What changed in HF 604

10 passages reworded, 26 added and 29 removed; 13 of 78 unchanged.

Removed AddedIntroduced textText as passedAmendments

Compares wording only. The printed bills also mark changes to existing law with strikes and underlines, which aren’t shown here.

Section 1.

NEW SECTION. 256B.10 Deaf and hard-of-hearing children —— language developmental milestones. children.

1. Language developmental milestones —— selection.

a. The director of the department of education shall appoint an early language development consultant to 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, and shall select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms for purposes of developing a resource for use by parents or guardians to monitor and track deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward American sign language and English literacy. In selecting the language developmental milestones, the early language development consultant shall consider recommendations from the advisory committee established under subsection 5.

b. The duties of the early language development consultant appointed by the director pursuant to paragraph “a” shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:

1.

(1) Developing and managing language milestones for each age, from birth through age eight, in American sign language and English pursuant to subsection 3.

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.

(2) Staffing the advisory committee established pursuant to subsection 5, including but not limited to organizing and facilitating the advisory committee meetings.

b. The duties of the department of education shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:

(3) Developing and distributing resources for parents pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4.

(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.

(4) Developing and distributing resources for early interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care providers pertaining to language development.

(2) Coordinating the development and distribution of resources for parents pertaining to language development pursuant to subsection 4.

(5) Exercising general supervision over follow-up contacts with parents and guardians regarding the need for valid and reliable language assessments and distribution of resources toward language development in American sign language and English.

(3) Coordinating the development and distribution of resources for early interventionists, educators, hospitals, and health care providers pertaining to language development.

(6) Planning a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and follow-up.

(4) Monitoring the need for valid and reliable language assessments and distribution of resources toward language development in American sign language and English.

(7) Exercising general supervision over annual or biannual, at the consultant’s discretion, milestone assessments for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

(5) Coordinating a parent-friendly procedure for outreach and follow-up.

(8) Managing and summarizing data outcomes for parents, guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual report published pursuant to subsection 7.

(6) Coordinating the collection of regular language milestone assessment data for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

(9) Arranging for and exercising general supervision over the appropriate training for language assessment personnel.

(7) Summarizing data outcomes for parents, guardians, and partner agencies to use, including the annual report published pursuant to subsection 7.

(10) Maintaining (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. Parent resource. 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.

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. Selection of tools or assessments. The early language development consultant, 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 for educators that can 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 and 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 do either of the following:

(1) Be 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.

(2) Reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee convened under subsection 5.

4. Dissemination. The early language development consultant 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 assessments selected pursuant to subsection 3 to early hearing detection and invention 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.

5. Advisory committee.

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.

a. The department of education shall establish and consult with an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input, including 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 and disseminated to parents and guardians pursuant to this section. The early language development consultant shall provide staffing and administrative support to the advisory committee and shall provide the committee with a list of existing language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant information the department has regarding those language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to this section.

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.

b. The advisory committee shall do all of the following:

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.

(1) Make recommendations on the selection and use of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to subsection 3.

d. In establishing the family support mentoring program, the department of education may do all of the following:

(2) Advise the department or its consultants on the content and administration of existing evaluation and assessment tools, instruments, and procedures used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s language and literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of such tools, instruments, and procedures with such 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 development.

(1) Hire a family support mentoring coordinator.

(3) Develop a process in compliance with federal law for plan modifications if a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not demonstrate adequate yearly progress in improving expressive and receptive language skills, as measured by an educator tool or assessment selected pursuant to subsection 3.

(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.

(4) The advisory committee shall consist of seven volunteers, the majority of whom shall be deaf or hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall have experience or involvement within the field of education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing or relating directly to deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The advisory committee shall include all of the following members:

(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) One parent or guardian of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and who uses both American sign language and English or who uses spoken English.

(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) One licensed teacher who uses American sign language and English.

(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.

(c) One licensed teacher who uses spoken English.

(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.

(d) One person who shall be the parent or guardian of a deaf or hard-of-hearing child or an interpreter, speech pathologist, teacher of the deaf, human rights advocate, child advocate, or licensed education administrator.

(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.

(e) One advocate for the deaf or an advocate of American sign language.

(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.

(f) One American sign language specialist, American sign language professor, or native signer recommended by the Iowa association of the deaf and the office of deaf services of the department of human rights.

(7) Provide follow-up contact, as necessary, to establish services after initial referral.

(g) One speech pathologist whose expertise is in spoken English, or an early interventionist who uses spoken English.

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.

c. The early language development consultant shall convene the advisory committee by March 1, 2022, and as frequently thereafter as the consultant deems necessary for purposes of this section. The advisory committee shall submit recommendations to the state board of education by July 1, 2022, shall submit recommendations relating to plan modifications developed pursuant to paragraph “b”, subparagraph (3), to the state board of education and to the general assembly by December 1, 2022, and shall submit recommendations thereafter as the consultant deems necessary.

f. The department of education shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this subsection.

6. Activities —— consistent with federal law. 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. Annual report. 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 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. Definitions. 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.