Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he has a plan to help students with vision and hearing disabilities get a jump start on their reading skills.
Dawn Wallace is the governor’s education advisor. She said children are tested for hearing and vision at birth. If there are problems, there are only 17 specialists who work with families until the child is old enough to attend one of the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, but they only start taking kids at age 3.
"And if they don't have the proper language or they don't have the proper tools and equipment and support systems, when they get into school they will not be ready to learn all that we need them to learn," Wallace said.
So, the governor's plan is to hire 21 additional specialists.
Wallace said the extra staffers are necessary to ensure these children get what they need.
"Right now their teachers visit them maybe twice a month," Wallace said.
Currently, the average caseload for each of these specialists is 24 children.