Inclusion isn’t just about writing policies; it’s about taking meaningful action. Nowhere is this more apparent than for those in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, where many institutions offer the bare minimum of accommodations, leaving individuals without robust access to communication. If we’re truly serious about creating an inclusive society, it’s time to move beyond surface-level solutions and focus on ensuring real, quality language access. This is especially important in education, business, and legislation.
The State of Language Access in Education
One of the most glaring gaps in language access exists in our colleges and universities. While these institutions often claim to offer support, what’s offered is frequently insufficient. According to the National Deaf Center, “40% of Deaf college students reported receiving only one accommodation.” In many cases, that accommodation might be a single ASL interpreter for lectures or a note-taker (rarely both). But is this enough for a student to fully engage in their education? Absolutely not. With only an interpreter, taking notes becomes a risk because looking away from the interpreter means missing information.
Language access is more than just providing an interpreter for one aspect of the educational experience. It means having accommodations available that fit the needs of students in all areas of a students’ academic life; including group projects, extracurricular activities, and casual interactions with peers and professors. Students who only receive one form of support are often left struggling to navigate the full scope of university life, from labs to social events, often feeling isolated and excluded.
For instance, many universities see providing captions for videos as “too much trouble” or costly. But consider the alternative: students are left unable to access core materials that their hearing peers take for granted. The lack of captions, interpreters for extracurriculars, or even sign language classes leaves Deaf students with partial access at best. That’s not inclusion—that’s marginalization.
Accommodations: Are They Really Enough?
What do we even mean when we talk about accommodations? Common examples include interpreters, note-takers, assistive listening devices, and captioning services. These are all meant to ensure that Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals can engage in the world around. But when only one accommodation is provided, it creates a narrow channel through which students are expected to navigate an entire system.
The idea that one accommodation can cover all needs is simply incorrect. Just as students without accommodations wouldn’t be expected to attend all their classes, interact with professors, and study effectively using a single tool, neither should students who rely on accommodations. Language access must be comprehensive, covering every aspect of academic and social life on campus. This requires multiple accommodations tailored to the individual needs of students. Universities should be providing interpreters for classrooms, study groups, extracurricular activities, and more—not limiting access to the bare minimum because it’s “easier” or “cheaper.”
Language Access in Business and Workplaces
This issue isn’t just confined to education. The corporate world has similar challenges when it comes to offering real language access. Many businesses fail to provide effective communication accommodations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing employees and customers. Instead of being proactive, many companies only respond when legally required. This reactive approach leaves Deaf individuals facing unnecessary obstacles.
Take, for example, meetings in workplaces where real-time captioning or interpreters are not provided. Deaf employees are either left out of crucial conversations or forced to rely on colleagues for piecemeal translations, often missing important context. Even when accommodations are provided, it’s often only for major meetings, ignoring day-to-day interactions where language access is equally important; best practice is to ask people about their accommodation preferences and to use their response in the decision process of acquiring those accommodations.
In customer service roles, Deaf individuals often face difficulties using outdated or inadequate technology like TTY (text telephones), while Video Relay Services (VRS) and more advanced communication tools aren’t fully integrated. This restricts their ability to communicate effectively in both work and social settings. The lack of a cohesive plan for language access in the corporate world not only limits career opportunities but also stifles their ability to contribute fully in their professional roles.
The Legislative Landscape: Progress, But Not Enough
Legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been critical in pushing for more accessibility, but the law only goes so far. While it mandates certain accommodations, it doesn’t ensure they are sufficient or uniformly applied. Many businesses and schools comply with the letter of the law, attempting to provide basic accommodations like interpreters in specific settings, but they fail to meet the spirit of true inclusion.
Additionally, legislation governing interpreters is becoming stricter, such as the upcoming 2025 law in Maryland that will require all interpreters to be officially licensed and to meet specific industry requirements for certain medical or legal work. While this aims to improve the quality of interpretation services, it may exacerbate existing shortages of qualified interpreters, leaving people with fewer language access options and relying on getting people who simply meet those set standards versus finding the best qualified professional for the job. Without a significant increase in training programs, educational workshops, and support for aspiring interpreters, this legislation may end up creating additional barriers than it removes.
Taking Action: Moving Beyond Minimum Standards
Inclusion must go beyond what’s legally required. It’s time for schools, businesses, and lawmakers to start thinking about language access as a right, not a luxury or an afterthought. Here are some actions we can take:
- Invest in Comprehensive Accommodations: Whether in schools or businesses, we need to provide more than just one form of support. Real inclusion means offering interpreters, captions, note-taking services, and assistive listening devices across all areas of life, from classrooms to the boardroom.
- Foster a Culture of Accessibility: Both educational institutions and businesses must foster environments where language access is integrated into the fabric of their operations without undertones of those needed accommodations being merely a financial burden. This means more than just meeting ADA or State standards—it means actively engaging with Deaf individuals to understand their needs and ensuring they have the tools they prefer to communicate effectively.
- Support Interpreter Training Programs: With the new legislation requiring licensure for interpreters, it’s crucial that we invest in training, education, and development to prevent shortages. More interpreters means more language access for better outcomes for those using language access accommodations.
- Advocate for Stronger Legislation: The laws surrounding accessibility need to be expanded to cover not just minimal accommodations but also the quality and breadth of those services. We should advocate for policies that require comprehensive language access, from schools to businesses.
True inclusion is about action. It’s not enough to provide one accommodation or tick a box on a compliance form. We need to offer robust language access in education, business, and beyond. Whether it’s providing multiple interpreters for a college student or ensuring real-time captioning in a workplace meeting, these steps are crucial for creating an inclusive society where individuals who use accommodations can thrive. Now is the time to take action. Let’s move beyond policy and start making a real difference.
by Dave Coyne
2018-2019 Deaf College Student National Accessibility Report
Learn More About Gateway
Gateway connects people to their worlds and aids individuals in their ability to understand and to be understood. Gateway has grown into an organization that serves more than 4,000 children and adults every year, helping them communicate more effectively. With programming both on our Baltimore campus and through community-based programming, we provide education, access, and medical support to anyone who needs it.
We envision a society where everyone can understand and be understood and where everyone is treated with integrity, compassion, and equity.
