Sometimes they do. It depends a lot on circumstances. Deaf Schools are just like schools in general. There are PUBLIC schools where kids are socially promoted and or fall through the cracks. But the myth is that deaf schools are "warehouses" where kids get worksheets to color and are socially promoted, and or are given a very minimal education, like they may have in the 1930's/40's etc. The biggest problem with Deaf Schools today is that the bulk of their students tend to have been transfers from the mainstream. Very few actually start out in Deaf ed. As a matter of fact, the early childhood programming in Deaf Ed tends to be very good, if they have on par curriculum and well trained teachers. It's unfortunatly not actively promoted as a choice. As a matter of fact, a former poster here had a HOH girl who also had additional learning issues. They were within easy commutting distance to Missouri School for the Deaf. My friend would have GLADLY placed her there. But they weren't told about it as an option. Another one of my friends who just recently moved to MA for TLC, was visiting schools up and down the East Coast. Guess what she told me? She said that she was told that the average age of a transfer was twelve, and they were usually the kids who hadn't been exposed to ASL and or given a lot of Deaf specific intervention. There are good Deaf Schools for which people actually MOVE for, and then there are bad Deaf Schools that aren't exactly the best in the world. My point being is that the Deaf School/program really is underutlized as an option. It CAN be really good, and often there are a lot of cases where the potential is good.....heck, there are stories of kids going to Gallaudet on a full ride honors scholarship, going to a State College, from Deaf Schools that aren't considered exactly the best. (Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, and West Virgina School for the Deaf and the Blind) I'm just saying that despite certain people and certain organizations which act like it's still SO innovative for a child to attend a public school, Deaf Schools CAN be a good option/piece of the puzzle. (ie attending for preschool -grade 3 to create a foundation for mainstreaming, an enrichement semester or year, attending for middle/high school for social emotional development and so on) It depends on the circumstances.......