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SENATE BILL NO. 8
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON
Introduced: 1/10/25
Referred: Prefiled
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to public school students who are deaf or hard of hearing." 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 2
* Section 1. AS 14.30.272 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 3
(c) A school district shall 4
(1) provide a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 5
the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, with comprehensive, 6
neutral, and unbiased information regarding 7
(A) hearing technology, including hearing aids, bone-anchored 8
hearing aids, cochlear implants, and remote microphone systems; 9
(B) different methods of communication for a child who is deaf 10
or hard of hearing, including listening and spoken language, a bilingual 11
approach, cued speech, and total communication; 12
(C) services and programs that are designed to meet the needs 13
of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and 14
(D) support and advocacy services offered by public and 15 34-LS0075\A
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private agencies and other entities knowledgeable about the needs of children 1
who are deaf or hard of hearing; 2
(2) allow the parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 3
the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, to choose the method of 4
communication that the parent determines is most appropriate for the child and 5
provide services using the parent's chosen method of communication for the child; and 6
(3) deliver services to a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 7
the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, through professionals with 8
training, experience, and a background in the chosen method of communication. 9
(d) A school district shall inform a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of 10
hearing, or who the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, of the 11
school district's duties and of the parent's rights provided under (c) of this section. 12
(e) In this section, 13
(1) "bilingual approach" means the development of both sign language 14
and English language literacy skills as a child's mode of receptive and expressive 15
communication; 16
(2) "cued speech" means a visual communication system that uses 17
hand shapes and placements in combination with the mouth movements of speech to 18
identify the phonemes of spoken language that look similar to one another; 19
(3) "deaf" means possessing hearing levels that, with or without 20
hearing technology, substantially affect a child's ability to understand spoken 21
language; 22
(4) "hard of hearing" means possessing hearing levels that, with or 23
without hearing technology, affect a child's ability to understand spoken language; 24
(5) "listening and spoken language" means communication that 25
focuses on maximizing listening through the use of hearing technologies, professional 26
intervention, and family involvement and support to facilitate the acquisition and 27
development of the spoken language of the child's home and community; 28
(6) "total communication" means the combined use of signs, speech, 29
speech-reading, auditory training, visual aids, manual gestures, and writing to convey 30
information. 31 34-LS0075\A
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* Sec. 2. AS 14.30.276 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 1
(b) The department shall establish and operate a centralized program for the 2
deaf to be made available to deaf students in the state. The program must provide 3
residential services as part of its educational program. The program may be operated 4
by a school district under an agreement with the department. If a school district 5
operates the program, the school district shall annually submit a plan of operations to 6
the department for approval and shall perform all duties of a local school district 7
related to special education under state and federal law, except that the school district 8
is required to offer transportation only to students who reside in the district. If a school 9
district determines that placement at the program is appropriate for a child who resides 10
in the district, the school district that makes the placement retains the school district's 11
responsibilities for special education for that child under state and federal law. The 12
department shall provide to a school district that operates the program funding for 13
students who attend the program. 14