The Commission on Education of the Deaf (COED) was established by the United States Congress and President in 1986 as part of the Education of the Deaf Act (Public Law 99-371) on August 4th, 1986. The purpose of the Commission was to create a study regarding the quality of infant and early childhood education programs and of elementary, secondary, postsecondary, adult, and continuing education furnished to deaf people and report back its findings as well as recommendations for improvement. Frank Bowe served as the Commission’s chairperson.

The Commission comprised of four committees: the Executive Committee, the Joint Committee, the Pre-College Programs Committee, and the Post-Secondary Committee. To aid in their study the Commission made public a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) that contained 95 questions relating to education. The purpose of the NOI was to collect as much information as possible via correspondences regarding issues that concerned the deaf and education. Any and all interested parties were encouraged to respond. The Commission also held four public meetings where citizens could voice their concerns and offer advice to the Commission. Those meetings took place in Atlanta, Georgia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Seattle, Washington.

The COED issued a public draft of its 164-page final report in January of 1988. The report was submitted to Congress and the President in February of 1988.