Sparking Equitable READ Act Access: Innovations for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Learners

Sparking Equitable READ Act

Workshop description

The READ Act sparked an important opportunity for Minnesota to strengthen equitable access to Structured Literacy for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind learners. This session will highlight recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Education's Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Working Group on literacy training, screeners, and curriculum for students who cannot fully access sound-based approaches, such as phonics. Participants will explore research on alternative pathways to reading development, expanded definitions of literacy, and considerations for screening, curriculum, and professional development. Presenters will showcase emerging tools and innovations, including curriculum rubrics, decision-making flowcharts, training resources, and body-of-evidence approaches for screening. This session connects research, implementation, and access as Minnesota works to support equitable Structured Literacy for all students.

Presented by Debbie Golos, Kayna Plaisted, Emily Manson, Danelle Gournaris, Leah Dolezal, and Chris Bretz.

Debbie Golos

Debbie Golos. PhD is a Professor in Deaf Education and DHH teacher preparation program lead at the University of Minnesota. With 30+ years in the field, her research and teaching focus on fostering language, literacy, identities, well-being for teachers and children, and interactive educational media through a multilingual and multimodal lens.

Kayna Plaisted

Kayna Plaisted is the Regional Professional Development Specialist at BrightWorks, where she leads the metro region's Minnesota Low Incidence initiatives and facilitates the READ Act Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Working Group. She has held many roles, including Classroom Teacher, Instructional Coach, and Adjunct Instructor, over her years serving the field of special education. Kayna's passion for advocacy is rooted in personal experience, growing up alongside her three siblings with disabilities and working intensively with various families outside the school setting. She is confident that with evidence-based strategies, all students can become literate individuals, not just those who can hear or see or walk or talk, all means all.

Emily Manson

Since 2010, Emily Manson has dedicated her career to ensuring that students who are deaf or hard of hearing have the tools they need to succeed. As an Itinerant DHH Teacher for St. Paul Public Schools, she is supporting linguistically diverse students and is a tireless advocate for equitable access to educational environments and materials. Beyond the classroom, Emily holds numerous leadership and advisory roles at the regional and state levels. She currently serves as the Co-Facilitator for the Region 11 DHH Community of Practice and contributes her expertise to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) DHH Advisory Committee, the State DHH Community of Practice, the READ Act DHH Working Group, the MN Hands and Voices Advisory Committee, MDE's Accommodations Advisory Review Panel, and WIDA's Accessible Pathways Committee. Her work is defined by a commitment to systemic accessibility and improving outcomes for students with hearing loss.

Danelle Gournaris

Danelle Gournaris serves as the Collaborative Plan Program Director for the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing. In that role, she coordinates the state's Collaborative Plan, a partnership of schools, agencies, and organizations working to improve educational and career outcomes for deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing students from birth through age 22.

Leah Dolezal

Leah Dolezal is a Senior Teaching Specialist in the ASL department and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests are: development of Deaf identities, culturally and linguistically appropriate role models, and language deprivation.

Chris Bretz

Chris supports implementation of the READ Act with a focus on Tier 1 curriculum and instruction aligned to evidence-based structured literacy practices.