Funding Cuts Hit Indiana School for the Deaf

INDIANAPOLIS — The budget cuts at the Indiana School for the Deaf are hitting students hard.

Since the state budget took effect on July 1, the school has lost nearly $1 million a year for the next two years. That meant letting go of 26 staff, including nine teachers, four substitutes, four mentors, and two nurses. Many of those teachers were deaf themselves, so students aren’t just losing instruction—they’re losing role models.

Jeffrey Spinale, a 2014 ISD graduate and president of the Indiana Association of the Deaf, said the cuts mean students no longer have access to professionals who can teach in American Sign Language.

“In a public school, deaf students don’t get to learn ASL. Here, they had teachers who shared their language and culture,” Spinale said. “With these layoffs, students