The North Dakota School for the Deaf (NDSD) is a state-funded residential school located in Devils Lake, North Dakota that provides services to meet the educational needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

NDSD is under the direction, control, and management of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.

Spear's political backers, Senator Swanston and Representative McCormick, introduced a bill in the Legislature for the immediate establishment for the proposed school in Devils Lake.

[3] The citizens of Devils Lake furnished free for two years a wooden building located at the corner of Third Avenue and Fifth Street.

The Great Northern Railway donated an 18-acre (73,000 m2) tract of land one mile (1.6 km) north of the heart of Devils Lake for the permanent site of NDSD, and construction of the first building "Old Main" began on May 30, 1892.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), first passed in the 1970s, started a trend of deaf students enrolling at local public schools as well as in specialized programs in the larger towns around the state.

Back then, the school had a large enough student population to have enough athletes to compete with various small towns in the area.