Bill Text: NJ A1893 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes Working Group on Deaf Education; directs DOE to develop parent resource guide; requires DOE and DOH to collect and report certain data on deaf and hard of hearing children from birth to age 5.*
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-06-20 - Substituted by S2045 (4R) [A1893 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1893-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 1893
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman MARLENE CARIDE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO
District 28 (Essex)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen McKnight, Lampitt, Jones and DiMaso
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Working Group on Deaf Education and directs DOE to develop parent resource guide and select early intervention assessments for use in identifying language delays in deaf and hard of hearing children.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Education Committee on October 18, 2018, with amendments.
An Act concerning the early language development of deaf and hard of hearing children and supplementing chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and P.L.1993, c.309 (C.26:1A-36.6 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in the Department of Education a Working Group on Deaf Education for the purpose of making recommendations on issues related to the early linguistic development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
b. The working group shall consist of 1[12] 151 members appointed by the Commissioner of Education including:
(1) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;
(2) 1a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses only American Sign Language;
(3)1 a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses only spoken English 1[, with or without visual supplements]1;
1[(3)] (4)1 a certified teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students who use the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;
1[(4)] (5)1 a certified teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students employed at 1[a nonpublic school] the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf1;
1[(5)] (6)1 an expert who 1holds a master's or doctorate degree who1 researches language outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children using American Sign Language and English;
1[(6)] (7)1 an expert who 1holds a master's or doctorate degree who1 researches language outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children using spoken English 1[, with or without visual supplements]1;
1[(7)] (8) an expert who holds a master's or doctorate degree who researches language outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children using only American Sign Language;
(9)1 a certified teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students whose expertise is in curriculum and instruction in American Sign Language and English;
1[(8)] (10)1 an advocate for the teaching and use of the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;
1[(9)] (11)1 an advocate for the teaching and use of spoken English 1[, with or without visual supplements]1;
1[(10)] (12)1 an early intervention specialist 1, who is appropriately certified and, if required, licensed,1 who works with deaf and hard of hearing infants and toddlers using the dual languages of American Sign Language and English;
1[(11)] (13)1 a certified teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students whose expertise is in American Sign Language and English language assessment;1[and]1
1[(12)] (14)1 a speech 1-language1 pathologist from spoken English 1[, with or without the use of visual supplements] ; and
(15) an audiologist who provides direct services in the classroom, including the educational management, verification, and fitting of appropriate amplification including hearing aids and hearing assistance technologies1.
c. Appointments to the working group shall be made within 30 days after the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the working group shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made.
2. a. It shall be the duty of the working group to examine, research, and make recommendations to the Department of Education for:
(1) the development of a resource guide for parents to monitor and track deaf and hard of hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy; and
(2) the selection of one or more early intervention assessments to be used by educators to assess the language and literacy development of deaf and hard of hearing children.
b. The working group shall issue a report, including its recommendations, no later than one year after the working group organizes.
3. a. The Department of Education, in an effort to assist deaf and hard of hearing children in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten and in consultation with the Department of Health, shall develop a parent resource guide for use by parents of deaf and hard of hearing children.
The parent resource guide shall:
(1) help parents monitor and track deaf and hard of hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy by presenting language developmental milestones 1[in terms of typical development of all children, by age range]1;
(2) be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with deaf and hard of hearing children from birth to five years of age, who use both or one of the languages of American Sign Language and English;
(3) be written for clarity and ease of use by parents;
(4) be aligned to existing instruments used by school districts to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal and State law;
(5) include a statement that the parent resource guide is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development, and that a parent's observations of his child may differ from formal assessment data collected as part of a professional evaluation; and
(6) include a statement that a parent may bring the parent resource 1guide1 to a child study team meeting for purposes of sharing observations about the child's development.
b. The department shall incorporate the recommendations provided by the working group established pursuant to section 1 of this act into the parent resource guide.
c. The department shall make the parent resource guide developed pursuant to this section publicly available on its website.
4. a. The Department of Education shall, after consideration of the recommendations provided by the working group established pursuant to section 1 of this act, select one or more early intervention assessments to be used by educators to assess the language and literacy development of deaf and hard of hearing children. The selected assessments shall track the development of deaf and hard of hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy, and shall be appropriate for the assessment of children from birth to five years of age.
b. The department shall disseminate the assessments selected pursuant to this section to school districts, and shall provide materials and training on their use.
5. The Department of Education shall annually collect and publicly report data on the language acquisition and developmental progress of children from age two to age five who are deaf or hard of hearing.
6. The Early Intervention Program in the Department of Health, established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1993, c.309 (C.26:1A-36.7), shall annually collect and publicly report data on the language acquisition and developmental progress of infants and toddlers from birth to age two who are deaf or hard of hearing.
7. This act shall take effect immediately and the working group shall expire on the 30th day after the submission of its report.
