Chapter 4, Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver

4.1 Overview 

4.2 Eligibility

Revised Mar. 2012

To be eligible for a Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver, the applicant must

  • submit a completed Form 3900, Application for Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver;
  • be at least 17 years old at the time of application or, if younger than 17, provide proof of being a high-school senior or having a high school diploma or equivalent; and
  • establish proof of functional deafness in the sense that the applicant's sense of hearing is nonfunctional, after all necessary medical treatment, surgery, and use of hearing aids, for understanding normal conversation.

To establish proof of functional deafness, an applicant whose mode of communication in the classroom is primarily visual must provide documentation verifying one of the following:

  • unaided average hearing loss in the better ear of 55 decibels (dB) or greater using 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, as verified by a licensed audiologist or licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments;
  • aided average hearing loss in the better ear of 30 dB or greater using 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, as verified by a licensed audiologist or licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments;
  • speech discrimination is less than 50 percent as verified by a licensed audiologist or a licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments; or
  • other disabling conditions (with or without hearing loss) that result in a person's sense of hearing being nonfunctional as verified by a physician.

4.3 Duplicate Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver

Revised Dec. 2020

A certificate is active for a lifetime and never expires. DHHS keeps records for five years. A recipient may request a duplicate certificate when needed (for example, a change to a different program of study, college, or university) by contacting DHHS.

DHHS prints and mails a duplicate certificate with the same date of approval as that of the original certificate.

If a recipient needs a duplicate copy and if it has been longer than five years since receiving a certificate, the recipient must apply for a new certificate.

4.4 Name Change

Revised Mar. 2012

To request a name change, an applicant:

  • submits the request, and
  • includes one of the following as proof of name change:
    • marriage certificate,
    • divorce decree, or
    • legal name change document.

When DHHS receives the request and supporting document, DHHS prints and mails a certificate with:

  • the new name, and
  • the same date of approval as that of the original certificate.