HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1780

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Chapter 302L, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§302L-    Language developmental milestones for deaf and hearing-impaired children; special education.  (a)  The executive office on early learning shall select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, pursuant to the process specified in subsection (d), for purposes of developing a resource for use by parents to monitor and track deaf and hearing-impaired children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy.  This parent resource shall:

     (1)  Include the language developmental milestones selected pursuant to the process specified in subsection (d);

     (2)  Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with deaf and hearing-impaired children from birth to five years of age, inclusive, who use both or one of the languages of American Sign Language and English; provided that for the purposes of this section English includes spoken English, written English, or English with the use of visual supplements;

     (3)  Present the developmental milestones in terms of typical development of all children, by age range;

     (4)  Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents;

     (5)  Be aligned to existing guidelines and instruments of the executive office on early learning and department of education, as applicable, that are used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and state standards in English language arts;

     (6)  Make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development, and that a parent's observations of their children may differ from formal assessment data presented at an individualized family service plan or individualized education program meeting; and

     (7)  Make clear that a parent may bring the parent resource to an individualized family service plan or individualized education program meeting for purposes of sharing their observations about their child's development.

     (b)  The executive office on early learning shall select existing tools or assessments for educators that can be used to assess the language and literacy development of deaf and hearing-impaired children.  These educator tools or assessments:

     (1)  Shall be in a format that shows stages of language development;

     (2)  Shall be selected for use by educators to track the development of deaf and hearing-impaired children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy;

     (3)  Shall be selected from existing instruments or assessments used to assess the development of all children from birth to five years of age, inclusive;

     (4)  Shall be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with deaf and hearing-impaired children;

     (5)  May be used, in addition to the assessment required by federal law, by the child's individualized family service plan or individualized education program team, as applicable, to track deaf and hearing-impaired children's progress, and to establish or modify individualized family service plan or individualized education program plans; and

     (6)  May reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee established pursuant to subsection (e).

     (c)  The executive office on early learning shall disseminate the parent resource developed pursuant to subsection (a) to parents and guardians of deaf and hearing-impaired children, and, pursuant to federal law, shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected pursuant to subsection (b) to schools and teachers for use in the development and modification of individualized family service plan or individualized education program plans, and shall provide materials and training on its use, to assist deaf and hearing-impaired children in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten using both or one of the languages of American Sign Language and English.

     If a deaf or hearing-impaired child does not demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills, as measured by one of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection (b), or by the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, the child's individualized family service plan or individualized education program plan, as applicable, shall, as part of the process required by federal law, explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting the language developmental milestones or progressing toward them, and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that shall be provided to assist the child's success toward English literacy.

     (d)  On or before March 1, 2018, the executive office on early learning shall provide the advisory committee established pursuant to subsection (e) with a list of existing language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant information held by the executive office on early learning regarding those language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to subsection (a).  These language developmental milestones shall be aligned to the existing guidelines and instruments of the executive office on early learning and department of education, as applicable, that are used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and the state standards in English language arts.

     On or before June 1, 2018, the advisory committee shall recommend language developmental milestones for selection pursuant to subsection (a).

     On or before June 30, 2018, the executive office on early learning shall inform the advisory committee of which language developmental milestones were selected.

     (e)  The superintendent shall establish an ad hoc advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hearing-impaired that are equivalent to those for children who are not deaf or hearing-impaired, for inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to subsection (a).  The advisory committee may also make recommendations on the selection and administration of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection (b).

     The advisory committee shall consist of thirteen volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or hearing-impaired, and all of whom shall be within the field of education for the deaf and hearing-impaired.  In addition, the advisory committee shall include all of the following:

     (1)  One parent of a child who is deaf or hearing-impaired who uses the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;

     (2)  One parent of a child who is deaf or hearing-impaired who uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

     (3)  One credentialed teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired pupils who uses the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;

     (4)  One credentialed teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired pupils from a state certified nonpublic, nonsectarian school;

     (5)  One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hearing-impaired children using American Sign Language and English;

     (6)  One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hearing-impaired children using spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

     (7)  One credentialed teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired pupils whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in American Sign Language and English;

     (8)  One credentialed teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired pupils whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

     (9)  One advocate for the teaching and use of the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;

    (10)  One advocate for the teaching and use of spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

    (11)  One early intervention specialist who works with deaf and hearing-impaired infants and toddlers using the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;

    (12)  One credentialed teacher of deaf and hearing-impaired pupils whose expertise is in American Sign Language and English language assessment; and

    (13)  One speech pathologist from spoken English, with or without the use of visual supplements.

     (f)  The advisory committee established pursuant to subsection (e) may also advise the executive office on early learning on the content and administration of the existing instruments used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, as used to assess deaf and hearing-impaired children's language and literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of that instrument with those children, and may make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of progress of deaf and hearing-impaired children in language and literacy.

     (g)  Commencing on or before July 31, 2018, and on or before each July 31 thereafter, the executive office on early learning shall produce a report, using existing data reported in compliance with the federally required state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, that is specific to language and literacy development of deaf and hearing-impaired children from birth to five years of age, inclusive, including those who are deaf or hearing-impaired and have other disabilities, relative to their peers who are not deaf or hearing-impaired.  The executive office on early learning shall make this report available on its website.

     (h)  All activities of the executive office on early learning in implementing this section shall be consistent with federal law regarding the education of children with disabilities and federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information.

     (i)  For the purposes of this section, the term "language developmental milestones" means milestones of development aligned with the existing state instruments used to meet the requirements of federal law for the assessment of children from birth to five years of age, inclusive.

     (j)  This section shall apply only to children from birth to five years of age, inclusive."

     SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the establishment of language developmental milestones for deaf and hearing-impaired children and development of a parent resource and educator tools to monitor and track deaf and hearing-impaired children's language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the executive office on early learning for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.



 

Report Title:

Language Developmental Milestones; Deaf; Hearing-Impaired; Early Learning; Appropriation

 

Description:

Requires the Executive Office on Early Learning to establish language developmental milestones, develop a parent resource,  and select tools or assessments for educators to assess the language and literacy development of deaf and hearing-impaired children.  Requires the Superintendent to establish an advisory committee.  Makes an appropriation.  (HB1780 HD1)

 

 

 

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