children. However, they must have ongoing access to the same environmental and educational information that their sighted and hearing peers can access automatically. These children require direct learning experiences, including hands-on experiences and intense involvement in educational routines and activities. They must receive specialized direct instruction in their accessible language in a range of academic and functional areas. (6) Children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind require more language access and support to acquire skills than they are, as of the date of enactment of this Act, predominantly receiving in local school districts struggling to find qualified personnel, so that such individuals risk experiencing language deprivation. It has been the Department of Education’s position since 1992 that [a]ny educational setting that does not meet the communication and related needs of a child who is deaf does not allow for the provision of [a Free Appropriate Public Education] and cannot be considered the [Least Restrictive Environment] for that child . (7) Moreover, a principal way that sighted and hearing children and youth acquire knowledge and skills is through incidental learning, naturally observing others and the environment. Deficits in incidental learning leave children and youth with sensory disabilities behind in an array of skill areas. In addition to core academics, deaf, hard of hearing, and deafdisabled children and youth, for example, must also receive specialized instruction and services designed to maximize their capacity to learn effectively and live productively and independently. Similarly, children and youth who are blind or visually impaired must also receive instruction in the expanded core curriculum, a comprehensive array of specialized instruction and services maximizing the capacity of children and youth who are blind or visually impaired to learn effectively and live productively and independently. (8) The widespread use by States of the