This presentation delves into the prospective establishment of bilingual education in Flemish Sign Language (VGT) and Dutch into mainstream primary education in Flanders, Belgium. VGT serves as a recognized language representing the linguistic minority of its deaf community.

The research investigated the existing organizational approaches and the distinctive features characterizing effective and high-quality bilingual education with a sign language. It endeavors to elucidate its implementation within the framework of mainstream primary education in the Flemish context. The study also scrutinizes the necessity for differentiation in language pedagogies and instructional methodologies for deaf, hard of hearing and hearing children.

To accomplish these objectives, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore diverse approaches and the need to differentiate for spoken language and sign language across the population of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children with different levels of proficiency in both languages. Additionally, a qualitative data collection was carried out to assess the feasibility of implementing bilingual education in Flanders. This involved convening a Flemish and an international academic think tank, combining expertise in multilingualism, multilingual education, inclusion, education for deaf and hard of hearing children, school development, and VGT. Subsequently, five focus group discussions were conducted, engaging educational professionals from mainstream and special education, itinerant teachers, and parents.

The findings underscore co-enrollment as the most viable and desirable organizational approach, capable of providing high-quality bilingual education, contingent upon specific preconditions. Moreover, the study identifies four core principles of co-enrollment, supplemented by six preconditions essential for a successful implementation of bilingual education Dutch - VGT.

In sum, the research contributes valuable insights into the global landscape of bilingual education, and into bilingual education with a minority language, its implementation, and the limited accessibility of majority languages for deaf and hard of hearing children.