In some cases, parents' insurance policies will cover the costs of devices for their children. All of these options should be investigated. Further, nonschool ownership of devices does not absolve the district of responsibility for possible maintenance, repair, or replacement costs. Particularly at this time of increased commitment to a greater inclusion of special education students in regular education classes, it is important for teachers to be aware of assistive technologies that could help their students who have disabilities. On the one hand, assistive devices should be approached conservatively.
Schools can ill afford to be extravagant.
On the other hand, teaching staff must be sufficiently knowledgeable about assistive technologies to be able to refer students appropriately for assistive assessments. These issues concern which devices schools are required to provide. In the past such devices as hearing aids, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, and prosthetics were deemed medical in nature and were, therefore, not the responsibility of the schools to provide, maintain, repair, or replace. Superintendents and other school leaders should be aware that these devices potentially could be requested by parents. The proactive school leader will investigate the status of these requests regionally and carefully think through the district's position prior to receiving such requests.