Revision: Jan. 25, 2017, 3:53 p.m.
HB 554-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0606
04/03
HOUSE BILL 554-FN
AN ACT relative to the assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
SPONSORS: Rep. Porter, Hills. 1; Rep. Berrien, Rock. 18; Rep. Gile, Merr. 27
COMMITTEE: Education
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This bill requires the department of education to develop an assessment tool for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and establishes an advisory committee for the assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0606
04/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to the assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Assessment of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children. Amend RSA 189 by inserting after section 71 the following new subdivision:
Assessment of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children
189:72 Assessment for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.
I. The department of education shall select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, pursuant to the process specified in this subdivision, for the purpose of developing a resource for use by parents to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy. This resource shall:
(a) Include the language developmental milestones selected pursuant to the process specified in this subdivision.
(b) Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, who use both or one of the languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and English. For purposes of this subdivision, English includes spoken English, written English, or English with the use of visual supplements.
(c) Present the developmental milestones in terms of typical development of all children, by age range.
(d) Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents.
(e) Be aligned to the department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and state standards in English language arts.
(f) Make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development, and that a parent's observations of his or her child may differ from formal assessment data presented at an individualized family service plan (IFSP) or individualized education program (IEP) meeting.
(g) Make clear that a parent may bring the parent resource to an IFSP or IEP meeting for purposes of sharing their observations about his or her child's development.
II. The department shall select existing tools or assessments for educators that can be used to assess the language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. These educator tools or assessments:
(a) Shall be in a format that shows stages of language development.
(b) Shall be selected for use by educators to track the development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy.
(c) Shall be selected from existing instruments or assessments used to assess the development of all children from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive.
(d) Shall be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
(e) May be used, in addition to the assessment required by federal law, by the child's IFSP or IEP team, as applicable, to track deaf and hard-of-hearing children's progress, and to establish or modify IFSP or IEP plans.
(f) May reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee established pursuant to subparagraph IV(d).
III.(a) The department of education shall disseminate the parent resource developed to pursuant to paragraph I to the department of health and human services and to parents and guardians of deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and, pursuant to federal law, shall disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected pursuant to paragraph II to local educational agencies for use in the development and modification of IFSP or IEP plans, and shall provide materials and training on its use, to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing children in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten using both or one of the languages of ASL and English.
(b) If a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills, as measured by one of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to paragraph II, or by the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, the child's IFSP or IEP team, as applicable, shall, as part of the process required by federal law, explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting the language developmental milestones or progressing towards them, and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that shall be provided to assist the child's success toward English literacy.
IV.(a) On or before March 1, 2018, the department shall provide the advisory committee established pursuant to subparagraph (d) with a list of existing language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant information held by the department regarding those language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to paragraph I. These language developmental milestones shall be aligned to the department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and the state standards in English language arts.
(b) On or before June 1, 2018, the advisory committee shall recommend language developmental milestones for selection pursuant to paragraph I.
(c) On or before June 30, 2018, the department shall inform the advisory committee of which language developmental milestones were selected.
(d)(1) The commissioner of the department of education shall establish an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing that are equivalent to those for children who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing, for inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to paragraph I. The advisory committee may also make recommendations on the selection and administration of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to paragraph II.
(2) The advisory committee shall consist of the following volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall be within the field of education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing:
(A) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing who uses the dual languages of ASL and English.
(B) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing who uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(C) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils who use the dual languages of ASL and English.
(D) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils from a state certified nonpublic, nonsectarian school.
(E) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children using ASL and English.
(F) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children using spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(G) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in ASL and English.
(H) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(I) One advocate for the teaching and use of the dual languages of ASL and English.
(J) One advocate for the teaching and use of spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(K) One early intervention specialist who works with deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using the dual languages of ASL and English.
(L) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose expertise is in ASL and English language assessment.
(M) One speech pathologist from spoken English, with or without the use of visual supplements.
(e) The advisory committee established pursuant to subparagraph (d) may also advise the department on the content and administration of the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, as used to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children's language and literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of that instrument with those children, and may make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in language and literacy.
(f) Commencing on or before July 31, 2018, and annually thereafter, the department shall produce a report, using existing data reported in compliance with the federally required state performance plan on pupils with disabilities, that is specific to language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive, including those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have other disabilities, relative to their peers who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing. The department shall make this report available on its Internet website.
(g) All activities of the department in implementing this subdivision shall be consistent with federal law regarding the education of children with disabilities and federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information.
(h) For the purpose of this subdivision, the term "language developmental milestones" means milestones of development aligned with the existing state instrument used to meet the requirements of federal law for the assessment of children from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive.
(i) This subdivision shall apply only to children from birth to 5 years of age, inclusive.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
17-0606
1/13/17
HB 554-FN- FISCAL NOTE
as introduced
AN ACT relative to the assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2018 | FY 2019 | FY 2020 | FY 2021 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $90,000 | $84,000 | $88,000 | $92,000 |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of Education to develop an assessment tool as a resource for parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children to monitor and track developmental stages toward English literacy from birth to age five. This bill also requires the commissioner of the Department of Education to establish an advisory committee of 13 volunteer members who specialize or have experience with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The Department states it would require hiring an education consultant to create the assessment tool and implement the legislative requirements as well as provide administrative support and technical assistance to the advisory committee. The consultant would also serve as the liaison between the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services to fulfill certain requirements for children under age three. Total costs for the new position (labor grade 26) is estimated to be $87,000 in FY 2018, $84,000 in FY 2019, $88,000 in FY 2020, and $92,000 in FY 2021. In addition, the Department estimates a printing expense of $3,000 in FY 2018.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education