IDEA 2004 Laws for Fitting Assistive Technology in Schools

It has come to light that individuals, such as teachers, who are not trained, qualified or credentialed to fit and manage amplification technology for students who have hearing challenges in the public schools and preschools are, in fact, doing so. These services, as outlined below in IDEA Parts B and C, are to be provided by a Licensed Audiologist who is qualified and trained in pediatric audiology and the fitting and management of assistive technology (FM systems, auditory trainers, group and individual amplification systems for use in a classroom for the purposes of educating a student or students) and no one else. Any other staff involved with this technology must be directly trained and supervised by a Licensed Audiologist to do so.

According to IDEA (Parts B and C) Requirements, audiology services include:

Part B-300.34 (c) (1)

(i) Identification of children with hearing loss,

(ii) Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;

(iii) Provision of habilitation activities, such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading, (lipreading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;

(iv) Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;

(v) Counseling and guidance of pupils, parents, and teachers regarding hearing loss;

(vi) Determination of the child’s need for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification

Part C-300.13 (b) (2)

(i) Identification of children with auditory impairments, using at risk criteria and appropriate audiological screening techniques;

(ii) Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss and communication functions, by use of audiologic evaluation procedures;

(iii) Referral for medical and other services necessary for the habilitation or rehabilitation of an infant or toddler with a disability who has an auditory impairment;

(iv) Provision of auditory training, aural rehabilitation, speech reading and listening device orientation and training, and other services;

(v) Provision of services for the prevention of hearing loss; and

(vi) Determination of the child’s need for individual amplification, including selecting, fitting and dispensing of appropriate listening and vibrotactile devices, and evaluating the effectiveness of those devices.