SB0451sam001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

Filed: 3/28/2019

10100SB0451sam001 LRB101 04212 AXK 58471 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 451

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 451 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Language Equality Acquisition for Deaf Kids Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"American Sign Language" or "ASL" means a complete visual and manual language with its own grammar and syntax. ASL is used by a deaf individual as the native language of the deaf community.

"English" means a method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. "English" includes spoken English, written English, and English with or without the use of visual supplements or dual language services or tactile use.

"English literacy" means the ability to read and write.

"IEP" means an individualized education program.

"IFSP" means an individualized family service plan.

"Kindergarten readiness" means a child who is ready linguistically for kindergarten.

"Language developmental milestones" means milestones of development aligning with the State instrument used to meet the requirements of federal law for the assessment of children from birth to 5 years of age.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

Section 10. Language assessment program.

(a) The State Board must establish a language assessment program for deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children and must select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms for the program. The scope of the program must include language developmental milestones in American Sign Language, English, or both. The purpose of the program is to assess, monitor, and track the language developmental milestones of children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind and to (i) develop a resource for use by parents or guardians of those children to monitor and track a child's expressive and receptive language acquisition and his or her developmental stages toward English literacy and kindergarten readiness under Section 15 and (ii) select tools or assessments for educators under Section 20.

(b) Under the program, the State Board must refer deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children to early intervention services at 3 months old and must implement early intervention services for those children by 6 months old. If a child is referred to early intervention services under this subsection at 3 months old, the State Board must implement a formal assessment.

Section 15. Parent resource.

(a) The parent resource developed as part of the language assessment program under Section 10 must do all of the following:

(1) Include the language developmental milestones selected by the advisory committee created under Section 25.

(2) Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children from birth to 5 years of age who use American Sign Language, English, or both.

(3) Present the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind child's language developmental milestones in terms of typical development of all children, disaggregated by age range.

(4) Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents or guardians.

(5) Be aligned with any State guidelines on early intervention, early childhood education requirements pursuant to federal law, and State standards in English language arts.

(6) Make clear that the parent or guardian has the right to select the language, either ASL, English, or another language, for his or her child's language acquisition and language developmental milestones.

(7) Allow a parent or guardian to bring the parent resource to an IFSP or IEP meeting for purposes of sharing his or her observations about his or her child's development.

(8) Make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development and that a parent's or guardian's observations of his or her child may differ from the formal assessment data presented at an IFSP or IEP meeting.

(9) Make clear that resources provided to a parent or guardian include fair, balanced, and comprehensive information about American Sign Language, English, and other communication modes and available services and programs.

(b) The State Board must disseminate the parent resource developed under this Section to all parents or guardians of deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children.

Section 20. Educator tools and assessments.

(a) The State Board must select tools or assessments for educators that may be used to assess the language and literacy development of deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind students. These educator tools or assessments must comply with all of the following:

(1) Be in a format that shows stages of language development.

(2) Be selected for use by educators to track the development of a deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind student's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward literacy.

(3) Be selected from a list of instruments or assessments used to assess the development of all children from birth to 5 years of age.

(4) Be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind students.

(5) Be used, in addition to the assessment required by federal law, by the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind student's IFSP or IEP team, as applicable, to track the student's progress and to establish or modify his or her IFSP or IEP plan.

Additionally, the educator tools or assessments may reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee established under Section 25.

(b) The State Board must, pursuant to federal law, disseminate the educator tools or assessments selected under this Section to local educational agencies for use in the development and modification of IEP plans and must provide those agencies materials and training on the use of those tools or assessments to assist deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten.

(c) If a deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind child does not demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills, as measured by one of the educator tools or assessments selected under subsection (a), the child's IFSP or IEP team must explain, in detail, the reasons why the child is not meeting the language developmental milestones or progressing toward them and must recommend and implement specific strategies, services, and programs that will be provided to assist the child's success toward American Sign Language, English, or both. The child's IFSP or IEP team must conduct a follow-up assessment within 60 days after the strategies, services, and programs have been implemented to determine the effects of those changes on the child.

(d) No later than July 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, a language assessment must be given to each child who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind and who is less than 6 years of age. The language assessment shall be provided through an early intervention service or, if the child is 3 years of age or older, through the school district in which the child resides. The assessment must be provided in accordance with the provisions of and any rules adopted pursuant to this Act.

Section 25. Advisory committee.

(a) The State Board must establish an advisory committee for the language assessment program established under this Act. The advisory committee shall consist of all of the following members appointed by the State Board:

(1) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who uses the dual languages of ASL and English.

(2) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements.

(3) One educator licensed under Article 21B of the School Code who teaches deaf or hard-of-hearing pupils who use the dual languages of ASL and English.

(4) One educator licensed under Article 21B of the School Code who teaches deaf or hard-of-hearing pupils from only an English-spoken school.

(5) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf or hard-of-hearing children using ASL and English.

(6) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf or hard-of-hearing children using spoken English, with or without visual supplements.

(7) One educator licensed under Article 21B of the School Code who teaches deaf or hard-of-hearing pupils and whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in ASL and English.

(8) One educator licensed under Article 21B of the School Code who teaches deaf or hard-of-hearing pupils and 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 ASL 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 or hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using the dual languages of ASL and English.

(12) One educator licensed under Article 21B of the School Code who teaches deaf or hard-of-hearing pupils and whose expertise is in ASL and English language assessment.

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

(14) One deaf-blind person who represents the deaf-blind community.

(15) One deaf-blind specialist or educator whose expertise is in deaf-blind advocacy or education.

(b) The advisory committee shall first meet on or before July 1, 2020, at which meeting it shall elect a chairperson and a vice chairperson. Each subsequent meeting shall be at the call of the chairperson. The State Board shall provide administrative and other support to the advisory committee. Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and related expenses from funds appropriated for that purpose, subject to the rules of the appropriate travel control board. A quorum of the advisory committee shall be 9 members. All actions of the advisory committee shall be by motion adopted by a majority of those members present when there is a quorum. Any vacancy in the committee shall be filled in th same manner as the original appointment in accordance with subsection (a).

The State Board must provide the advisory committee with a list of language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant information held regarding those language developmental milestones, for possible inclusion in the parent resource developed under Section 15. These language developmental milestones must be aligned with the State's infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, the instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and State standards in English language arts.

(c) On or before June 1, 2021, the advisory committee must develop and submit to the State Board specific action plans and must propose any rules necessary to fully implement this Act. The specific action plans and proposed rules developed by the advisory committee must include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Language assessments that include data collection and timely tracking of a child's development to provide information about the child's receptive and expressive language compared to the child's linguistically age-appropriate peers who are not deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

(2) Language assessments conducted in accordance with standardized norms and timelines to monitor and track language developmental milestones in both receptive and expressive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy for all children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind from birth to the age of 5.

(3) Language assessments delivered in ASL and English that have been validated for the specific purpose for which each assessment is used and appropriately normed.

(4) Language assessments administered by individuals who are proficient in:

(A) ASL;

(B) both ASL and English;

(C) English, with or without visual supplements;

(D) reading developmental stages; or

(E) language developmental stages of ASL and English.

(5) Use of assessment results for guidance on the language developmental discussions by IFSP and IEP teams when assessing the progress of a child's language development in ASL, English, or both.

(6) Reporting of assessment results to the parent or guardian of a child who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind, and, on an aggregated basis, reporting those results to the State Board and the Department of Public Health for publication to ensure accountability and provide information on how the education of those children may be improved.

(7) Reporting of assessment results to the members of a child's IFSP or IEP team, as appropriate, to assist the team in ensuring that appropriate language growth remains a priority and continues to be monitored by the team.

(d) In carrying out its duties under this Section, the advisory committee must do all of the following:

(1) Solicit input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones for American Sign Language and English.

(2) Review, select, and monitor the use of language assessments for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

(3) Identify criteria for qualified ASL and English experts who may be advocates at initial and periodic IFSP or IEP team meetings. This includes role models of deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind professionals in similar fields.

(4) Identify criteria for qualified language assessment evaluators and resources for locating those evaluators.

(5) Identify methods for communicating language assessment results, language developmental milestones, assessment tools, and the progress of a deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind child to the parent or guardian of that child, teachers, and other professionals involved in the early intervention and education of the child.

Section 30. Report. On or before July 1, 2022, and on or before each July 1 thereafter, the State Board must produce and make available on its website a report using data reported in compliance with the federally required State performance plan on pupils with disabilities that is specific to the language and literacy development of deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind children from birth to 5 years of age relative to those children's peers who are not deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

Section 35. Application and implementation of Act. This Act applies only to children from birth through 5 years of age. Any activities of the State Board in implementing this Act must be consistent with federal law regarding the education of children with disabilities and federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information. Implementation of this Act is subject to appropriation.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".