Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Instructional TV recently began live closed captioning of the Homework Hotline Live! program that airs on Cable Channel 33. The new service provides deaf and hard of hearing students with an opportunity to benefit from the homework assistance provided by Hotline and is part of an increased community outreach effort by the MCPS Department of Communications. The program is scheduled from 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from October through April.

Funding for the live captioning is provided by the Montgomery County Government through an agreement with the National Captioning Institute. Closed captioning provides benefits not only for deaf and hard of hearing people, but for individuals whose native language is not English; English language captions improve comprehension and fluency. Captions also help improve literacy skills.

Since 1993, all analog TV sets with screens 13 inches or larger contain closed caption circuitry. Digital TV set manufacturers began including closed caption circuitry in 2002. Viewers can turn on closed captions through the remote control or on-screen menu.