What Is Pepnet 2 and How Does It Support Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students?
Pepnet 2 was a federally funded national project that supported deaf and hard-of-hearing students as they moved from secondary school into college, training programs, and careers. Its main audience was educators, transition specialists, vocational rehabilitation counselors, families, and the students themselves. The project has concluded, but its materials and its mission live on through the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), which hosts Pepnet 2 resources alongside its own accessible educational media library. If you are looking for practical tools to support a deaf or hard-of-hearing student, the most reliable starting point today is DCMP, where you can search for archived Pepnet 2 content and current accessibility resources in one place.
What Pepnet 2 Was Designed to Do
Pepnet 2 grew out of an earlier network of regional centers known as PEPNet (Postsecondary Education Programs Network). The "2" marked a second phase with a broader national scope. Its central purpose was to improve transition outcomes for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
That mission translated into a few concrete goals:
- Strengthen transition planning. Help students and their teams plan for life after high school, including college, vocational training, and employment.
- Build educator capacity. Offer professional development so teachers, counselors, and support staff could better serve this population.
- Support families. Provide information families could use to advocate for and guide their children.
- Share evidence-informed practices. Collect and distribute strategies that worked in real educational settings.
The project was not a single service or a membership program. It functioned more like a national clearinghouse and training hub, producing guides, online modules, webinars, and toolkits.
Who Pepnet 2 Served
Understanding the audience helps you judge whether the archived materials are relevant to your situation.
| Audience | What Pepnet 2 offered |
|---|---|
| Secondary educators | Transition planning tools, classroom strategies, professional development |
| Postsecondary staff | Disability services guidance, accommodation practices, retention strategies |
| Vocational rehabilitation counselors | Employment-focused resources and collaboration models |
| Families and parents | Plain-language information on rights, options, and planning |
| Students | Self-advocacy and transition readiness materials |
If you fall into any of these groups, the archived content is likely still useful as background and as a source of ready-made frameworks, even though the project itself no longer operates.
How Pepnet 2 Relates to DCMP
This is the part that often confuses people. Pepnet 2 and DCMP are related but not identical.
DCMP is the Described and Captioned Media Program. It provides accessible educational media—captioned videos, described videos, and related materials—to students with disabilities, for use in classrooms and remote learning. It also offers training resources for families, educators, and support personnel.
Pepnet 2 was a separate transition-focused project. After it concluded, its resources were folded into the DCMP ecosystem so they would remain available rather than disappearing.
In practical terms:
- Go to DCMP for accessible media you can use directly with students.
- Go to DCMP for Pepnet 2's archived transition and professional development materials.
- Treat DCMP as the single access point for both, which is convenient if you support deaf and hard-of-hearing learners.
What "The Project Has Concluded" Means for You
When a funded project ends, three things typically change:
- No new content is produced. The materials you find are a fixed archive, not a growing library.
- Some links may break. Older external links can go dead, so rely on the host site's own search rather than bookmarking third-party pages.
- Support and updates stop. There is no active help desk for Pepnet 2 specifically.
None of this makes the content worthless. Transition frameworks, accommodation guidance, and self-advocacy strategies tend to age slowly. What does age quickly is anything tied to specific laws, funding programs, or platform interfaces. Always check dates and cross-reference current requirements.
How to Use These Resources Today
Here is a practical workflow you can follow.
Step 1: Start with DCMP's search
Use DCMP's site search for terms like "transition," "deaf," "hard of hearing," "self-advocacy," and "postsecondary." This surfaces both archived Pepnet 2 items and current DCMP media.
Step 2: Match the resource to the student's stage
- Middle school: focus on self-advocacy and understanding one's own needs.
- High school: focus on transition planning, IEP/504 coordination, and college or career exploration.
- Postsecondary: focus on accommodations, disability services offices, and retention.
- Employment: focus on disclosure decisions, workplace accommodations, and vocational rehabilitation.
Step 3: Pair archived guidance with current media
A Pepnet 2 transition guide plus a captioned DCMP video on the same topic gives you both a framework and something concrete to show students or families.
Step 4: Verify anything legal or financial
Pepnet 2 materials may reference laws or programs that have since changed. Confirm current details with your state vocational rehabilitation agency, the student's school, or a qualified professional before acting.
Step 5: Build a reusable kit
Create a folder or document with:
- One transition planning checklist
- One self-advocacy resource for students
- One family-facing explainer
- Two or three captioned videos on relevant topics
This kit can be reused across students and shared with colleagues.
A Simple Template for a Transition Resource List
If you are assembling materials for a student or a team, a short annotated list works better than a pile of links. Here is a format you can copy:
Student stage: [middle / high school / postsecondary]
Primary goal: [college / vocational training / employment / self-advocacy]
Resource 1: [title] — [source: DCMP / Pepnet 2 archive]
Why it fits: [one sentence]
Used by: [educator / family / student]
Resource 2: ...
Keeping the "why it fits" line forces you to choose deliberately instead of collecting everything.
Common Questions
Is Pepnet 2 still active?
No. The project has concluded. Its materials remain accessible through DCMP.
Can I still get professional development from it?
The archived modules and webinars may still be viewable, but there is no active registration or certificate program tied to Pepnet 2 itself. Check DCMP for any current training offerings.
Is DCMP only for deaf and hard-of-hearing students?
No. DCMP serves students with disabilities more broadly, providing described and captioned media. Its connection to Pepnet 2 makes it especially relevant for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners.
Where should a new educator start?
Start with DCMP's search, look for transition and accessibility topics, and build a small reusable kit as described above.
The Bottom Line
Pepnet 2 was a national project focused on improving transition outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing students through training, tools, and family support. It has concluded, but its resources are preserved within DCMP, which also provides accessible educational media and ongoing training for educators and families. For anyone supporting these students today, DCMP is the practical place to begin: search its archive for Pepnet 2 materials, pair them with current captioned and described media, and verify anything legal or time-sensitive before you rely on it.