School Years

If your child is entering school — preschool, kindergarten, or beyond — you have already navigated a lot. Identification, early intervention, evaluations, and decisions about communication and services. That work matters.

School brings new questions. New systems. New teams. New decisions.

This page is here to help you understand what changes during the school years, what access should look like, and how to show up for your child at each stage.

You do not need to know every acronym before you start asking questions.

Early intervention services end when a child turns three. At that point, families transition into a different system: school-based services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

What changes:

• Services move from the home and community to school settings
• The IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) is replaced by an IEP (Individualized Education Program)
• Your child begins spending significant time away from home, in an environment you do not control directly
• Language demands increase — academic language is more complex than conversational language
• Social dynamics become more prominent — peers, friendships, belonging, and identity all come into sharper focus

What does not change:

• Your role as an advocate for your child
• The importance of language access and communication access
• Your right to be part of the team making decisions about your child’s education

School access for a Deaf or hard-of-hearing child is about more than being in a classroom. It means your child can actually participate — in instruction, in conversation, in social moments, and in the full life of their school.

Access at school may include:

– Sign language access — a qualified interpreter or teacher who uses ASL or another signed language consistently

– Teachers of the Deaf (TODs) — specialists trained in Deaf education who can provide direct instruction and consultation

– Hearing technology support — properly fitted hearing aids or cochlear implants, with school staff trained to support them

– Assistive technology — FM systems, captioning technology, alerting systems, and other tools that reduce communication barriers

– Captioning — for videos, presentations, and other auditory content used in instruction

– Accessible peer communication — not just adult-child access, but opportunities for your child to communicate with classmates too

If your child cannot fully participate in instruction and in the social life of their school, that is an access problem — not a child problem.

You do not need to be a legal expert to ask good questions. Here are some that matter:

– How will my child access instruction in the classroom every day?

– Does my child have access to a qualified interpreter or TOD? What are their qualifications?

– Is my child’s language developing on track? How is that being measured?

– Are my child’s IEP goals focused on language and communication — not just behavior or attendance?

– Is my child able to communicate with peers, not just teachers?

– What happens when a substitute teacher or unfamiliar adult is present?

– How are school staff trained to support my child’s communication needs?

Write down the answers. If answers change without explanation, ask again — in writing.

Depending on your child’s needs and your school district, supports may include:

– IEP (Individualized Education Program) — the legal document that describes your child’s needs, goals, and services. Required for eligible students under IDEA Part B.

– Accommodations — adjustments to how instruction is delivered or how your child demonstrates learning (e.g., extended time, captioning, preferential seating)

– Modifications — changes to the curriculum or expectations for what your child is expected to learn

– Educational interpreters — professionals who provide sign language or spoken language interpreting in the classroom

– Teachers of the Deaf — specialists who provide direct instruction or consultation; qualifications vary significantly

– Speech-language services — communication support, often focused on spoken language or literacy

– Assistive technology — hearing loops, FM systems, captioning software, alerting devices, and other tools

– Extended school year (ESY) — additional services over the summer for students who would otherwise experience significant regression

Access issues are not always obvious. Watch for:

– Your child coming home exhausted in a way that seems more than typical school tiredness

– Reports of not being able to follow what is happening in class

– Friendships limited to one or two people, or difficulty connecting with peers

– Falling behind academically in ways that do not match their abilities

– Reluctance to go to school, or stress around school

– A mismatch between what the IEP says and what you observe at home

If you see these signs, document them and bring them to your child’s team. Trust your observations.

IEP meetings, eligibility meetings, and progress reviews can feel high-stakes. A few things that help:

– Read the documents before the meeting. Ask for them in advance.

– Bring your own notes. Write down what you have observed at home and what questions you want to ask.

– Bring a support person — a partner, advocate, or trusted friend.

– Ask for clarification on anything you do not understand. You are entitled to plain language.

– Take notes during the meeting or ask if you can record it.

– Do not feel pressured to sign anything on the spot. You can take the documents home to review.

[Learn more about IEP meetings → /iep-meeting/]

School planning works best when it starts early and involves the right people. Explore the resources below to go deeper on any part of this process.

[Go back to Start Here → /start-here/] [Understand your child’s language development → /language-access/] [Learn about IEP meetings → /iep-meeting/] [Explore resources → /resources/]

Changes: none — all framing confirmed accurate and appropriate for parent audience.