Renewal of DeafTEC: Technological Education Center for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students

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2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Although progress has been made during the last two and a half decades, people with disabilities continue to be employed at rates much lower than the rest of the population. This is especially true of Americans who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/hh). Being employed in STEM provides a great benefit for d/hh people, since overall d/hh people in STEM occupations earn 31% more than d/hh people in non-STEM fields, and being employed in STEM reduces the earning gap between deaf and hearing employees. This center, DeafTEC, aims to increase the access for d/hh individuals to career information, to a technical education, and to unrestricted employment.DeafTEC will impact the knowledge and attitudes of d/hh students, as well as high school teachers, community college faculty, parents, counselors and employers, in terms of the educational and employment opportunities and options available. The Center's professional development experiences will improve the instructional expertise of high school and community college teachers in STEM subjects to provide greater access to learning for these students, as well as help employers develop the sensitivity and skills to successfully integrate d/hh technicians into the workplace. DeafTEC will also expand its reach to veterans with hearing loss by developing, with their local community colleges and veterans programs, resources on best practices for teaching this underserved audience. The Center will:(1) develop expanded partnerships in targeted regions of the country among high schools, community colleges, and industry to improve access to technological education and employment for d/hh students;(2) develop new curricula for national dissemination related to STEM careers for middle and high school students, job readiness for community college students, and best practices for teaching d/hh students in STEM subjects for general teacher preparation programs;(3) provide professional development resources for community college faculty on best practices for teaching military veterans with hearing loss;(4) develop an expanded website to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to technical education and technician careers for d/hh students; and(5) continue to expand a national STEM dual credit program to improve pathways for d/hh students to transition from high school to college.DeafTEC's emphasis on universal design, developmental math and writing across the STEM curriculum can benefit all students in need of additional resources and support. The partnerships established among high schools, community colleges, and employers can also serve as a model that can be replicated in other regions as well as with other groups of underserved students.