Sociodemographic Disparities in Educational Services in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Objective: Examine the association between sociodemographic factors and Individualized Education Program (IEP) establishment.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Methods: Participants included deaf or hard-of-hearing children who were eligible for an IEP with "deafness" or "hard of hearing" as a primary or secondary disability. Primary outcome measures were time intervals between initial referral for services and parental consent; parental consent to determination of eligibility; and initial referral to eligibility (the sum of the previous 2 intervals). Student's t tests and linear regression were used to examine the association between sociodemographic factors and the primary outcome variables.

Results: Of the 88 participants, 51 (58%) were male, 45 (51%) were from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, 35 (40%) spoke a primary language other than English, and 53 (60%) utilized public insurance. IEP establishment was significantly delayed in participants who required an English-language interpreter. Most of the delay occurred in the time between the initial referral and parental consent (mean: 115 vs 37 days, P = .02). There were also significant delays from the time of referral for services to eligibility in URM participants (mean: 159 vs 85 days, P = .04). Significant delays were also associated with Minority Status and Language within social vulnerability index percentile rankings.

Conclusion: This study found that IEP establishment was delayed in both URM participants and those who required an English-language interpreter. These results highlight the importance of clear communication between the school system and caregivers in the IEP establishment process, particularly with families who require an English-language interpreter or identify as URM.