Ed Dept Restores Funding for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss After Outcry

"Following public outcry, the U.S. Department of Education has restored funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, about a month after cutting it. But rather than sending the money directly to the four programs that are part of a national network helping students who are deaf and blind, a condition known as deafblindness, the department has instead rerouted the grants to a different organization that will provide funding for those vulnerable students."

"ProPublica and other news organizations reported last month on the canceled grants to agencies that serve these students in Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as in five states that are part of a New England consortium. Programs then appealed to the Education Department to retain their funding, but the appeals were denied. Last week, the National Center on Deafblindness, the parent organization of the agencies that were denied, told the four programs that the Education Department had provided it with additional grant money"

"It is still a disruption to families. It creates this mistrust, that you are gone and back and gone and back," said Lisa McConachie of the Oregon DeafBlind Project.Douglas Rissing via Getty Images Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news - make a quick donation to Truthout today! This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox."

Following public outcry, the U.S. Department of Education restored funding for students with both hearing and vision loss roughly a month after cutting it. The department rerouted grants that had formerly gone directly to four programs within a national network serving students with deafblindness to another organization that will disburse funds to those students. The administration targeted the programs in its attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, and a department spokesperson cited concerns about “divisive concepts” and “fairness” when explaining the withholding of funds. Programs appealed the cuts and were initially denied before funds were passed through the National Center on Deafblindness.

Read at Truthout