing interpreter, and 50% of the day with a qualified teacher of the deaf to develop comprehensive communication and independent work skills.
