HJ0043 LRB094 11741 CSA 43859 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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

 

 

HJ0043 - 2 - LRB094 11741 CSA 43859 r

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
 
5     RESOLVED, That all members of the Task Force shall serve
6 without compensation; and be it further
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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.