Educational dreams coming true for determined student 

Jay Samuel Harris always dreamed of being a teacher. Now in his second year at Gallaudet University, Sam is well on the way to realizing his dream.  Sam, who is deaf, credits The Legal Center for making his college education possible.  Although he was an exemplary high school student, and is currently maintaining a 3.5 grade point average, Sam had to struggle to attend the college of his choice.

Sam graduated from the Colorado Springs School for the Deaf and Blind in May of 2005. During his senior year, Sam visited several colleges in Colorado. The schools would have provided him with an interpreter and made accommodations for his deafness, but Sam had always struggled in “third party” mainstream educational settings—and thrived when he received direct instruction in American Sign Language (ASL), his primary method of communication.   He decided that Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. had the best resources to help him meet his educational and career goals.

In addition to a faculty versed in ASL and attuned to the needs of deaf students, Gallaudet has the latest communications technology including video relay services. Sam was excited about the many educational and leadership opportunities, and also welcomed the chance to interact socially with his peers without the need for a third party interpreter. But the most important factor in his decision was that Gallaudet offered a bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education; there were no comparable programs in Colorado.

As a Social Security beneficiary, and with no other means of support, Sam needed the approval and financial backing of the Colorado Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).  He was thrilled when initial meetings seemed positive, and he completed and signed an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). After signing the agreement, Sam learned that while the DVR would fund his tuition, it would not cover room and board. Sam appealed and was denied.

Frustrated and fearful that he would be unable to attend college, Sam turned to The Legal Center and an advocate in the Client Assistance Program appealed to the DVR Field Administrator on his behalf. Once again, the decision was to deny maintenance support, although Sam was offered some additional assistance with health insurance and textbooks.

Colorado law stipulates that the DVR must cover “appropriate services” to help clients meet their career goals. However, the state is only required to fund “necessary services at the least possible cost.” The DVR agreed that Gallaudet was an “appropriate choice,” but that other good educational choices were available in Colorado at “the least possible cost.”  The DVR contended that having chosen to attend an expensive college out-of-state, Sam Harris had made an informed choice and understood his responsibility to contribute financially.

On a monthly Social Security income of less than $500, Sam was clearly unable to afford room and board at Gallaudet.  The Legal Center requested an impartial hearing where advocates argued that given Sam’s upbringing in a deaf family, and his inability to lip read, a fully deaf environment was essential to his educational success.  They noted that Gallaudet was indeed “necessary” and that therefore it followed his maintenance costs were also necessary. The hearing officer agreed with The Legal Center that Colorado offered no BA in Deaf Education, making out-of-state college both appropriate and necessary. She ordered the DVR to pay for Sam’s dorm room and board.

Last year, Sam interned as a counselor at a New York summer camp.  When he graduates he hopes to find a position as a math teacher for deaf students. The Legal Center is proud of the role we played in helping Sam challenge and overcome an unyielding bureaucracy, and we congratulate him on his continuing educational progress.