Oklahoma State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2006

Senate Approves Measure to Assist State's Deaf and Hearing Impaired Students

The State Senate unanimously approved a measure recently to give deaf and hearing impaired students in Oklahoma better access to specialized education. House Bill 1646 would modify the Education Open Transfer Act to allow students to transfer to school districts with specialized deaf education programs at any time during the school year. The legislation is authored by Chickasha republicans, Senator Ron Justice and Representative Susan Winchester.

"This is an important bill for our students with special needs," said Justice. "Not all public schools have the financial resources to provide such specialized services. In that case, this measure will allow those students to transfer to a school that does."

The legislation was originally introduced during the 2005 session by Justice and Winchester but was not able to be heard in the Senate before the end of session.

"This bill simply gives families the option of transferring their child to a specialized school, such as Jane Brooks School for the Deaf in Chickasha, in order to ensure that they get the best learning experience possible," said Justice.

HB 1646 will now return to the House for consideration of Senate amendments.

For more information contact:
Senator Justice's Office - (405) 521-5537