Four years ago, Ruth Whittaker took the first American Sign Language class at Southeast Community College. Today, Whittaker is wrapping up an American Sign Language interpreting degree at Augustana University and will, after her June graduation, become an interpreter for the deaf.
Whether she works in Nebraska or elsewhere, Whittaker’s journey from ASL student to interpreter is an example of the intent of a bill now before the Legislative’s Education Committee aimed at encouraging the teaching of ASL and developing interpreters needed to meet a chronic shortage, particularly in Nebraska’s rural schools.
ASL is now taught in Lincoln at the University of Nebraska, SCC and Bryan College of Health Sciences and at Concordia University in Seward. But, unlike Spanish, German and other languages, it is not available in high schools.
Sen. Anna Wishart’s LB939 would take a step toward changing that by formally recognizing ASL as a language and allowing schools to offer ASL classes to fulfill language requirements. The measure doesn’t mandate the teaching of ASL at any school.
Transferring the language credits would allow a student to immediately take ASL and related classes at a higher level or more quickly enter an interpreter training program.
Teaching ASL in high school would have other benefits. It would destigmatize deaf students, who have interpreters in their classes, and, as hearing students learn to sign, give their deaf and hard-of-hearing students peers they can communicate with beyond fingerspelling and writing back and forth.
A related ASL bill heard by the Legislature’s Education Committee last week would address deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s needs before they go through schoolhouse doors.
Sen. Mike McConnell’s LB965 would establish a language assessment program from children between birth and age 5, who are deaf or hard of hearing to track their language development and ensure they are prepared to enter kindergarten.
Being ready for school is critical for the deaf and hard-of-hearing youngsters, as Polk native and National Association of the Deaf board member Lindsay Darnell told the committee.
Darnell who grew up with deaf parents and a deaf brother, learned ASL from infancy, just as hearing people learn any spoken language. But when he arrived at school, he found that many other deaf students were delayed in their ASL
The committee took no action on the bills after the hearing but expressed support for the measures. The Journal Star editorial board would urge the committee to send them to the floor immediately in order for them to be passed in this legislative session.
There is no reason to delay the bills that, to paraphrase Nebraska Association of the Deaf President Jonathan Scherling, will help provide language, ASL, that is the key to deaf and hard-of-hearing peoples’ human rights.