OPTION Response to AG BELL LEAD-K Model Bill
OPTION Schools, Inc. is an international, non-profit organization comprised of listening and spoken language programs and schools for children who are deaf or hard of hearing in Canada, South America, and the U.S.
OPTION Schools, Inc. seeks to advance excellence in listening and spoken language education by providing information and support to programs and school leaders. Member schools and programs, both individually and collectively, educate the public, professionals and policy makers as to what is possible for children who are deaf and hard of hearing in the 21st century.
While our philosophies and goals are united, OPTION Schools members each operate with different business and delivery structures, unique to the regions they serve. Each state, province, and country have differing governance structures, educational and health regulations, and unique local values and customs. These differences make it inappropriate for OPTION Schools as an organization to recommend or advocate on behalf of any specific proposals, laws, or regulations on a state or local scale. While we can advise and support each member in their local endeavours, only those individual schools can ascertain what might be advantageous and appropriate in their location.
Therefore OPTION Schools as a whole neither supports nor opposes the LEAD-K Model bill which was proposed by A. G. Bell International.
