3: Friday Night News Roundup

Schools being on my mind, I've been looking for news related to Deaf schools and Deaf students - and boy, there's quite a bit. SignOn SanDiego reports that a student at CSD-Riverside threatened his girlfriend with a text message claiming he was armed. There turned out to be no weapons on campus, but these Deaf students in Iraq aren't so lucky.

"It's difficult to attend training sessions when there are gunfights and blasts everywhere. I'm afraid to come out," said Mohammed Jawad Yusif, 20, talking in sign language through his coach. "Sometimes there's no transport because of roadblocks." Yusif said one of his friends, also deaf, was killed when gunmen opened fire on a car he was travelling in.

Much closer to my heart, here in New York, parents are concerned about changes in the Education Department:

The Education Department has floated a plan to place about 30 classes of visually- and hearing-impaired children under the authority of their school's principals, officials familiar with the plan said.

Teachers and parents prefer the current setup, in which the classes are under the umbrella of the city's special education district.

Advocates for the disabled worry that some principals might be less inclined to spend their already limited resources on special equipment or therapy.

Good night. Enjoy Friday...