Click the link for an ASL version of this text: https://youtu.be/-7ujN9tLjd8

Dear Alumni, Colleagues & Friends,

We, the students of the Gallaudet University School Psychology Psy.D. Program, are reaching out to ask for your support. Gallaudet University has recently proposed the closure of our program. We humbly request that you support our appeal to the university for the reasons outlined below. If you are inclined, you can show your support by signing this petition. We also encourage you to email the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees, President Cordano, Provost Rashid, and Dean Garate to express your concern and support for the preservation of the School Psychology Psy.D. Program.

Thank you.

Board of Trustees: [email protected] 

President Cordano: [email protected] 

Provost Rashid: [email protected] 

Dean Garate: [email protected] 

Deaf Children Need Us:

The school psychology program at Gallaudet is the only program in the entire country that prepares practitioners to serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students. No other program can replace us. Without specialized cultural and linguistic training, school psychologists are at risk of misdiagnosing DHH students, which can have disastrous consequences for their education and mental health. Graduates of our program may be the only school psychologists in their district, county, or even state who are qualified to work with DHH children.

Deaf Schools Need Us:

The Gallaudet school psychology program is a vital pipeline to Deaf schools. No other school psychology program graduates doctoral level psychologists who specialize in serving DHH students, particularly those who use sign languages. Closing this program would completely dismantle this professional pipeline and leave Deaf schools, day programs, and mainstream programs deprived of culturally and linguistically competent school psychologists to evaluate and intervene with their children and families.

Deaf Professionals Need Us:

The Gallaudet school psychology program is the only program in the country that trains doctoral students in American Sign Language (ASL). Deaf students who want to become school psychologists do not have a comparable alternative. Our program uniquely prepares Deaf students to achieve a terminal degree, become leaders in their educational systems, conduct applied research, and obtain faculty positions in university settings. Our program is a pipeline to leadership, advocacy, and systems change, where Deaf and Hard of Hearing students have full access to professional opportunities and community engagement. 

The Deaf Community Needs Us:

As a new doctoral program, the school psychology program has already made achievements in research and evaluation. Student-led applied research projects have led to presentations at national conferences, including the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA), as well as other publications. With so little research available about Deaf children and their education, it is critical that the school psychology program at Gallaudet leads the charge. Research about the Deaf community should be produced by and in collaboration with the Deaf community. The closure of our program would mean the suspension of research projects about multicultural counseling, social emotional learning, executive function, and psycho-educational assessment that are desperately needed in schools serving DHH students. We must continue to represent and partner with the Deaf community in matters of developmental, educational, and mental health research.