We surveyed educational service providers to determine what services are available to children with hearing impairments (HI) in two rural and two metropolitan areas of the United States. Teachers in rural areas employ a broader range of assistive technology but have less access to maintenance and repairs; they also have less access to highly trained specialists due to much longer travel distances. Also, parents are less informed about possible interventions than their metropolitan counterparts. Classroom teachers and service providers in all areas need more professional development relevant to working with children with HI and should collaborate more with special educators.

Arizona teacher education programs are largely concentrated in urban or suburban areas, with the majority of practicum experiences and student teaching placements located in the same metropolitan areas. However, in Arizona, 35% of K–12 students are served by the 135 school districts that qualify as “rural.” In the extreme southwest corner of Arizona bordering Mexico, 70% of these rural K–12 students are of Hispanic background with Spanish as their first language, and 26.7% of these Hispanic families are living below the poverty line. The “Grow Your Own” programs described here, developed through university–school district partnerships, are specifically designed to prepare culturally responsive educators to meet the needs and ultimately improve the lives of students with disabilities in southwestern Arizona rural border communities.

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a tiered intervention that assists school personnel in determining eligibility for special education services. Studies support the use of RTI as an early intervention for addressing significant learning disabilities (SLD) and social emotional behaviors, as well as for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and not making progress through general interventions. However, recommendations for implementation are not explicitly provided, especially for culturally responsive implementation. While proposed as a model for students with challenging behaviors, there is an absence of culturally responsive methods to support CLD students. This article will discuss the use of culturally responsive guiding questions in an RTI framework.