H.F. 244 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 256B.10 Deaf and hard-of-hearing 1 children —— language developmental milestones. 2 1. Language developmental milestones —— selection. 3 a. The director of the department of education shall appoint 4 an early language development consultant to work with the 5 state school for the deaf, the area education agencies, school 6 districts, and the early hearing detection and intervention 7 program in the department of public health, and shall select 8 language developmental milestones from existing standardized 9 norms for purposes of developing a resource for use by parents 10 or guardians to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing 11 children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition and 12 developmental stages toward American sign language and English 13 literacy. In selecting the language developmental milestones, 14 the early language development consultant shall consider 15 recommendations from the advisory committee established under 16 subsection 5. 17 b. The duties of the early language development consultant 18 appointed by the director pursuant to paragraph “a” shall, at a 19 minimum, include all of the following: 20 (1) Developing and managing language milestones for each 21 age, from birth through age eight, in American sign language 22 and English pursuant to subsection 3. 23 (2) Staffing the advisory committee established pursuant 24 to subsection 5, including but not limited to organizing and 25 facilitating the advisory committee meetings. 26 (3) Developing and distributing resources for parents 27 pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4. 28 (4) Developing and distributing resources for early 29 interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care 30 providers pertaining to language development. 31 (5) Exercising general supervision over follow-up contacts 32 with parents and guardians regarding the need for valid and 33 reliable language assessments and distribution of resources 34 toward language development in American sign language and 35 -1- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 1/ 10

H.F. 244 English. 1 (6) Planning a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and 2 follow-up. 3 (7) Exercising general supervision over annual or biannual, 4 at the consultant’s discretion, milestone assessments for deaf 5 and hard-of-hearing children. 6 (8) Managing and summarizing data outcomes for parents, 7 guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual 8 report published pursuant to subsection 7. 9 (9) Arranging for and exercising general supervision over 10 the appropriate training for language assessment personnel. 11 (10) Maintaining valid and reliable two-fold language 12 assessment approach, utilizing both American sign language and 13 English, in selecting milestones, compiling data, employing 14 qualified personnel, and distributing resources. 15 2. Parent resource. The parent resource developed pursuant 16 to subsection 1 shall meet all of the following requirements: 17 a. Include American sign language and English language 18 developmental milestones selected under subsection 1. 19 b. Be appropriate for use, in both content and 20 administration, with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 21 birth through age eight who use American sign language or 22 English, or both. 23 c. Present the language developmental milestones in terms 24 of typical development of all children from birth through age 25 eight, by age range. 26 d. Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents and 27 guardians. 28 e. Be aligned to the department of education’s existing 29 infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, standards for 30 evaluating eligibility and progress for early intervention or 31 special education under federal law, and state standards in 32 English language arts. 33 f. Clearly specify that the parent resource is not a 34 formal assessment of language and literacy development, and 35 -2- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 2/ 10

H.F. 244 that the observations of a child by the child’s parent or 1 guardian may differ from formal assessment data presented at an 2 individualized family service plan or individualized education 3 program meeting. 4 g. Clearly specify that a parent or guardian may bring 5 the parent resource to an individualized family service plan 6 or individualized education program meeting for purposes of 7 sharing the parent’s or guardian’s observations regarding the 8 child’s development. 9 3. Selection of tools or assessments. The early language 10 development consultant, in consultation with the state school 11 for the deaf, the area education agencies, school districts, 12 and the early hearing detection and intervention program in the 13 department of public health, shall select existing tools or 14 assessments for educators that can be used to assess American 15 sign language and English language and literacy development of 16 deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through age eight. 17 a. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 18 subsection shall meet the following criteria: 19 (1) Be in a format that shows stages of language 20 development. 21 (2) Be selected for use by educators to track the 22 development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive 23 and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages 24 toward American sign language and English literacy. 25 (3) Be appropriate in both content and administration for 26 use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. 27 b. Educator tools or assessments selected under this 28 subsection may do either of the following: 29 (1) Be used, in addition to any assessment required by 30 federal law, by the child’s individualized family service plan 31 or individualized education program team, as applicable, to 32 track deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s progress in improving 33 expressive and receptive language skills, and to establish or 34 modify individualized family service plans or individualized 35 -3- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 3/ 10

H.F. 244 education programs. 1 (2) Reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee 2 convened under subsection 5. 3 4. Dissemination. The early language development 4 consultant shall disseminate the parent resource developed 5 pursuant to this section to parents and guardians of deaf and 6 hard-of-hearing children and, consistent with federal law, 7 shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected 8 pursuant to subsection 3 to early hearing detection and 9 invention programs, area education agencies, school districts, 10 accredited nonpublic schools, and the state school for the deaf 11 for use in the development and modification of individualized 12 family service or individualized education program plans, 13 and shall provide materials and training on the use of such 14 materials to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 15 kindergarten readiness using American sign language or English, 16 or both, from birth through age eight. 17 5. Advisory committee. 18 a. The department of education shall establish and consult 19 with an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input, 20 including input from experts on the selection of language 21 developmental milestones for children who are deaf or 22 hard-of-hearing that are equivalent to those for children who 23 are not deaf or hard-of-hearing, for inclusion in the parent 24 resource developed and disseminated to parents and guardians 25 pursuant to this section. The early language development 26 consultant shall provide staffing and administrative support 27 to the advisory committee and shall provide the committee 28 with a list of existing language developmental milestones 29 from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant 30 information the department has regarding those language 31 developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent 32 resource developed pursuant to this section. 33 b. The advisory committee shall do all of the following: 34 (1) Make recommendations on the selection and use of the 35 -4- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 4/ 10

H.F. 244 educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection 1 3. 2 (2) Advise the department or its consultants on the content 3 and administration of existing evaluation and assessment tools, 4 instruments, and procedures used to assess the development 5 of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and 6 to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s language and 7 literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of such 8 tools, instruments, and procedures with such children, and may 9 make recommendations regarding future research to improve the 10 measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in 11 language and literacy development. 12 (3) Develop a process in compliance with federal law for 13 plan modifications if a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not 14 demonstrate adequate yearly progress in improving expressive 15 and receptive language skills, as measured by an educator tool 16 or assessment selected pursuant to subsection 3. 17 (4) The advisory committee shall consist of seven 18 volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or 19 hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall have experience 20 or involvement within the field of education for the 21 deaf and hard-of-hearing or relating directly to deaf and 22 hard-of-hearing children. The advisory committee shall include 23 all of the following members: 24 (a) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or 25 hard-of-hearing and who uses both American sign language and 26 English or who uses spoken English. 27 (b) One licensed teacher who uses American sign language and 28 English. 29 (c) One licensed teacher who uses spoken English. 30 (d) One person who shall be the parent or guardian of a deaf 31 or hard-of-hearing child or an interpreter, speech pathologist, 32 teacher of the deaf, human rights advocate, child advocate, or 33 licensed education administrator. 34 (e) One advocate for the deaf or an advocate of American 35 -5- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 5/ 10

H.F. 244 sign language. 1 (f) One American sign language specialist, American sign 2 language professor, or native signer recommended by the Iowa 3 association of the deaf and the office of deaf services of the 4 department of human rights. 5 (g) One speech pathologist whose expertise is in spoken 6 English, or an early interventionist who uses spoken English. 7 c. The early language development consultant shall 8 convene the advisory committee by March 1, 2022, and as 9 frequently thereafter as the consultant deems necessary 10 for purposes of this section. The advisory committee shall 11 submit recommendations to the state board of education by 12 July 1, 2022, shall submit recommendations relating to plan 13 modifications developed pursuant to paragraph “b” , subparagraph 14 (3), to the state board of education and to the general 15 assembly by December 1, 2022, and shall submit recommendations 16 thereafter as the consultant deems necessary. 17 6. Activities —— consistent with federal law. All activities 18 of the department of education in implementing this section 19 shall be consistent with federal law for the education of 20 children from birth through age eight. 21 7. Annual report. The department of education shall 22 annually compile, and publish on the department’s internet 23 site, a report using existing data reported in compliance 24 with the state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, 25 required under federal law, that is specific to language and 26 literacy development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 27 birth through age eight, including those children who are deaf 28 or hard-of-hearing and have other disabilities, relative to the 29 children’s peers who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. 30 8. Definitions. For purposes of this section, unless the 31 context otherwise requires: 32 a. “English” includes spoken English, written English, or 33 English with the use of visual supplements. 34 b. “Federal law” means the federal Individuals with 35 -6- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 6/ 10

H.F. 244 Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the federal 1 Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 2 108-446, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq., as amended. 3 EXPLANATION 4 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 5 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 6 This bill provides for the development and dissemination of 7 a parent resource for the parents and guardians of children 8 who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; requires the director of 9 the department of education to employ an early language 10 development consultant; provides for the identification of 11 tools or assessments educators can use to assess the language 12 and literacy development of such children from birth through 13 age eight; requires, if such a child is not meeting language 14 development milestones, that the child’s individualized family 15 service plan (IFSP) or individualized education program (IEP) 16 team explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting 17 the milestones and submit modifications to the plan to assist 18 the child in achieving English literacy proficiency; and 19 provides for the establishment of an advisory committee for 20 purposes of soliciting input on the selection of language 21 developmental milestones for such children that are equivalent 22 to milestones for children who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. 23 The bill provides that “English” includes spoken English, 24 written English, or English with the use of visual supplements. 25 EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT. The bill lists 26 the duties of the early language development consultant, 27 including but not limited to staffing the advisory committee; 28 developing and distributing resources; exercising general 29 supervision over follow-up contacts with parents and guardians 30 regarding the need for valid and reliable language assessments 31 and distribution of resources toward language development in 32 American sign language and English; planning a parent-friendly 33 procedure for outreach and follow-ups; arranging for and 34 exercising general supervision over the appropriate training 35 -7- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 7/ 10

H.F. 244 for language assessment personnel and serving as a supervisor 1 to such personnel; and utilizing both American sign language 2 and English in selecting milestones, compiling data, employing 3 qualified personnel, and distributing resources. 4 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES —— SELECTION. The 5 bill requires the early language development consultant to 6 cooperate with the state school for the deaf and area education 7 agencies, school districts, and the early hearing detection 8 and intervention program in the department of public health, 9 in selecting language developmental milestones from existing 10 standardized norms for purposes of developing a resource 11 parents or guardians can use to monitor and track a deaf or 12 hard-of-hearing child’s progress toward English literacy. 13 PARENT RESOURCE. In addition to the milestones, the parent 14 resource must be clearly written and appropriate for use with 15 deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through age eight 16 who use American sign language or English, or both; present the 17 milestones in terms of typical development of all children; 18 and be aligned to the state’s existing infant, toddler, and 19 preschool standards for evaluating eligibility and progress for 20 early intervention or special education in English language 21 arts. Further, the resource must clearly specify that it is 22 not a formal assessment of language and literacy development, 23 that the observations of a child by the child’s parent or 24 guardian may differ from formal assessment data, and that a 25 parent or guardian may bring the parent resource to an IFSP or 26 IEP meeting. 27 ASSESSMENTS —— TOOLS. The early language development 28 consultant, in consultation with other agencies serving deaf 29 and hard-of-hearing children, must select existing tools or 30 assessments for educators that can be used to assess the 31 language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing 32 children from birth through age eight. 33 DISSEMINATION. The early language development consultant 34 must disseminate the parent resource to parents and guardians 35 -8- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 8/ 10

H.F. 244 of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and, consistent with the 1 federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 2 shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments to early 3 hearing detection and intervention programs, area education 4 agencies, school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, 5 and the school for the deaf for use in the development and 6 modification of IFSPs or IEPs, and provide materials and 7 training on the use of such materials. 8 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The department of education is 9 directed to establish and consult with an advisory committee 10 to receive input for inclusion in the parent resource. The 11 early language development consultant shall provide staffing 12 and administrative support to the committee and must provide 13 the committee with a list of existing language developmental 14 milestones from existing standardized norms, along with 15 any relevant information the department has regarding those 16 milestones. 17 The advisory committee shall make recommendations on 18 the selection and use of the educator tools or assessments, 19 advise the department or its consultants on the content and 20 administration of the tools, instruments, and procedures used 21 under the federal IDEA to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing 22 children’s language and literacy development to ensure the 23 appropriate use of such tools, instruments, and procedures with 24 children, make recommendations regarding future research to 25 improve the measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing 26 children in language and literacy development, and develop a 27 process of compliance with federal law for plan modification if 28 a child does not demonstrate adequate yearly progress. 29 The advisory committee shall consist of seven volunteers, 30 the majority of whom shall be deaf or hard-of-hearing. The 31 bill specifies the level of expertise or experience each 32 individual member must have. 33 The director of the department must convene the advisory 34 committee by March 1, 2022, and thereafter may convene the 35 -9- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 9/ 10

H.F. 244 committee as the director deems necessary. The advisory 1 committee shall submit recommendations to the state board 2 of education by July 1, 2022, shall submit recommendations 3 relating to plan modifications to the state board by December 4 1, 2022, and shall submit recommendations thereafter as the 5 director of the department deems necessary. 6 ACTIVITIES. All activities of the department of education 7 in implementing the requirements under the bill must be 8 consistent with the federal IDEA for the education of children 9 from birth through age eight. 10 ANNUAL REPORT. The department of education must annually 11 compile, and publish on the department’s internet site, a 12 report using existing data reported in compliance with the 13 state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, required 14 under the federal IDEA, that is specific to language and 15 literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children from 16 birth through age eight, including those children who are deaf 17 or hard-of-hearing and have other disabilities, relative to the 18 children’s peers who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. 19 -10- LSB 1776HH (4) 89 kh/jh 10/ 10