Why we are asking for your support:
Illinois State University and its Laboratory Schools have a remarkable history of educating students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, low vision and blind while also preparing the student professionals who will serve them. A dedicated cohort of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students has been part of the Laboratory School community since 1949, creating a legacy that now spans more than 75 years. For approximately the last 30 years, HILIA has served as a bridge connecting students from communities throughout Central Illinois to that educational legacy, while also expanding specialized services for students who are Deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired.
Over time, this partnership has grown into something larger than a program occupying classrooms. It has become an educational ecosystem. Students with disabilities learn alongside general-education peers. Specialized teachers, interpreters and related-service professionals collaborate with Lab School educators. ISU undergraduate and graduate students learn from children and experienced professionals in authentic educational settings. University faculty prepare future educators and clinicians in close proximity to the populations they will eventually serve. Researchers have opportunities to study and advance educational practices. Families, local school districts, university programs, and the Laboratory Schools are connected through the same environment.
That ecosystem reflects the very concept of a laboratory school. Metcalf and University High School exist not only to educate children, but also to demonstrate, develop and study excellent educational practice. A model of public education is most meaningful when it reflects the full diversity of the students public schools are expected to serve—including students with significant and low-incidence disabilities. Students with disabilities should not be absent from the environment in which future educators are learning what exemplary education looks like.
The HILIA–ISU partnership also provides an unusual training environment for students across multiple undergraduate and graduate programs at Illinois State University. Future general and special educators, Deaf and hard-of-hearing specialists, speech-language professionals and others can encounter disability, communication differences, accessibility and inclusion as part of everyday education rather than only through textbooks or simulations. At the same time, children receiving HILIA services benefit from being connected to a university community with deep expertise in education, special education, communication and related fields.
HILIA serves students across more than 30 school districts, while a smaller group receives center-based programming at Thomas Metcalf School and University High School. The number of students physically located at the Laboratory Schools may be relatively small, but the impact of their presence extends far beyond those classrooms. Their inclusion contributes to the education of their peers, future teachers and professionals, university faculty and researchers, and ultimately the schools and communities those professionals will serve throughout Illinois.
The current Educational Services Agreement between HILIA and Illinois State University expires June 30, 2027, and a successor agreement has not yet been reached. HILIA is therefore also exploring alternative locations so that services can continue if the partnership with ISU cannot be maintained. We do not want our children to be removed from the safe place they have curated with Metcalf and University High School.
By signing this petition, you are asking HILIA and Illinois State University to make every reasonable effort to preserve HILIA’s center-based programming at Metcalf and University High School and to continue working toward a sustainable agreement that protects students, families, staff, and the educational ecosystem that has developed through this longstanding partnership.
This petition is not about assigning blame or choosing sides. It is about recognizing what has been built: more than 75 years of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students as part of the Laboratory School community, nearly 30 years of HILIA connecting regional students to that legacy, and an educational ecosystem in which children, families, educators, future professionals and researchers learn from one another. Before that ecosystem is dismantled or fundamentally changed, we are asking both organizations to keep working together, meaningfully include affected stakeholders, and fully consider what would be lost.