Contact: David Sanderson, State Administrator Manager
(800) 622-6730 -  sandersonD@michigan.gov

Placement at MSD is determined on a student-by-student basis through the IEPT process involving local school district personnel and the child's parents. For each child with a disability, there must exist a continuum of placement options from which the local school superintendent makes the most appropriate placement recommendation. MSD is one option in the provision of services for students with who are deaf or hard of hearing. Students who attend MSD receive a unique combination of services resulting from complex educational planning involving the interaction of many social, emotional, and behavioral intervention strategies, in addition to academic and residential support services. The range, intensity, and plethora of services available at MSD are provided for any student with a hearing impairment in Michigan as determined by the IEPT.

The primary goal of the MSD program is to provide educational programs and services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing: (1) whose educational needs, in the least restrictive environment, are best met by placement at the MSD; (2) whose school district has elected to send the student to MSD because the parents or the IEPT have identified MSD as having the most beneficial educational program; (3) for whom the specific language and communication demands as identified by law IDEA 97 are best met by MSD's specific Total Communication Policy which encompasses the entire campus and includes ambient communication; and (4) who will benefit from proximity to other students and adults who are deaf as role models which will help them realize their full academic and social potential.

Following are the programs currently offered:

• Preprimary Program
• Primary Program
• Upper Elementary Program
• Middle School Program
• High School Program
• Independent Living
• Residential Program
• Extracurricular Program
• Support Services