When I think of deaf education and general education I think of Residential schools/LRE's and mainstream schooling.  I think that some deaf students can thrive in either.  Just because you have a student who is deaf, does not mean you should automatically send them to a residential school.  However, they might not do well in mainstream schooling either because they may not understand certain concepts as quickly as hearing kids can and they may fall behind.  I ultimately think it depends on the parents to do what is best for their child.