Two deaf school students, Ellie Woods and Shane Hamilton, have taken their plea to the Department of Education, advocating for Irish Sign Language to be recognized as a Leaving Certificate exam subject. Despite ISL’s official language status in Ireland, students like Ellie and Shane are at a disadvantage as they cannot sit an exam in ISL.
Ellie and Shane argue that other EU languages not taught in Irish schools are examinable, so why not ISL? They believe that being able to take a Leaving Certificate exam in ISL would provide deaf students with the same opportunities as their peers.
Recognizing ISL in the Leaving Certificate would not only benefit individual students like Shane, who consider it their first language, but also give much-needed recognition to the deaf community and culture. This move towards inclusivity and equality in education has garnered support from organizations like Chime, who highlight the inequality faced by deaf students.
While the Department of Education is taking steps towards developing an ISL curriculum, Ellie and Shane’s call for equal opportunities through examinable ISL is crucial for the future of deaf education in Ireland.