Illinois School for the Deaf

What Illinois School for the Deaf does

The Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) is a state-run public educational institution operated by the Illinois Department of Human Services, headquartered at 125 Webster Avenue in Jacksonville, Illinois. ISD is the State of Illinois's designated statewide educational resource for deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through age 21, and operates three core schools — ISD Elementary, ISD Jr/Sr High School, and CTE & TLP (Career and Technical Education & Transition Living Program) — that together cover foundational academics through career/transition preparation. The institution supplements classroom instruction with an Evaluation Center (IEP, health, therapy, and social work services), an on-site Health Center, a Parent Infant Program for ages 0–3, on-campus residential dormitory facilities, an athletics program covering seven sports, and an Outreach & Advocacy function delivering statewide trainings, workshops, and events to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

ISD's business model is non-commercial: as a public school, education is provided at no cost to students and all operating funding flows from Illinois state appropriations under the Illinois Department of Human Services. There is no tuition, no disclosed commercial revenue stream, no fundraising disclosed in the input data, and no private equity, venture, or strategic investors involved. Headcount is approximately 56 employees, with no executive leadership roster provided. Operations rely on third-party SaaS platforms — ParentSquare for family communication, Skyward for student information, and ePay/Collector Solutions for billing/payments — rather than proprietary core technology. The institution's reach is constrained to Illinois residents within the eligible deaf/hard of hearing population, and its competitive position rests on its statutory designation as the state's deaf-education resource rather than any market-driven advantage.

Name

Illinois School for the Deaf

Legal name

Illinois School for the Deaf

Website

https://illinoisdeaf.org

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Illinois School for the Deaf is a state-run public school in Jacksonville, Illinois, operating under the Illinois Department of Human Services as the designated statewide educational resource for deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through age 21.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Deaf/Hard of Hearing & Vision Services (Audiology, Interpreting, Orientation & Mobility) (EDAJAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.) (EDAMAFAM)

Keywords

• Deaf education services
• Special education programs
• Early intervention services
• Residential schooling programs
• Vocational training services

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Government Funding: As a public school operated by the Illinois state government (Department of Human Services), ISD is funded through state appropriations and tax revenues. Education services are provided at no cost to students.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) is a state-run public school that delivers free educational and support services to deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through age 21 across Illinois. Its core offering comprises three schools (ISD Elementary, ISD Jr/Sr High School, and CTE & TLP) delivering academic, career-technical, and transition-to-adulthood programming, supported by an Evaluation Center, Health Center, Parent Infant Program, residential dorm life, athletics, and outreach and ASL learning programs.

Product overview

Illinois School for the Deaf is a statewide educational resource for deaf and hard of hearing students from birth to age 21, operating as a unified platform of educational and support programs. The core offering consists of three schools (ISD Elementary, ISD Jr/Sr High School, and CTE & TLP) providing academic instruction from elementary through career preparation. These are supported by specialized services including the Evaluation Center (IEP, health, therapy, social work), Health Center, and Parent Infant Program for early intervention. The institution also provides residential (Dorm Life), athletic (Athletics across 7 sports), and community education (Learn ASL) programs. As a technology-forward institution, ISD leverages advanced technology to support individualized education and diverse communication needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISD Elementary Elementary education program for deaf and hard of hearing students, providing foundational academic instruction and developmental support.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• California School for the Deaf, Fremont: California's designated public school for deaf/HoH students serving elementary through high school with residential options. Comparable mission, funding model (state appropriations), and ASL-centered pedagogy to ISD.
• Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind: Florida's public residential school serving both deaf and blind students statewide with academic, vocational, and transition programs. Similar bundled service model and state appropriation structure to ISD, with a broader sensory-disability mandate.
• California School for the Deaf, Riverside: Southern California counterpart to CSDF; another state-funded residential school for deaf students with a multi-site state model. Highly comparable in scale, programs, and regulatory role to ISD.
• Indiana School for the Deaf: Indiana's state-run K-12+ school for deaf and hard of hearing students, with residential and CTE programs analogous to ISD's three-school structure. Direct regional/state peer under similar public funding and regulatory regime.
• New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood): One of the oldest state-affiliated schools for the deaf in the U.S., serving students across New York with academic, residential, and transition programs. Direct structural peer to ISD's statewide mandate and bundled service model.
• Ohio School for the Deaf: Ohio's public state school for deaf students offering elementary, secondary, and transition programming. Comparable in mission, residential offerings, and statewide intake model to Illinois School for the Deaf.
• Kentucky School for the Deaf: Kentucky's state school for the deaf serving students statewide with academic, residential, and outreach services. Closely comparable to ISD in being a smaller-scale, single-site state school serving birth-to-21 populations.
• American School for the Deaf: Historic school for the deaf in West Hartford, CT, serving infants through age 21 with ASL-centered education and residential programs. Operates as a private nonprofit rather than a state agency, but mirrors ISD's birth-to-21 service continuum.
• Texas School for the Deaf: State-run K-12 (and beyond) school for deaf and hard of hearing students in Austin, Texas. Operates under the same state-mandated, publicly funded model as ISD and offers the closest direct structural comparison for birth-to-21 statewide deaf education.

Emerging players

• Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech: Private nonprofit network of schools and programs serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing, with a strong focus on listening and spoken language. Comparable early-intervention and K-8 educational services, but operates via tuition/fees and philanthropy rather than state appropriations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illinois-school-for-the-deaf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Illinois School for the Deaf