Our organization was founded in 1986 under the name “NYS Organization of Support Service Personnel for the Hearing-impaired.” The name was changed to “Educational Support Service Personnel for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing” (ESSP) to support the notion that individuals who are Deaf, are not impaired, but rather members of a different cultural and linguistic minority who are every bit as capable as their hearing peers. Since then, Deaf Education has evolved with the support of research, technology, and passion for what we do. ESSP is now known as "Partners in Deaf Education" to better reflect how the members of our organization collaborate as partners in the field of deaf education. Our organization, with the support of our sponsors, works to create continuing education opportunities for our members, as well as to advocate for an improved level of educational experiences for our deaf and hard of hearing students.