All Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, staff, parents, and guardians have a legal right to communication access. The Office of Sign Language Interpreting Services (OSLIS) supports the DOE’s central office and public schools by providing interpreting services between English and American Sign Language. OSLIS also provides assessments of sign language fluency.
Services are available by contacting the DOE’s Office of Sign Language Interpreting Services via email at OSLIS@schools.nyc.gov.
For Staff and Parents
- Fill out the sign language interpreter request form and email it to OSLIS.
- No other documentation or funding information is required of the school, these services are provided by the DOE, free of charge, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- If there are scheduling or availability issues, OSLIS will inform you.
For Students
- The student’s IEP should list their disability classification as “Deafness” (or some other broader classification, with clarification regarding hearing in the Present Levels of Performance section).
- Evaluations of student ASL fluency (for whether an interpreter would be of use to them can be requested from OSLIS).
- Once “Sign Language Interpreter” is listed under Recommended Special Education Programs/Services on a final draft of the IEP, the interpreter will be provided.
- Classroom Interpreters are placed via sign language interpretation agencies.
Best Practices
- If you have access to content or knowledge about the interpreting assignment ahead of time (scripts/programs/specific discussion topics) for parent/staff interpreting, this can aid in the clarity of the interpretation.
- Teachers should know to share lesson plans with their classroom interpreters and include them as members of the education team.