Case Study: Texas School for the Deaf

School Profile

The Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) provides exceptional educational services and opportunities for Texas children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Located on the same site in Austin since 1856, TSD is the oldest continuously operating, publicly funded school in the state.
From its modest beginnings, TSD has grown into a state-of-the-art residential school that serves approximately 500 students from infancy to 21 years of age, in regular school curricula and in post-high school transition programs.
Similar to most public schools, TSD offers an elementary program for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students, a middle school department for students in grades six through eight, and a high school program for students between ninth and twelfth grades. Middle school students are offered introductory classes in the Career and Technology Education (CTE) program, and all high school students have the opportunity to receive career orientation and technology courses in the CTE program.

Nearly 90 percent of its student population is eligible to receive free or reduced price lunches. Through the school’s Educational Resource Center on Deafness, TSD also provides outreach services to hundreds of professionals and families with hearing disabilities throughout Texas.