Kids can learn American Sign Language in a variety of settings. Parents must work with educators and health professionals to decide which type of school or program is best for their child. Examples of placement options for hearing-impaired children include local public school classrooms, public schools with resource rooms, public schools with separate classrooms where American Sign Language is the main means of instruction and communication, public or private nonresidential schools with separate facilities for instruction in American Sign Language, public or private residential schools where the main means of instruction is American Sign Language, home learning environments or hospital learning environments.
Children who require classes in American Sign Language will need to have an IEP, or individualized education program. This is an agreement that stipulates the exact nature of services that the child can expect to get. The IEP will address the general educational curriculum, extracurricular activities and non-academic activities. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the IEP must be collaboratively written by the parents of the child, at least one of the child's regular teachers, a special education teacher of the child, a representative of a public agency who is qualified to deal with deaf and hard of hearing children and an individual qualified to interpret the instructional implications of academic evaluations.
Many schools are designated exclusively for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. At these schools, the chief language of instruction is American Sign Language. The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center maintains a helpful list of such schools and programs.