A New Era in the Right to Sign compounded by school environments that environment for deaf students. Providing do not provide full access to language and/ NZSL learning environments that bring or the curriculum. together deaf children and adults fluent in 118 Inadequate support to deaf children in schools can include NZSL is vital for deaf children to have the linguistic isolation and a lack of appropriate option of NZSL as a foundational language. teaching strategies for deaf students. Another issue is the over-dependence Deaf students and their families need real on teacher’s aides with insufficient choices in education. These include access support from qualified teachers and other to NZSL whether they are in mainstream specialists.119 schools, special units, resource centres Language environments or schools for deaf children. Wherever a deaf child is schooled, face-to-face NZSL Acquiring a language requires environments language learning opportunities should that bring together a critical mass of users be available alongside options that can of that language, including fluent users. In be accessed through video technologies. the case of te reo Māori, Kōhanga Reo and Enabling deaf peers to come together in Kura Kaupapa have played a critical role this way brings to life the importance of in creating such environments for Māori connection and linguistic identity set out children and their whānau. Māori children in the New Zealand Disability Strategy and cannot be expected to acquire te reo and the Disability Convention respectively.121 Māori culture in a classroom where they are the only Māori person and where there are no fluent Māori speakers. NZSL support and resources in schools Access to education for many prelingually deaf children depends on sufficient Similarly, deaf children cannot acquire sign language resourcing. This includes NZSL and deaf culture in mainstream a sufficient level of NZSL proficiency classrooms where there are no other amongst those involved in educating deaf fluent signers. In most countries, special children. However, there are concerns residential schools for the deaf have about the low level of NZSL competency created a critical mass of deaf peers that amongst the professionals and para- enables the transmission of sign language professionals involved in deaf education. between generations.120 Training in NZSL and deaf cultural issues is minimal for teacher’s aides, RTDs, AODCs In New Zealand, if parents choose an and other staff working with deaf students. NZSL approach for their child there are very few educational environments that Some staffing for deaf education supports provide a bilingual educational and social can now be aggregated and customised to 43