Are we ready for PL 99-457?

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Early Childhood Education
• Audiology

Background:

• Public Law 99-457 has increased focus on preschool education for hearing-impaired children.
• The law mandates expanded services for an increasingly younger population and their families.
• Readiness for this mandate and the current state of services require examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess current trends in preschool programs for hearing-impaired children.
• To evaluate the availability of preschool programming nationwide.
• To identify challenges in meeting the comprehensive service mandates of Public Law 99-457.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed a sample of state-level special education offices to obtain program lists.
• Distributed detailed questionnaires to identified preschool programs.
• Analyzed returned surveys to understand instructional approaches and service availability.

Main Results:

• The study provides a "snapshot" of instructional approaches in preschool programs.
• Findings indicate potential issues with the nationwide availability of preschool programming.
• Some programs may struggle to uniformly provide the comprehensive quality services mandated by law.

Conclusions:

• Preschool programs for hearing-impaired children face challenges in meeting the demands of Public Law 99-457.
• Further investigation is needed to ensure equitable access to quality early intervention services.
• The findings highlight areas for improvement in service delivery and program accessibility.