Help Protect DeafBlind Services in our state

AER is urging support to reverse the U.S. Department of Education’s September 5, 2025 decision to end funding for DeafBlind Projects across the United Sates. This project currently serves children, their families, and educators statewide, including rural and underserved areas. Without it, states like yours will lose critical communication and mobility supports, educator training, family assistance, and IDEA-required child count data. AER requests advocacy to reinstate funding and protect vital services for children who are DeafBlind.

Dear [Lawmaker],

I am writing to inform you of a recent federal decision that threatens essential educational services for children who are DeafBlind in New Hampshire.

On September 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education issued a non-continuation notice to our state’s DeafBlind Project, terminating a longstanding federally funded initiative that supports children with combined hearing and vision loss, their families, and their educators.

This decision, if not reversed, will result in:

• Reduced access to communication and mobility supports for children across public, charter, and homeschool settings

• Loss of statewide technical assistance and training for educators

• Elimination of family support programs for navigation of complex educational and medical systems

• Gaps in federally required census data (Child Count) under IDEA

The DeafBlind Project in our Northeastern states currently supports:

• 576 children across the Northeast Consortium (CT, MA, ME, NH, VT)

• Hundreds of families and professionals, including those in rural and underserved regions

Although this is a federal grant, we ask for your help in amplifying concern and contacting federal education leaders to urge them to reconsider this harmful decision. Your voice carries great weight, particularly with federal partners and local education agencies.

The loss of this project would not only disrupt services but also undermine our state’s ability to meet the needs of one of its most underserved and complex populations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide further information. Thank you for your public service and support of inclusive education in New Hampshire.

Sincerely,
______

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