Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB354 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R5287 KJE-F
2	2	By: Watson S.B. No. 354
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to language acquisition for children less than eight years
8	8	of age who are deaf or hard of hearing.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 29.301, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subdivision (2-a) and amending Subdivision (3) to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	(2-a) "Deaf or hard of hearing" means a hearing loss in
14	14	one or both ears of 20 dB HL or greater in the frequency region
15	15	important for speech recognition and comprehension, approximately
16	16	500 through 4,000 Hz.
17	17	(3) "English" includes writing, reading, and speech in
18	18	the English language [, speech reading, cued speech, and any
19	19	English-based manual-visual method of communication].
20	20	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
21	21	amended by adding Section 29.316 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 29.316. LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. (a) In this section:
23	23	(1) "Advisory committee" means the advisory committee
24	24	established under Subsection (c).
25	25	(2) "Center" means the Educational Resource Center on
26	26	Deafness at the Texas School for the Deaf.
27	27	(3) "Division" means the Division for Early Childhood
28	28	Intervention Services of the Health and Human Services Commission.
29	29	(4) "Language acquisition" includes expressive and
30	30	receptive language acquisition and literacy development in both
31	31	English and American Sign Language.
32	32	(5) "Plan" means an individual family service plan or
33	33	individualized education program created under the Individuals
34	34	with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.) or
35	35	a plan created under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
36	36	U.S.C. Section 794), for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.
37	37	(6) "Team" means an individualized family service plan
38	38	team or individualized education program team established under the
39	39	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
40	40	et seq.) or a team established under Section 504, Rehabilitation
41	41	Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), for a child who is deaf or hard
42	42	of hearing.
43	43	(b) The agency, the division, and the center jointly shall
44	44	develop a program as provided by this section to monitor and improve
45	45	the language acquisition of children less than eight years of age
46	46	who are deaf or hard of hearing.
47	47	(c) The commissioner shall establish an advisory committee
48	48	on language acquisition for children less than eight years of age
49	49	who are deaf or hard of hearing. The advisory committee consists of
50	50	13 members, appointed by the commissioner, who must:
51	51	(1) for at least seven of the members, be deaf or hard
52	52	of hearing;
53	53	(2) be fluent in American Sign Language;
54	54	(3) possess relevant subject matter expertise and
55	55	experience; and
56	56	(4) include the following persons:
57	57	(A) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of
58	58	hearing and uses both English and American Sign Language;
59	59	(B) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of
60	60	hearing and uses only English;
61	61	(C) five teachers who teach children who are deaf
62	62	or hard of hearing, including:
63	63	(i) a teacher who teaches children who use
64	64	both English and American Sign Language;
65	65	(ii) a teacher at a nonpublic, nonsectarian
66	66	school that is accredited by an organization that is recognized by
67	67	the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission;
68	68	(iii) a teacher whose expertise is in
69	69	curriculum and instruction in both English and American Sign
70	70	Language;
71	71	(iv) a teacher whose expertise is in
72	72	curriculum and instruction in English only; and
73	73	(v) a teacher whose expertise is in
74	74	language assessments for both English and American Sign Language;
75	75	(D) an expert who researches language outcomes
76	76	for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and use both English
77	77	and American Sign Language;
78	78	(E) an expert who researches language outcomes
79	79	for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and use only English;
80	80	(F) an advocate for the teaching and use of both
81	81	English and American Sign Language for children who are deaf or hard
82	82	of hearing;
83	83	(G) an advocate for the teaching and use of
84	84	English only for children who are deaf or hard of hearing;
85	85	(H) a specialist in early childhood intervention
86	86	who works with infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing
87	87	and use both English and American Sign Language; and
88	88	(I) a speech-language pathologist who
89	89	specializes in spoken English.
90	90	(d) A member of the advisory committee is not entitled to
91	91	compensation for services provided.
92	92	(e) Each year the advisory committee shall elect one of its
93	93	members to serve as presiding officer for a term of one year.
94	94	(f) The advisory committee shall:
95	95	(1) make recommendations to the agency, the division,
96	96	and the center regarding:
97	97	(A) the English and American Sign Language
98	98	assessment instruments to be included in the parent resource
99	99	developed under Subsection (g) and the tools or assessments for
100	100	educators selected under Subsection (h); and
101	101	(B) developments in scientific research on
102	102	improving the measurement of progress in the language acquisition
103	103	of children less than eight years of age who are deaf or hard of
104	104	hearing;
105	105	(2) advise the agency and the division on the content
106	106	and administration of any assessment instrument adopted by the
107	107	agency or the division to assess the language acquisition of
108	108	children less than eight years of age who are deaf or hard of
109	109	hearing to ensure the appropriate use of that instrument; and
110	110	(3) oversee the identification, assessment, and
111	111	assistance of children less than eight years of age who are deaf or
112	112	hard of hearing and who do not make satisfactory progress in
113	113	language acquisition as provided by Subsection (j).
114	114	(g) The agency, the division, and the center jointly shall
115	115	develop a resource designed for use by parents of children who are
116	116	deaf or hard of hearing to monitor and track their children's
117	117	language acquisition and developmental stages toward literacy in
118	118	both English and American Sign Language. The resource must:
119	119	(1) include English and American Sign Language
120	120	assessment instruments to assess the language acquisition of
121	121	children less than eight years of age who are deaf or hard of
122	122	hearing, selected based on the advisory committee's
123	123	recommendations under Subsection (f);
124	124	(2) be:
125	125	(A) appropriate for use, in both content and
126	126	administration, with children less than eight years of age who are
127	127	deaf or hard of hearing;
128	128	(B) written for clarity and ease of use by
129	129	parents; and
130	130	(C) aligned to:
131	131	(i) the agency's existing infant, toddler,
132	132	and preschool guidelines;
133	133	(ii) state standards in English; and
134	134	(iii) the instrument or instruments used to
135	135	assess the development of children with disabilities under the
136	136	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
137	137	et seq.) and Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
138	138	Section 794);
139	139	(3) present progress in language acquisition in terms
140	140	of typical development of all children, by appropriate age range;
141	141	(4) make clear that the parent's observations of the
142	142	child may differ from assessment data presented at a team meeting;
143	143	and
144	144	(5) inform the parent that the parent may bring the
145	145	resource to a team meeting to share the parent's observations of the
146	146	child's development.
147	147	(h) The agency, the division, and the center jointly shall
148	148	select tools or assessments for use by educators to assess the
149	149	language acquisition of children less than eight years of age who
150	150	are deaf or hard of hearing. The tools or assessments:
151	151	(1) must be:
152	152	(A) in a format that details the stages of
153	153	language development for learners of English and American Sign
154	154	Language;
155	155	(B) for use by educators to track the language
156	156	acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy for
157	157	children less than eight years of age who are deaf or hard of
158	158	hearing;
159	159	(C) selected from existing tools or assessments
160	160	designed to assess language acquisition for all children less than
161	161	eight years of age, by appropriate age range; and
162	162	(D) appropriate, in both content and
163	163	administration, for use with children less than eight years of age
164	164	who are deaf or hard of hearing; and
165	165	(2) may:
166	166	(A) reflect the recommendations of the advisory
167	167	committee under Subsection (f); and
168	168	(B) be used in addition to the assessment
169	169	required to be conducted by a team established under the
170	170	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400
171	171	et seq.) or Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
172	172	Section 794), as applicable, to:
173	173	(i) track the development of language
174	174	acquisition for children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and
175	175	(ii) establish or modify a plan.
176	176	(i) The agency and the division shall distribute:
177	177	(1) the resource developed under Subsection (g) to
178	178	parents and guardians of children less than eight years of age who
179	179	are deaf or hard of hearing; and
180	180	(2) the tools or assessments selected under Subsection
181	181	(h) and materials and training on their use to local education
182	182	agencies.
183	183	(j) A team established for a child less than eight years of
184	184	age who is deaf or hard of hearing must assess the child's language
185	185	acquisition not less than once every three months. If the child
186	186	does not demonstrate satisfactory progress in both English and
187	187	American Sign Language, as measured by a tool or assessment
188	188	selected under Subsection (h) or the instrument used to assess the
189	189	development of children with disabilities under the Individuals
190	190	with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.) or
191	191	Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794), as
192	192	applicable, the child's team shall, as part of the process required
193	193	by federal law:
194	194	(1) explain in detail to the advisory committee the
195	195	reasons why the child is not making satisfactory progress; and
196	196	(2) recommend to the advisory committee specific
197	197	strategies, services, and programs to be provided to the child to
198	198	assist the child's language acquisition.
199	199	(k) Not later than July 31 of each year, the agency and the
200	200	division jointly shall prepare a report on the language acquisition
201	201	of children less than eight years of age who are deaf or hard of
202	202	hearing. The report must:
203	203	(1) rely on existing data reported in compliance with
204	204	federal law regarding children with disabilities;
205	205	(2) include information relating to the language
206	206	acquisition of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and who also
207	207	have other disabilities;
208	208	(3) compare progress in English literacy made by
209	209	children who are deaf or hard of hearing to progress in that subject
210	210	made by children of the same age who are not deaf or hard of hearing,
211	211	by appropriate age range; and
212	212	(4) be posted on the agency's, the division's, and the
213	213	center's respective Internet websites.
214	214	(l) The commissioner and the executive commissioner of the
215	215	Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt rules as necessary
216	216	to implement this section, including rules for implementing this
217	217	section in a manner that complies with federal law regarding
218	218	confidentiality of student medical or educational information,
219	219	including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
220	220	of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.) and the Family Educational
221	221	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g), and any
222	222	state law relating to the privacy of student information.
223	223	SECTION 3. (a) In this section:
224	224	(1) "Advisory committee" means the advisory committee
225	225	established under Section 29.316(c), Education Code, as added by
226	226	this Act.
227	227	(2) "Agency" means the Texas Education Agency.
228	228	(3) "Center" means the Educational Resource Center on
229	229	Deafness at the Texas School for the Deaf.
230	230	(4) "Division" means the Division for Early Childhood
231	231	Intervention Services of the Health and Human Services Commission.
232	232	(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
233	233	Act, the commissioner of education shall appoint the members of the
234	234	advisory committee.
235	235	(c) Not later than January 1, 2018, the agency and the
236	236	division jointly shall provide to the advisory committee a list of
237	237	existing English and American Sign Language assessment instruments
238	238	that meet the requirements under Section 29.316(g)(2)(C),
239	239	Education Code, as added by this Act, and any relevant information
240	240	possessed by the agency or the division regarding those assessment
241	241	instruments.
242	242	(d) Not later than April 1, 2018, the advisory committee
243	243	shall make its initial recommendations to the agency and the
244	244	division regarding the English and American Sign Language
245	245	assessment instruments to be included in the parent resource
246	246	developed under Section 29.316(g), Education Code, as added by this
247	247	Act.
248	248	(e) Not later than April 30, 2018, the agency and the
249	249	division jointly shall select one or more English and American Sign
250	250	Language assessment instruments to be included in the parent
251	251	resource developed under Section 29.316(g), Education Code, as
252	252	added by this Act, and inform the advisory committee of the
253	253	instrument or instruments selected.
254	254	(f) As soon as practicable after the selection of one or
255	255	more assessment instruments under Subsection (e) of this section:
256	256	(1) the agency, the division, and the center jointly
257	257	shall develop the parent resource under Section 29.316(g),
258	258	Education Code, as added by this Act, and the tools or assessments
259	259	for educators under Section 29.316(h), Education Code, as added by
260	260	this Act; and
261	261	(2) the agency and the division shall distribute the
262	262	parent resource and the tools or assessments for educators as
263	263	provided by Section 29.316(i), Education Code, as added by this
264	264	Act.
265	265	(g) Not later than July 1, 2018, the agency and the division
266	266	jointly shall prepare the initial report required under Section
267	267	29.316(k), Education Code, as added by this Act, and ensure the
268	268	report is posted as required by that subsection.
269	269	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.