The Argument for a Constitutional Right to Communication and Language

Equity in education: signed language and the courts

“…The classification of Deaf students as disabled by government officials and educators has prevented these students from benefiting from American legislation that supports the rights of language minority students, such as the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, Lau v. Nichols (1974), or Martin Luther King Jr. v. Ann Arbor School Dist. (1979 (Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996;Siegel, 2006).…”

“…Mu ¨hlke connects Deaf children's right to signed language with the right to freedom of expression, as does Siegel (2006). Freedom of speech or expression is, as she argues, 'the touchstone for all other civil and political rights' (Mu ¨hlke, 1999, p. 744).…”

“…The issue of whether an internationally recognized right to language and linguistic developmentwhich, as the author herself acknowledges, can only bear real significance in the case of Deaf individuals -is preferable to legal recognition of signed languages and their importance in Deaf education is a matter for future research and debate. Siegel (2006) links the right to communication and language to various principles underlying the United States Constitution, including freedom of speech (the First Amendment), and to the 14th Amendment which guarantees US citizens equal protection under the law. Like Mu ¨hlke, he acknowledges that Deaf individuals cannot enjoy fundamental human rights or full citizenship if deprived of language.…”

Framing Deaf Children’s Right to Sign Language in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

“…Sign language rights for deaf children bring a unique perspective to bear in the fields of disability rights and language planning due to the lack of recognition in existing case law of the right to language in and of itself (Mülke, 1999;Siegel, 2006). Deaf children are frequently deprived of early exposure to a fully accessible language and as a consequence, may develop incomplete knowledge of any language.…”

“…To date, case law and human rights instruments from around the world have failed to explicitly outline deaf children's right to sign language and linguistic development as a unique issue in language planning and disability rights (Kauppinen & Jokinen, 2014;Mühlke, 1999;Siegel, 2006). The recognition of deaf children's right to sign language in the Charter will break new ground in disability rights law, status planning for sign languages, and Canadian law in terms of creating what McCarthy and Radbord (1999) referred to as "whole new social conversations and communities" where all are included.…”