One of the things I love about chairing Senate Government Operations is that the subject matter is very diverse – municipal issues, elections, the structure of government, regulation of the professions, and just about anything else. This last week the Senate voted on a bill, S.66, that addresses the needs of the deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing. It was one of the many diverse issues before our committee.
While many realize that is has been an issue in Vermont for a long time, the closure of Austine School and the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing brought it to the forefront. Over the past few weeks, our committee took testimony from state agencies, educators, spokespeople for the Deaf community, parents of deaf children and members of the Deaf community.