IEP goals for deaf and hard of hearing students

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

IEP goals for deaf and hard of hearing students target the skills that hearing loss makes harder to pick up incidentally: language in the student's chosen mode, listening with technology, literacy and self-advocacy. A strong goal names the communication mode, the setting and the device, and sets a criterion from a measured baseline. It never treats sign or speech as the only acceptable path.

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing qualify under two separate federal categories, deafness and hearing impairment.^[1] Both lead to the same question at the IEP meeting: what does this student miss because of reduced access to sound, and what has to be taught directly?

The answer depends on the family's language choice and the student's access. Some students use American Sign Language as their first language. Some use spoken English with hearing aids or cochlear implants. Many use both, or add cued speech or a sign system. Every path below is a real path. The goals assume the team already knows which language the student learns in, because the IEP must address the student's language and communication needs.^[2]

The 16 goals are grouped into four areas. Baselines and criteria are illustrations, not targets for any one student. Each table links to the full template in the goal bank.

Choosing the right goal

Start from present levels written by the teacher of the deaf, the audiologist and the SLP. Then match what you see to an area and a measure.

If the student...	Area to target	Measure	Data sheet
Misses directions in class even with devices on	Listening in class, hearing technology	Opportunities	Opportunity data sheet
Comes to school with a dead battery or a device left off	Device management	Task analysis	Task analysis data sheet
Has a language gap in ASL or English compared with peers	Language in the student's mode	Rubric or percent accuracy	Rubric scoring data sheet
Decodes well but loses meaning in grade-level text	Reading vocabulary and comprehension	Percent accuracy	Accuracy data sheet
Nods along instead of asking for a repeat	Self-advocacy and repair	Opportunities	Opportunity data sheet
Is isolated at lunch or in group work	Peer communication	Opportunities or duration	Duration data sheet

One rule before any listening goal: confirm the devices work. A student cannot meet a listening criterion with a dead hearing aid, and federal rules require schools to make sure hearing aids and external implant parts are working.^[3] The hearing aid check data guide shows how to log those checks.

Listening and hearing technology goals

These fit students who use hearing aids, cochlear implants or a remote microphone and are building spoken language. The listening skills hierarchy guide breaks listening into detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension, with goals for each level. Templates are on the auditory skills goals and hearing technology goals pages.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
1	Each morning, with devices on, the student will respond to all 6 Ling sounds presented at 3 feet in quiet, and tell the adult when a sound is not heard, on 9 of 10 school days.	Responds; never reports a missed sound	Daily listening check
2	During whole-class instruction with the remote microphone on, the student will follow a 2-step oral direction without a visual cue on 8 of 10 opportunities across 2 weeks.	4 of 10	Class directions through the microphone
3	Given a hearing device that is off, low or whistling, the student will tell an adult within 5 minutes of noticing on 4 of 5 opportunities set up by the teacher of the deaf.	1 of 5	Report a device that is off
4	Using a picture checklist, the student will test and change a hearing aid battery with 6 of 6 steps independent on 3 consecutive probes.	2 of 6 steps	Change a hearing aid battery

Weak: "The student will improve listening skills."

Measurable: "During whole-class instruction with the remote microphone on, the student will follow a 2-step oral direction without a visual cue on 8 of 10 opportunities across 2 weeks."

The weak version gives no setting, no device and no count. The measurable version tells the classroom teacher exactly what to watch for, and it ties the skill to the microphone the IEP already lists.

Language goals in ASL or English

Language goals belong to the student's language, not to the teacher's convenience. For a student learning in ASL, measure ASL. For a student learning spoken English, measure spoken English. Bilingual students may have one goal in each. The visual communication goals page has ASL and fingerspelling templates.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
5	After watching a signed story at their language level, the student will retell it in ASL including character, setting, problem and solution, scoring 3 of 4 on a story rubric on 3 consecutive probes.	1 of 4	Retell a story in ASL
6	Given 20 key words from a science unit, the student will produce the sign and fingerspell the English word for 17 of 20 on the unit probe.	8 of 20	Topic vocabulary in sign
7	After hearing a 3-sentence paragraph read aloud in quiet, the student will answer 4 of 5 who, what and where questions in spoken English on 3 of 4 weekly probes.	2 of 5	Answer questions about a sentence heard
8	Given a printed word, its fingerspelling and its sign in random order, the student will match all 3 forms for 18 of 20 words on 3 consecutive probes.	9 of 20	Link print, fingerspelling and sign

Weak: "The student will increase vocabulary."

Measurable: "Given 20 key words from a science unit, the student will produce the sign and fingerspell the English word for 17 of 20 on the unit probe."

If the team cannot agree on how to measure ASL, ask the teacher of the deaf to bring a rubric scored on a video sample. Video lets two adults score the same retell and check agreement.

Literacy goals

Reading is often where a language gap first shows on paper. Many deaf and hard of hearing students decode well and still struggle with vocabulary, idioms and complex sentences, because they had less incidental exposure to English. Write literacy goals that target meaning, not only decoding. The hearing loss reading goals page has more templates.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
9	Given a grade-level passage with 5 multiple-meaning words, the student will explain the meaning used in the passage for 4 of 5 words on 3 of 4 biweekly probes.	1 of 5	Hearing loss reading goals
10	After reading an instructional-level passage, the student will answer 8 of 10 literal and inferential questions in writing, sign or speech on 3 consecutive probes.	5 of 10	Hearing loss reading goals
11	Given a picture prompt, the student will write a paragraph of 5 sentences with correct English word order in 4 of 5 sentences, scored on a writing rubric, on 3 of 4 samples.	2 of 5 sentences	Hearing loss writing goals
12	When reading independently, the student will look up or ask about an unknown word on 4 of 5 observed opportunities instead of skipping it.	1 of 5	Hearing loss reading goals

Weak: "The student will read at grade level."

Measurable: "Given a grade-level passage with 5 multiple-meaning words, the student will explain the meaning used in the passage for 4 of 5 words on 3 of 4 biweekly probes."

Accept the answer in the student's language. A student who explains a word correctly in ASL has shown understanding of the English word.

Self-advocacy and communication access goals

Communication breakdowns are where hard of hearing students lose the most, often without anyone noticing. A student who nods and guesses looks fine until the test. These goals teach the student to fix the breakdown. For more, see the self-advocacy goals examples.

#	Goal	Baseline	Template
13	When a word or direction is missed, the student will use a specific repair, such as asking for the last word or for it to be written, on 4 of 5 observed breakdowns.	Nods on 4 of 5	Ask for a repeat
14	At the start of each class, the student will hand the remote microphone to the teacher or remind the teacher to turn it on, on 9 of 10 observed periods.	3 of 10	Remind the teacher about the microphone
15	When a new teacher or substitute arrives, the student will explain their hearing, devices and 2 accommodations, scoring 3 of 4 on a self-advocacy rubric on 3 occasions.	1 of 4	Explain own hearing to a teacher
16	During group work, the student will position to see each speaker's face or the interpreter and add at least 2 comments per 15-minute group on 4 of 5 observed groups.	0 to 1 comment	Respond in signed discussion

Weak: "The student will advocate for himself."

Measurable: "When a word or direction is missed, the student will use a specific repair, such as asking for the last word or for it to be written, on 4 of 5 observed breakdowns."

Breakdowns are hard to count because they are invisible. The trick is to plant them. The teacher of the deaf drops a word from a direction or speaks with a hand near the mouth, then records what the student does.

How to measure progress

Most of these goals use opportunities or percent accuracy. Language retells and self-advocacy fit rubric scoring. Device routines fit task analysis.

Who collects: the classroom teacher or a trained para for daily items such as the microphone handoff; the teacher of the deaf for probes during sessions.
How often: device checks daily, classroom opportunities weekly, language and literacy probes every 2 weeks.
Listening conditions: write down the distance, noise level and whether the speaker's face was visible. A listening score without conditions cannot be compared to the next one.

Paste a draft into the goal checker to flag missing conditions or criteria before the meeting.

Writing objectives for these goals

Short-term objectives work well when one condition changes at a time. For goal 2, the steps might be:

Follows a 1-step direction through the microphone with a visual cue, 8 of 10.
Follows a 1-step direction through the microphone without a visual cue, 8 of 10.
Follows a 2-step direction without a visual cue, 8 of 10.

Change one thing per step: the support, the noise, the distance or the length. Changing two at once makes a missed objective hard to read.

Adapting by grade

Grade band	Typical focus	Example change to a goal
Preschool	Detection, early language, wearing devices all day	Wears devices for 4 hours of the school day on 5 of 5 days
K to 2	Ling check, following directions, early literacy in the chosen language	Reports a device problem to an adult
3 to 5	Vocabulary, reading comprehension, device care	Changes own battery; looks up unknown words
6 to 8	Classroom repair strategies, group discussion, captions	Turns on captions for class videos without a reminder
9 to 12	Explaining needs, booking services, relay calls	Requests CART or an interpreter for an event

For accommodations that sit beside these goals, see deaf and hard of hearing accommodations. For the language and communication plan behind them, see communication plans for deaf and hard of hearing students. The low-incidence disabilities guide explains who writes which section. ASHA's guidance on hearing loss in children describes the types and degrees of loss that shape these choices.^[4]

Frequently asked questions

Who writes IEP goals for a deaf or hard of hearing student?

The teacher of the deaf usually writes the language, listening and self-advocacy goals, often with the SLP and the educational audiologist. The classroom teacher and special educator write academic goals. The case manager joins them into one plan.

Should goals be written in ASL or English?

Goals are written in English on the IEP, but the skill and the measure should match the student's language. A student learning in ASL should be measured in ASL. A bilingual student can have goals in both languages.

Does a student with a mild hearing loss need IEP goals?

Only if the loss affects educational performance and the student needs specially designed instruction. Some students with mild loss do well with accommodations in a 504 plan. Others miss enough classroom talk that they need listening or self-advocacy goals.

How do I measure a listening goal fairly?

Check the devices first, then record the distance, the noise level and whether the speaker's face was visible. Keep those conditions the same across probes so a change in score reflects the student, not the room.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

34 CFR §300.8: Child with a disability, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
34 CFR §300.324: Development, review, and revision of IEP, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
34 CFR §300.113: Routine checking of hearing aids and external components of surgically implanted medical devices, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Hearing Loss in Children, ASHA

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.