A policy for bilingual education extensive to deaf pupils of the municipality of São Paulo

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze the current policy for education of deaf pupils of the municipality of São Paulo, considering that such policy has an impact on the induction of actions towards creating better learning conditions for these pupils. The education of deaf pupils is controversial and satisfactory results are not always achieved. Sign language is the constitutive language of deaf people and whenever it is accepted within educational scenarios it tends to favor an improved performance of these pupils. Proposals for schools for deaf pupils and of an inclusive education have emerged and put under debate the linguistic rights of deaf people, the existing methodological approaches and the role of bilingual professionals, and have also demanded government policies for their implementation. In Brazil, the 2002 Act No 10436 and the 2005 Decree No 5626, which deal with the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) and with the education of deaf people, signal to the need to educate future professionals (bilingual teachers, deaf instructors and Libras interpreters) that are aware of the special linguistic situation of deaf pupils. Under this perspective, the text explores the case of the municipality of São Paulo, which has deaf pupils inserted into distinct educational contexts: municipal schools of bilingual education (for deaf pupils) and regular schools (that accept both hearing and deaf pupils) regulated by the 2011 Decree No 52785 that creates municipal schools of bilingual education for the deaf (EMEBS in the Portuguese acronym) within the municipal school system, and by the 2011 Ordinance No 5707 that regulates the above-mentioned Decree.