Iowa School for the Deaf could become regional center

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Iowa’s special school for the deaf at Council Bluffs is expecting about 110 students when pre-kindergarten through high school classes begin next Monday. That includes some students from Nebraska because that state has closed its special school and is taking advantage of the close proximity of Iowa’s school on the western border.

Iowa Board of Regents member, Robert Downer, says enrolling Nebraska’s deaf children may be just the beginning. Downer says there are serious discussions with one other state to do something similar with the possibility of another state being added. Downer says Iowa's school could become a hub of learning for several states.

Downer says it's possible the Council Bluffs school could be something of a regional center for deaf education. School for the Deaf Superintendent, Jeanne Prickett says even after adding the Nebraska students, the school is operating at about two-thirds capacity and could accommodate 50 more students.