H.F. 2349 Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION —— LANGUAGE EQUALITY AND 1 ACQUISITION FOR DEAF KIDS TASK FORCE. 2 1. The director of the department of education shall convene 3 a language equality and acquisition for deaf kids task force 4 for the purposes of doing all of the following: 5 a. Developing a resource for parents and guardians to 6 monitor and track deaf or hard-of-hearing children’s expressive 7 and receptive language acquisition using American sign language 8 or English, or both, and developmental stages toward English 9 literacy. 10 b. Developing a framework for assessing children who are 11 deaf or hard of hearing to determine their competencies in 12 language and literacy skills for the purpose of ensuring they 13 have the opportunity to achieve kindergarten readiness in an 14 equitable manner. The framework shall consider children with 15 congenital or acquired hearing loss, unilateral and bilateral 16 hearing loss, all degrees of hearing loss from minimal to 17 profound, and all types of hearing loss. When conducting 18 analysis and making recommendations relative to the framework, 19 the task force shall be impartial with regard to the language 20 and modalities used to teach children who are deaf or hard of 21 hearing. 22 2. The task force shall do all of the following: 23 a. Review and make recommendations relative to existing 24 tools or assessments for educators to use to assess the 25 language and literacy development of children who are 26 deaf or hard of hearing. The tools or assessments must be 27 standardized, norm-referenced, and validated and designed to 28 do all of the following: 29 (1) Track such children’s expressive and receptive language 30 and cognitive abilities compared to peers who are not deaf or 31 hard of hearing. 32 (2) Be used to establish or modify a deaf or hard-of-hearing 33 child’s individualized education program or individualized 34 family service plan. 35 -1- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 1/ 6

H.F. 2349 b. Determine how often the tools or assessments reviewed 1 pursuant to paragraph “a” should be used for children from 2 birth to age five. 3 c. Identify language development milestones for 4 children who are deaf or hard of hearing by consulting with 5 professionals trained in the language development and education 6 of such children. The milestones shall be evaluated by the use 7 of existing formalized, evidence-based assessments and designed 8 for all of the following uses: 9 (1) As a resource by which parents, guardians, and educators 10 can monitor and track such children’s expressive and receptive 11 language acquisition. 12 (2) To ensure that such children meet developmental 13 milestones toward English literacy. 14 d. Identify procedures and methods for reporting language 15 acquisition, assessment results, milestones, assessment tools 16 used, and progress of such children to parents and guardians 17 and to teachers and other professionals involved in such 18 children’s early intervention and education. 19 e. (1) Identify any changes to current state law or 20 administrative rule deemed necessary to implement the 21 recommendations of the task force. 22 (2) Recommend measures designed to ensure that state law 23 and state and local policies adequately address the language 24 developmental needs of such children. 25 f. Make any recommendations on any other related issues the 26 task force deems appropriate. 27 3. The task force shall consist of nineteen voting members 28 appointed by the director of the department of education in 29 consultation with the state school for the deaf, the area 30 education agencies, and the director of the department of 31 public health, as follows: 32 a. One parent or guardian whose child is deaf or hard of 33 hearing and proficient in American sign language and English. 34 b. One parent or guardian whose child is deaf or hard of 35 -2- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 2/ 6

H.F. 2349 hearing and uses only spoken English. 1 c. One teacher of children who are deaf or hard of hearing 2 whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in American 3 sign language and English. 4 d. One teacher of children who are deaf or hard of hearing 5 whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in English. 6 e. One early intervention specialist who works with infants 7 and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing and use American 8 sign language and spoken English. 9 f. One administrator of an early intervention program for 10 children who are deaf or hard of hearing. 11 g. One administrator of a school-age program for children 12 who are deaf or hard of hearing. 13 h. One speech pathologist with experience working with 14 children who are deaf or hard of hearing on the development of 15 spoken English, with or without the use of visual supplements. 16 i. One school psychologist with experience working with 17 students who are deaf or hard of hearing and with knowledge 18 in conducting and interpreting cognitive assessments for such 19 students. 20 j. Two representatives of an association that advocates to 21 enhance the quality of life for Iowa children who are deaf or 22 hard of hearing. 23 k. One licensed or certified mental health professional who 24 works with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their 25 families. 26 l. One adult who is deaf or hard of hearing and is 27 proficient in American sign language and English. 28 m. One adult who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses spoken 29 English, without visual supplements. 30 n. The director of the department of public health or the 31 director’s designee. 32 o. The coordinator of the early hearing detection and 33 intervention program of the department of public health or the 34 coordinator’s designee. 35 -3- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 3/ 6

H.F. 2349 p. The director of the office of deaf services of the 1 department of human rights or the director’s designee. 2 q. The director of the department of education or the 3 director’s designee. 4 r. The superintendent of the state school for the deaf 5 governed by the state board of regents or the superintendent’s 6 designee. 7 4. Four nonvoting ex officio members shall be appointed to 8 the task force as follows: 9 a. Two members of the house of representatives, one each 10 appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and 11 the minority leader of the house of representatives. 12 b. Two members of the senate appointed by the president of 13 the senate and the minority leader of the senate. 14 5. When making appointments pursuant to subsection 3, 15 preference shall be given, if applicable, to persons with deaf 16 education certification or with early childhood education 17 certification and experience working with children with hearing 18 loss. 19 6. A vacancy in the membership of the task force shall be 20 filled in the same manner as the original appointment. 21 7. The members of the task force shall elect a chairperson. 22 A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a 23 quorum. 24 8. a. Public members of the task force shall serve without 25 compensation, but are entitled to receive reimbursement for 26 actual expenses incurred while engaged in the performance of 27 official duties. 28 b. Legislative members of the task force shall be paid the 29 per diem and expenses specified in section 2.10, subsection 6, 30 from the funds appropriated under section 2.12. 31 9. The department of education shall provide staff support 32 for the task force. 33 10. The task force shall submit its written report including 34 any proposed legislative or administrative rule changes and 35 -4- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 4/ 6

H.F. 2349 the task force’s findings and recommendations to the general 1 assembly not later than January 15, 2021. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill requires the director of the department of 6 education to convene a language equality and acquisition for 7 deaf kids task force, establishes the purposes and identifies 8 the membership for such task force, and requires that the task 9 force submit its report to the general assembly by January 15, 10 2021. 11 The task force is charged with developing a resource 12 for parents and guardians to monitor and track deaf or 13 hard-of-hearing children’s expressive and receptive language 14 acquisition using American sign language or English, or both, 15 and developmental stages toward English literacy, and for 16 developing a framework for assessing children who are deaf or 17 hard of hearing to determine the children’s competencies in 18 language and literacy skills for the purpose of ensuring they 19 have the opportunity to achieve kindergarten readiness in an 20 equitable manner. 21 The framework must consider children with congenital or 22 acquired hearing loss, unilateral and bilateral hearing loss, 23 all degrees of hearing loss from minimal to profound, and all 24 types of hearing loss. 25 The task force must be impartial with regard to the 26 language and modalities used to teach children who are deaf 27 or hard of hearing and must review and make recommendations 28 relative to existing tools or assessments for educators to 29 use to assess the language and literacy development of such 30 children; determine how often the tools or assessments should 31 be used for children from birth to age five; identify language 32 development milestones for children who are deaf or hard of 33 hearing; identify procedures and methods for reporting language 34 acquisition, assessment results, milestones, assessment 35 -5- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 5/ 6

H.F. 2349 tools used, and progress of such children to parents and 1 guardians and to professionals involved in such children’s 2 early intervention and education; identify any changes to 3 current state law or administrative rule deemed necessary to 4 implement the recommendations of the task force; and make any 5 recommendations on any other related issues the task force 6 deems appropriate. 7 The task force shall consist of 19 voting members appointed 8 by the director of the department of education in consultation 9 with the state school for the deaf, the area education 10 agencies, and the director of the department of public health, 11 and four nonvoting ex officio legislative members. 12 When making appointments of voting members, preference 13 must be given, if applicable, to persons with deaf education 14 certification or with early childhood education certification 15 and experience working with children with hearing loss. 16 Public members serve without compensation, but are entitled 17 to receive reimbursement for actual expenses incurred while 18 engaged in the performance of official duties. Legislative 19 members shall be paid the per diem and expenses specified in 20 Code section 2.10. The department of education shall provide 21 staff support for the task force. 22 -6- LSB 6273HH (4) 88 kh/jh 6/ 6