S-5114

   Amend House File 604, as passed by the House, as follows:
   1.  Page 1, line 2, by striking <—— language developmental milestones>
   2.  Page 1, by striking lines 3 through 5 and inserting: 
   <1.  The department of education shall work with the>
   3.  Page 1, by striking lines 8 through 17 and inserting <program in the department of public health for purposes of coordinating, developing, and disseminating resources for use by parents or guardians, early hearing detection and intervention programs, the state school for the deaf, area education agencies, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools to inform deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition or development.>
   4.  Page 1, lines 18 and 19, by striking <early language development consultant appointed by the director pursuant to paragraph “a”> and inserting <department of education>
   5.  By striking page 1, line 21, through page 2, line 15, and inserting: 
   <(1)  Coordinating the development and collection of language milestones for each age, from birth through age eight, in American sign language, English, and other languages as needed pursuant to subsection 3, which may include milestone assessments for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
   (2)  Coordinating the development and distribution of resources for parents pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4.
   (3)  Coordinating the development and distribution of resources for early interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care providers pertaining to language development.
   (4)  Monitoring the need for valid and reliable language assessments and distribution of resources toward language development in American sign language and English.
   (5)  Coordinating a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and follow-up.
   (6)  Coordinating the collection of regular language milestone assessment data for deaf and hard—of-hearing children.
   (7)  Summarizing data outcomes for parents, guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual report published pursuant to subsection 7.
   (8)  Working with stakeholders to maintain a valid and reliable two-fold language assessment approach, utilizing both American sign language and English, in selecting milestones, compiling data, employing qualified personnel, and distributing resources.>
   6.  Page 2, line 16, by striking <Parent resource.>
   7.  Page 3, by striking lines 10 and 11 and inserting: 
   <3.  The department of education, in consultation with the state school>
   8.  Page 3, by striking line 15 and inserting <assessments that may be used by qualified educators to assess American>
   9.  Page 3, line 24, by striking <acquisition and> and inserting <acquisition or>
   10.  By striking page 3, line 28, through page 4, line 3, and inserting: 
   <b.  Educator tools or assessments selected under this subsection may be used, in addition to any assessment required by federal law, by the child’s individualized family service plan or individualized education program team, as applicable, to track deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s progress in improving expressive and receptive language skills, and to establish or modify individualized family service plans or individualized education programs.>
   11.  Page 4, by striking lines 4 and 5 and inserting: 
   <4.  The department of education shall disseminate the parent resource developed>
   12.  Page 4, line 10, by striking <invention> and inserting <intervention>
   13.  By striking page 4, line 18, through page 6, line 17, and inserting: 
   <5.  a.  If moneys are appropriated by the general assembly for a fiscal year for the purpose provided in this subsection, the department of education shall develop guidelines for a comprehensive family support mentoring program that meets the language and communication needs of families.
   b.  The department of education shall work with the early hearing detection and intervention program in the Iowa department of public health, the state school for the deaf, and the area education agencies when developing the guidelines. The department of education, in consultation with the Iowa school for the deaf, shall administer the family support mentoring program for deaf or hard-of-hearing children.
   c.  With the consent of the parent of the deaf or hard-of-hearing child, the family support mentoring program shall pair families based on the specific need, experience, or want of the parent of the deaf or hard-of-hearing child with another family mentor or deaf or hard-of-hearing adult mentor to provide support.
   d.  In establishing the family support mentoring program, the department of education may do all of the following:
   (1)  Hire a family support mentoring coordinator.
   (2)  Utilize the parent resource created in subsection 2 as well as other resources to provide families with information and guidance on language, communication, social, and emotional development of their child.
   (3)  Recruit family support mentors to serve the needs of the family support mentoring program. A family support mentor may be any of the following:
   (a)  A parent who has experience raising a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and who has experience supporting the child’s communication and language development.
   (b)  A deaf or hard-of-hearing adult who serves as a deaf or hard-of-hearing role model for the children and their families. Deaf or hard-of-hearing family support mentors may provide parents with an understanding of American sign language and English, including instructional philosophies for both, such as bilingual bimodal, listening and spoken language, total communication, and other philosophies, as well as other forms of communication, deaf culture, deaf community, and self-identity.
   (4)  Train parents of a deaf or hard-of-hearing child to become family support mentors and train deaf or hard-of-hearing adults to become deaf or hard-of-hearing adult family support mentors.
   (5)  Reach out to parents of children identified through the early hearing detection and intervention program in the Iowa department of public health and share information about the family support mentoring program services available to such parents.
   (6)  Reach out to families referred by primary care providers, the area education agencies, and from other agencies who provide services to deaf or hard-of-hearing children.
   (7)  Provide follow-up contact, as necessary, to establish services after initial referral.
   e.  The department of education shall coordinate family support mentoring activities with the early hearing detection and intervention program in the Iowa department of public health, the state school for the deaf, the area education agencies, and nonprofit organizations that provide family support mentoring to parents with deaf or hard-of-hearing children.
   f.  The department of education shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this subsection.>
   14.  Page 6, line 18, by striking <Activities —— consistent with federal law.>
   15.  Page 6, line 22, by striking <Annual report.>
   16.  Page 6, line 31, by striking <Definitions.>
   17.  By renumbering, redesignating, and correcting internal references as necessary.

______________________________
KEN ROZENBOOM