House File 2539 H-8067 Amend House File 2539 as follows: 1 1. By striking everything after the enacting clause and 2 inserting: 3 < Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256B.10 Deaf and hard-of-hearing 4 children —— language developmental milestones. 5 1. Language developmental milestones —— selection. 6 a. The director of the department of education shall appoint 7 an early language development consultant to work with the 8 state school for the deaf, the area education agencies, school 9 districts, and the early hearing detection and intervention 10 program in the department of public health, and shall select 11 language developmental milestones from existing standardized 12 norms for purposes of developing a resource for use by parents 13 or guardians to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing 14 children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition and 15 developmental stages toward American sign language and English 16 literacy. In selecting the language developmental milestones, 17 the early language development consultant shall consider 18 recommendations from the advisory committee established under 19 subsection 5. 20 b. The duties of the early language development consultant 21 appointed by the director pursuant to paragraph “a” shall, at a 22 minimum, include all of the following: 23 (1) Developing and managing language milestones for each 24 age, from birth through age eight, in American sign language 25 and English pursuant to subsection 3. 26 (2) Staffing the advisory committee established pursuant 27 to subsection 5, including but not limited to organizing and 28 facilitating the advisory committee meetings. 29 (3) Developing and distributing resources for parents 30 pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4. 31 (4) Developing and distributing resources for early 32 interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care 33 providers pertaining to language development. 34 (5) Exercising general supervision over follow-up contacts 35 -1- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 1/ 7 #1.

with parents and guardians regarding the need for valid and 1 reliable language assessments and distribution of resources 2 toward language development in American sign language and 3 English. 4 (6) Planning a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and 5 follow-up. 6 (7) Exercising general supervision over annual or biannual, 7 at the consultant’s discretion, milestone assessments for deaf 8 and hard-of-hearing children. 9 (8) Managing and summarizing data outcomes for parents, 10 guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual 11 report published pursuant to subsection 7. 12 (9) Arranging for and exercising general supervision over 13 the appropriate training for language assessment personnel. 14 (10) Maintaining valid and reliable two-fold language 15 assessment approach, utilizing both American sign language and 16 English, in selecting milestones, compiling data, employing 17 qualified personnel, and distributing resources. 18 2. Parent resource. The parent resource developed pursuant 19 to subsection 1 shall meet all of the following requirements: 20 a. Include American sign language and English language 21 developmental milestones selected under subsection 1. 22 b. Be appropriate for use, in both content and 23 administration, with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 24 birth to eight years of age, inclusive, who use American sign 25 language or English, or both. 26 c. Present the language developmental milestones in terms of 27 typical development of all children from birth to eight years 28 of age, by age range. 29 d. Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents and 30 guardians. 31 e. Be aligned to the department of education’s existing 32 infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, standards for 33 evaluating eligibility and progress for early intervention or 34 special education under federal law, and state standards in 35 -2- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 2/ 7

English language arts. 1 f. Clearly specify that the parent resource is not a 2 formal assessment of language and literacy development, and 3 that the observations of a child by the child’s parent or 4 guardian may differ from formal assessment data presented at an 5 individualized family service plan or individualized education 6 program meeting. 7 g. Clearly specify that a parent or guardian may bring 8 the parent resource to an individualized family service plan 9 or individualized education program meeting for purposes of 10 sharing the parent’s or guardian’s observations regarding the 11 child’s development. 12 3. Selection of tools or assessments. The early language 13 development consultant, in consultation with the state school 14 for the deaf, the area education agencies, school districts, 15 and the early hearing detection and intervention program in the 16 department of public health, shall select existing tools or 17 assessments for educators that can be used to assess American 18 sign language and English language and literacy development of 19 deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to eight years of 20 age, inclusive. 21 a. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 22 subsection shall meet the following criteria: 23 (1) Be in a format that shows stages of language 24 development. 25 (2) Be selected for use by educators to track the 26 development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive 27 and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages 28 toward American sign language and English literacy. 29 (3) Be appropriate in both content and administration for 30 use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. 31 b. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 32 subsection may do either of the following: 33 (1) Be used, in addition to any assessment required by 34 federal law, by the child’s individualized family service plan 35 -3- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 3/ 7

or individualized education program team, as applicable, to 1 track deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s progress in improving 2 expressive and receptive language skills, and to establish or 3 modify individualized family service plans or individualized 4 education programs. 5 (2) Reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee 6 convened under subsection 5. 7 4. Dissemination. The early language development 8 consultant shall disseminate the parent resource developed 9 pursuant to this section to parents and guardians of deaf and 10 hard-of-hearing children and, consistent with federal law, 11 shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected 12 pursuant to subsection 3 to early hearing detection and 13 invention programs, area education agencies, school districts, 14 accredited nonpublic schools, and the state school for the deaf 15 for use in the development and modification of individualized 16 family service or individualized education program plans, 17 and shall provide materials and training on the use of such 18 materials to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 19 kindergarten readiness using American sign language or English, 20 or both, from birth through age eight. 21 5. Advisory committee. 22 a. The department of education shall establish and consult 23 with an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input, 24 including input from experts on the selection of language 25 developmental milestones for children who are deaf or 26 hard-of-hearing that are equivalent to those for children who 27 are not deaf or hard-of-hearing, for inclusion in the parent 28 resource developed and disseminated to parents and guardians 29 pursuant to this section. The early language development 30 consultant shall provide staffing and administrative support 31 to the advisory committee and shall provide the committee 32 with a list of existing language developmental milestones 33 from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant 34 information held by the department regarding those language 35 -4- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 4/ 7

developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent 1 resource developed pursuant to this section. 2 b. The advisory committee shall do all of the following: 3 (1) Make recommendations on the selection and use of the 4 educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection 5 3. 6 (2) Advise the department or its consultants on the content 7 and administration of existing evaluation and assessment tools, 8 instruments, and procedures used to assess the development 9 of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and 10 to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s language and 11 literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of such 12 tools, instruments, and procedures with such children, and may 13 make recommendations regarding future research to improve the 14 measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 15 language and literacy development. 16 (3) Develop a process in compliance with federal law for 17 plan modifications if a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not 18 demonstrate adequate yearly progress in improving expressive 19 and receptive language skills, as measured by an educator tool 20 or assessment selected pursuant to subsection 3. 21 (4) The advisory committee shall consist of seven 22 volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or 23 hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall have experience 24 or involvement within the field of education for the 25 deaf and hard-of-hearing or relating directly to deaf and 26 hard-of-hearing children. The advisory committee shall include 27 all of the following members: 28 (a) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or 29 hard-of-hearing and who uses both American sign language and 30 English or who uses spoken English. 31 (b) One licensed teacher who uses American sign language and 32 English. 33 (c) One licensed teacher who uses spoken English. 34 (d) One person who shall be the parent or guardian of a deaf 35 -5- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 5/ 7

or hard-of-hearing child or an interpreter, speech pathologist, 1 teacher of the deaf, human rights advocate, child advocate, or 2 licensed education administrator. 3 (e) One advocate for the deaf or an advocate of American 4 sign language. 5 (f) One American sign language specialist, American sign 6 language professor, or native signer recommended by the Iowa 7 association of the deaf and the office of deaf services of the 8 department of human rights. 9 (g) One speech pathologist whose expertise is in spoken 10 English, or an early interventionist who uses spoken English. 11 c. The early language development consultant shall 12 convene the advisory committee by March 1, 2021, and as 13 frequently thereafter as the consultant deems necessary 14 for purposes of this section. The advisory committee shall 15 submit recommendations to the state board of education by 16 July 1, 2021, shall submit recommendations relating to plan 17 modifications developed pursuant to paragraph “b” , subparagraph 18 (3), to the state board of education and to the general 19 assembly by December 1, 2021, and shall submit recommendations 20 thereafter as the consultant deems necessary. 21 6. Activities —— consistent with federal law. All activities 22 of the department of education in implementing this section 23 shall be consistent with federal law for the education of 24 children from birth to eight years of age, inclusive. 25 7. Annual report. The department of education shall 26 annually compile, and publish on the department’s internet 27 site, a report using existing data reported in compliance 28 with the state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, 29 required under federal law, that is specific to language and 30 literacy development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children 31 from birth to eight years of age, inclusive, including those 32 children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have other 33 disabilities, relative to the children’s peers who are not deaf 34 or hard-of-hearing. 35 -6- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 6/ 7

8. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 1 context otherwise requires: 2 a. “English” includes spoken English, written English, or 3 English with the use of visual supplements. 4 b. “Federal law” means the federal Individuals with 5 Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the federal 6 Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 7 108-446, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq., as amended. > 8 ______________________________ SALMON of Black Hawk ______________________________ GASSMAN of Winnebago ______________________________ HANUSA of Pottawattamie ______________________________ JACOBSEN of Pottawattamie -7- HF2539.3454 (2) 88 kh/jh 7/ 7