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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The provision of a free appropriate public | ||||||
| 3 | education (FAPE) for a student with hearing loss can only occur | ||||||
| 4 | with full communication access to education; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Full communication access depends upon a | ||||||
| 6 | language-rich environment that fosters age-appropriate | ||||||
| 7 | communication and language development, utilizes | ||||||
| 8 | language-proficient educational staff, and provides for direct | ||||||
| 9 | communication with staff and peers; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Children and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing | ||||||
| 11 | face unique and significant barriers related to language and | ||||||
| 12 | communication that profoundly affect most aspects of the | ||||||
| 13 | educational process; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Attending to a student's communication needs and | ||||||
| 15 | language development is a vital prerequisite for access to | ||||||
| 16 | educational opportunities that lead to literacy and academic | ||||||
| 17 | achievement; therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 19 | NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 20 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Joint Task | ||||||
| 21 | Force on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Options, consisting | ||||||
| 22 | of fifteen members appointed as follows: the Speaker of the | ||||||
| 23 | House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the House of | ||||||
| 24 | Representatives, President of the Senate, and Minority Leader | ||||||
| 25 | of the Senate shall each appoint one member; the following | ||||||
| 26 | entities shall each appoint one member: the Illinois Deaf and | ||||||
| 27 | Hard of Hearing Commission, the Illinois State Board of | ||||||
| 28 | Education, the Illinois Supervisors of Programs for | ||||||
| 29 | Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, the Helen Keller | ||||||
| 30 | National Center, the Early Intervention System, the Hearing and | ||||||
| 31 | Vision Connections, the Illinois School for the Deaf, the | ||||||
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| 1 | Illinois Hands and Voices parent organization, and the Newborn | ||||||
| 2 | Hearing Screening Program; the Deaf Education Program in | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois at MacMurray College and the Illinois State University | ||||||
| 4 | shall each appoint one member; and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That all members of the Task Force shall serve | ||||||
| 6 | without compensation; and be it further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That all members of the Communication Options | ||||||
| 8 | Committee established by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | ||||||
| 9 | Commission with the collaboration of the State Board of | ||||||
| 10 | Education shall continue in their representation on the Joint | ||||||
| 11 | Task Force on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Options; and | ||||||
| 12 | be it further
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| 13 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force can appoint members as it | ||||||
| 14 | sees fit to serve as representatives of the deaf and hard of | ||||||
| 15 | hearing population of Illinois or parents of children with | ||||||
| 16 | hearing loss representing each of the following communication | ||||||
| 17 | options: Oral/aural, Cued Speech, Total Communication, and | ||||||
| 18 | American Sign Language; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That the duty of the Task Force is to undertake a | ||||||
| 20 | comprehensive and thorough review of education and services | ||||||
| 21 | available to the deaf or hard of hearing children in Illinois | ||||||
| 22 | with the intent of making recommendations that would recognize | ||||||
| 23 | communication as fundamental to a deaf or hard of hearing | ||||||
| 24 | child's most basic of needs; ensure communication-driven | ||||||
| 25 | service delivery of the early intervention system and the | ||||||
| 26 | public education system with programs and services addressing | ||||||
| 27 | the unique communication needs of each child through | ||||||
| 28 | communication assessment, development, and access; establish | ||||||
| 29 | uniform methods and procedures within the early intervention | ||||||
| 30 | system and the public education system that shall be non-biased | ||||||
| 31 | and well-informed when sharing information with children and | ||||||
| 32 | their families on the available communication options and | ||||||
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| 1 | community resource awareness; and be it further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force, working with the Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, the Illinois State Board | ||||||
| 4 | of Education, the Early Intervention System, the Illinois | ||||||
| 5 | School for the Deaf, and the Newborn Hearing Screening Program, | ||||||
| 6 | shall assist those entities in developing interagency | ||||||
| 7 | agreements and programs and procedures regarding universal, | ||||||
| 8 | early identification of hearing loss and effective interface | ||||||
| 9 | between medical and educational services; and be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force may request assistance from | ||||||
| 11 | any entity necessary or useful for the performance of its | ||||||
| 12 | duties; and be it further
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| 13 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a report with its | ||||||
| 14 | recommendations to the General Assembly on or before January 1, | ||||||
| 15 | 2007.
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