Signing could count as foreign language

Two Maryville College students are working with state lawmakers on a bill that would allow American Sign Language to be used to meet the foreign language requirement in Tennessee schools.

The bill, filed as Senate Bill 524 and House Bill 462, was originally crafted by Molly Ridgeway, a nonverbal student at Maryville College, and her boyfriend, Joshua Anderson, who is also a student at Maryville College.

“Because I have a disability, I have a different perspective in which I can advocate for the people who do not have a voice,” Ridgeway, who hopes to teach sign language, said in a news release Friday from Maryville College. “This bill will help future educators like me who are not able to communicate verbally to teach children and could increase the number of job opportunities in this field.”

The pair were successful in presenting the bill before the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, a forum for students, in November, and decided then to bring the idea to state lawmakers.

Anderson, who actually wrote the bill, cited his relationship with Ridgeway, as well as ties his family has with the deaf community, as a reason why he wanted to get involved.

Maryville College is one of less than 50 schools nationwide to offer a bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language, according to the school’s website, and also developed the first undergraduate major in American Sign Language-English interpreting.

“We found that there are some Tennessee schools that do offer ASL courses, but not very many,” Anderson said in the release. “We searched for reasons for why so few schools offered ASL and found one key issue: The state Board of Education has not adopted any textbooks or curriculum to be used in these courses.”

The two said they feel their bill will benefit not only members of the deaf community, but also students, teachers and businesses. Chandler Hopper, deputy director of communications for the Tennessee Department of Education, declined to comment, saying the department does not comment on pending legislation.

Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Roger Kane, R-Knoxville, are the state lawmakers sponsoring the bill.