House
File
604
-
Enrolled
House
File
604
AN
ACT
RELATING
TO
LANGUAGE
AND
LITERACY
DEVELOPMENT
FOR
DEAF
AND
HARD-OF-HEARING
CHILDREN.
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
256B.10
Deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children.
1.
a.
The
department
of
education
shall
work
with
the
state
school
for
the
deaf,
the
area
education
agencies,
school
districts,
and
the
early
hearing
detection
and
intervention
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.
b.
The
duties
of
the
department
of
education
shall,
at
a
minimum,
include
all
of
the
following:
(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.
House
File
604,
p.
2
(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.
2.
The
parent
resource
developed
pursuant
to
subsection
1
shall
meet
all
of
the
following
requirements:
a.
Include
American
sign
language
and
English
language
developmental
milestones
selected
under
subsection
1.
b.
Be
appropriate
for
use,
in
both
content
and
administration,
with
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children
from
birth
through
age
eight
who
use
American
sign
language
or
English,
or
both.
c.
Present
the
language
developmental
milestones
in
terms
of
typical
development
of
all
children
from
birth
through
age
eight,
by
age
range.
d.
Be
written
for
clarity
and
ease
of
use
by
parents
and
guardians.
e.
Be
aligned
to
the
department
of
education’s
existing
infant,
toddler,
and
preschool
guidelines,
standards
for
evaluating
eligibility
and
progress
for
early
intervention
or
special
education
under
federal
law,
and
state
standards
in
English
language
arts.
f.
Clearly
specify
that
the
parent
resource
is
not
a
formal
assessment
of
language
and
literacy
development,
and
House
File
604,
p.
3
that
the
observations
of
a
child
by
the
child’s
parent
or
guardian
may
differ
from
formal
assessment
data
presented
at
an
individualized
family
service
plan
or
individualized
education
program
meeting.
g.
Clearly
specify
that
a
parent
or
guardian
may
bring
the
parent
resource
to
an
individualized
family
service
plan
or
individualized
education
program
meeting
for
purposes
of
sharing
the
parent’s
or
guardian’s
observations
regarding
the
child’s
development.
3.
The
department
of
education,
in
consultation
with
the
state
school
for
the
deaf,
the
area
education
agencies,
school
districts,
and
the
early
hearing
detection
and
intervention
program
in
the
department
of
public
health,
shall
select
existing
tools
or
assessments
that
may
be
used
by
qualified
educators
to
assess
American
sign
language
and
English
language
and
literacy
development
of
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children
from
birth
through
age
eight.
a.
Educator
tools
or
assessments
selected
under
this
subsection
shall
meet
the
following
criteria:
(1)
Be
in
a
format
that
shows
stages
of
language
development.
(2)
Be
selected
for
use
by
educators
to
track
the
development
of
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children’s
expressive
and
receptive
language
acquisition
or
developmental
stages
toward
American
sign
language
and
English
literacy.
(3)
Be
appropriate
in
both
content
and
administration
for
use
with
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children.
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.
4.
The
department
of
education
shall
disseminate
the
parent
resource
developed
pursuant
to
this
section
to
parents
and
guardians
of
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children
and,
consistent
with
federal
law,
shall
disseminate
the
educator
tools
and
House
File
604,
p.
4
assessments
selected
pursuant
to
subsection
3
to
early
hearing
detection
and
intervention
programs,
area
education
agencies,
school
districts,
accredited
nonpublic
schools,
and
the
state
school
for
the
deaf
for
use
in
the
development
and
modification
of
individualized
family
service
or
individualized
education
program
plans,
and
shall
provide
materials
and
training
on
the
use
of
such
materials
to
assist
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children
in
kindergarten
readiness
using
American
sign
language
or
English,
or
both,
from
birth
through
age
eight.
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
House
File
604,
p.
5
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.
6.
All
activities
of
the
department
of
education
in
implementing
this
section
shall
be
consistent
with
federal
law
for
the
education
of
children
from
birth
through
age
eight.
7.
The
department
of
education
shall
annually
compile,
and
publish
on
the
department’s
internet
site,
a
report
using
existing
data
reported
in
compliance
with
the
state
performance
House
File
604,
p.
6
plan
on
pupils
with
disabilities,
required
under
federal
law,
that
is
specific
to
language
and
literacy
development
in
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
children
from
birth
through
age
eight,
including
those
children
who
are
deaf
or
hard-of-hearing
and
have
other
disabilities,
relative
to
the
children’s
peers
who
are
not
deaf
or
hard-of-hearing.
8.
For
purposes
of
this
section,
unless
the
context
otherwise
requires:
a.
“English”
includes
spoken
English,
written
English,
or
English
with
the
use
of
visual
supplements.
b.
“Federal
law”
means
the
federal
Individuals
with
Disabilities
Education
Act,
as
amended
by
the
federal
Individuals
with
Disabilities
Improvement
Act,
Pub.
L.
No.
108-446,
20
U.S.C.
§1400
et
seq.,
as
amended.
______________________________
PAT
GRASSLEY
Speaker
of
the
House
______________________________
JAKE
CHAPMAN
President
of
the
Senate
I
hereby
certify
that
this
bill
originated
in
the
House
and
is
known
as
House
File
604,
Eighty-ninth
General
Assembly.
______________________________
MEGHAN
NELSON
Chief
Clerk
of
the
House
Approved
_______________,
2022
______________________________
KIM
REYNOLDS
Governor