House File 868 H-1452 Amend House File 868 as follows: 1 1. Page 4, by striking line 7 and inserting: 2 < . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 6,174,526 > 3 2. Page 4, after line 8 by inserting: 4 < ___. From the moneys appropriated in this subsection, not 5 more than $199,000 shall be used to implement and administer 6 section 256B.10, if enacted by this Act. > 7 3. Page 21, after line 14 by inserting: 8 < Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 256B.10 Deaf and hard-of-hearing 9 children —— language developmental milestones. 10 1. Language developmental milestones —— selection. 11 a. The director of the department of education shall appoint 12 an early language development consultant to work with the 13 state school for the deaf, the area education agencies, school 14 districts, and the early hearing detection and intervention 15 program in the department of public health, and shall select 16 language developmental milestones from existing standardized 17 norms for purposes of developing a resource for use by parents 18 or guardians to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing 19 children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition and 20 developmental stages toward American sign language and English 21 literacy. In selecting the language developmental milestones, 22 the early language development consultant shall consider 23 recommendations from the advisory committee established under 24 subsection 5. 25 b. The duties of the early language development consultant 26 appointed by the director pursuant to paragraph “a” shall, at a 27 minimum, include all of the following: 28 (1) Developing and managing language milestones for each 29 age, from birth through age eight, in American sign language 30 and English pursuant to subsection 3. 31 (2) Staffing the advisory committee established pursuant 32 to subsection 5, including but not limited to organizing and 33 facilitating the advisory committee meetings. 34 (3) Developing and distributing resources for parents 35 -1- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 1/ 7 #1. #2. #3.
pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4. 1 (4) Developing and distributing resources for early 2 interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care 3 providers pertaining to language development. 4 (5) Exercising general supervision over follow-up contacts 5 with parents and guardians regarding the need for valid and 6 reliable language assessments and distribution of resources 7 toward language development in American sign language and 8 English. 9 (6) Planning a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and 10 follow-up. 11 (7) Exercising general supervision over annual or biannual, 12 at the consultant’s discretion, milestone assessments for deaf 13 and hard-of-hearing children. 14 (8) Managing and summarizing data outcomes for parents, 15 guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual 16 report published pursuant to subsection 7. 17 (9) Arranging for and exercising general supervision over 18 the appropriate training for language assessment personnel. 19 (10) Maintaining valid and reliable two-fold language 20 assessment approach, utilizing both American sign language and 21 English, in selecting milestones, compiling data, employing 22 qualified personnel, and distributing resources. 23 2. Parent resource. The parent resource developed pursuant 24 to subsection 1 shall meet all of the following requirements: 25 a. Include American sign language and English language 26 developmental milestones selected under subsection 1. 27 b. Be appropriate for use, in both content and 28 administration, with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 29 birth through age eight who use American sign language or 30 English, or both. 31 c. Present the language developmental milestones in terms 32 of typical development of all children from birth through age 33 eight, by age range. 34 d. Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents and 35 -2- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 2/ 7
guardians. 1 e. Be aligned to the department of education’s existing 2 infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, standards for 3 evaluating eligibility and progress for early intervention or 4 special education under federal law, and state standards in 5 English language arts. 6 f. Clearly specify that the parent resource is not a 7 formal assessment of language and literacy development, and 8 that the observations of a child by the child’s parent or 9 guardian may differ from formal assessment data presented at an 10 individualized family service plan or individualized education 11 program meeting. 12 g. Clearly specify that a parent or guardian may bring 13 the parent resource to an individualized family service plan 14 or individualized education program meeting for purposes of 15 sharing the parent’s or guardian’s observations regarding the 16 child’s development. 17 3. Selection of tools or assessments. The early language 18 development consultant, in consultation with the state school 19 for the deaf, the area education agencies, school districts, 20 and the early hearing detection and intervention program in the 21 department of public health, shall select existing tools or 22 assessments for educators that can be used to assess American 23 sign language and English language and literacy development of 24 deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through age eight. 25 a. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 26 subsection shall meet the following criteria: 27 (1) Be in a format that shows stages of language 28 development. 29 (2) Be selected for use by educators to track the 30 development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive 31 and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages 32 toward American sign language and English literacy. 33 (3) Be appropriate in both content and administration for 34 use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. 35 -3- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 3/ 7
b. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 1 subsection may do either of the following: 2 (1) Be used, in addition to any assessment required by 3 federal law, by the child’s individualized family service plan 4 or individualized education program team, as applicable, to 5 track deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s progress in improving 6 expressive and receptive language skills, and to establish or 7 modify individualized family service plans or individualized 8 education programs. 9 (2) Reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee 10 convened under subsection 5. 11 4. Dissemination. The early language development 12 consultant shall disseminate the parent resource developed 13 pursuant to this section to parents and guardians of deaf and 14 hard-of-hearing children and, consistent with federal law, 15 shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected 16 pursuant to subsection 3 to early hearing detection and 17 invention programs, area education agencies, school districts, 18 accredited nonpublic schools, and the state school for the deaf 19 for use in the development and modification of individualized 20 family service or individualized education program plans, 21 and shall provide materials and training on the use of such 22 materials to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 23 kindergarten readiness using American sign language or English, 24 or both, from birth through age eight. 25 5. Advisory committee. 26 a. The department of education shall establish and consult 27 with an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input, 28 including input from experts on the selection of language 29 developmental milestones for children who are deaf or 30 hard-of-hearing that are equivalent to those for children who 31 are not deaf or hard-of-hearing, for inclusion in the parent 32 resource developed and disseminated to parents and guardians 33 pursuant to this section. The early language development 34 consultant shall provide staffing and administrative support 35 -4- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 4/ 7
to the advisory committee and shall provide the committee 1 with a list of existing language developmental milestones 2 from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant 3 information the department has regarding those language 4 developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent 5 resource developed pursuant to this section. 6 b. The advisory committee shall do all of the following: 7 (1) Make recommendations on the selection and use of the 8 educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection 9 3. 10 (2) Advise the department or its consultants on the content 11 and administration of existing evaluation and assessment tools, 12 instruments, and procedures used to assess the development 13 of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and 14 to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s language and 15 literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of such 16 tools, instruments, and procedures with such children, and may 17 make recommendations regarding future research to improve the 18 measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 19 language and literacy development. 20 (3) Develop a process in compliance with federal law for 21 plan modifications if a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not 22 demonstrate adequate yearly progress in improving expressive 23 and receptive language skills, as measured by an educator tool 24 or assessment selected pursuant to subsection 3. 25 (4) The advisory committee shall consist of seven 26 volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or 27 hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall have experience 28 or involvement within the field of education for the 29 deaf and hard-of-hearing or relating directly to deaf and 30 hard-of-hearing children. The advisory committee shall include 31 all of the following members: 32 (a) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or 33 hard-of-hearing and who uses both American sign language and 34 English or who uses spoken English. 35 -5- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 5/ 7
(b) One licensed teacher who uses American sign language and 1 English. 2 (c) One licensed teacher who uses spoken English. 3 (d) One person who shall be the parent or guardian of a deaf 4 or hard-of-hearing child or an interpreter, speech pathologist, 5 teacher of the deaf, human rights advocate, child advocate, or 6 licensed education administrator. 7 (e) One advocate for the deaf or an advocate of American 8 sign language. 9 (f) One American sign language specialist, American sign 10 language professor, or native signer recommended by the Iowa 11 association of the deaf and the office of deaf services of the 12 department of human rights. 13 (g) One speech pathologist whose expertise is in spoken 14 English, or an early interventionist who uses spoken English. 15 c. The early language development consultant shall 16 convene the advisory committee by March 1, 2022, and as 17 frequently thereafter as the consultant deems necessary 18 for purposes of this section. The advisory committee shall 19 submit recommendations to the state board of education by 20 July 1, 2022, shall submit recommendations relating to plan 21 modifications developed pursuant to paragraph “b” , subparagraph 22 (3), to the state board of education and to the general 23 assembly by December 1, 2022, and shall submit recommendations 24 thereafter as the consultant deems necessary. 25 6. Activities —— consistent with federal law. All activities 26 of the department of education in implementing this section 27 shall be consistent with federal law for the education of 28 children from birth through age eight. 29 7. Annual report. The department of education shall 30 annually compile, and publish on the department’s internet 31 site, a report using existing data reported in compliance 32 with the state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, 33 required under federal law, that is specific to language and 34 literacy development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 35 -6- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 6/ 7
birth through age eight, including those children who are deaf 1 or hard-of-hearing and have other disabilities, relative to the 2 children’s peers who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. 3 8. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 4 context otherwise requires: 5 a. “English” includes spoken English, written English, or 6 English with the use of visual supplements. 7 b. “Federal law” means the federal Individuals with 8 Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the federal 9 Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 10 108-446, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq., as amended. > 11 4. By renumbering, redesignating, and correcting internal 12 references as necessary. 13 ______________________________ DONAHUE of Linn -7- HF 868.2080 (2) 89 kh/tm 7/ 7 #4.