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Hard of Hearing - A hearing condition, which is functional with or without amplified sound, and adversely affects a child's educational performance;
Deafness - A hearing impairment which is so severe that the child's hearing, with amplified sound, is nonfunctional for the purposes of educational performance;
Eligibility - If a child is suspected of having a hearing impairment, the following evaluation shall be conducted:
(A) An audiological assessment by an audiologist licensed by a State Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and
Audiology;
(B) A medical statement or a health assessment statement indicating whether the hearing loss, if conductive, is treatable
and whether the use of amplification is contra-indicated;
(C) Assessments to determine the impact of the suspected disability:
(i) On the child's educational performance when the child is at the age of eligibility for kindergarten through age 21, or
(ii) On the child's developmental progress when the child is age three through the age of eligibility for kindergarten; and
(D) Additional evaluations or assessments that are necessary to identify the child's educational needs.
For a child suspected of having a hearing impairment, the child shall meet one of the following minimum criteria:
(A) The child has a pure tone average loss of 25 dbHL or greater in the better ear for frequencies of 500 Hz, 1000 Hz,
and 2000 Hz, or a pure tone average loss of 35 dbHL or greater in the better ear for frequencies of 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz,
and 6000 Hz; or
(B) The child has a unilateral hearing impairment with a pure tone average loss of 50 dbHL or greater in the affected ear
for the frequencies 500 Hz to 4000 Hz; and
(C) The loss is either sensorineural or conductive if the conductive loss has been determined to be currently untreatable by
a physician.
For a child to be eligible for special education services as a child with a hearing impairment, the child's multidisciplinary
team shall determine that:
(A) The child's disability has an adverse impact:
(i) On the child's educational performance when the child is at the age of eligibility for kindergarten through age 21, or
(ii) On the child's developmental progress when the child is age three through the age of eligibility for kindergarten; and
(B) The child needs special education services as a result of the disability.
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