| 1 | 1 | | II |
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| 2 | 2 | | 118THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 2904 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To support national training, technical assistance, and resource centers, to |
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| 6 | 6 | | ensure that all individuals with significant expressive communication dis- |
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| 7 | 7 | | abilities have access to the augmentative and alternative communication |
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| 8 | 8 | | the individuals need to interact with others, in order to learn, work, |
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| 9 | 9 | | socialize, and take advantage of all aspects of life in the United States. |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
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| 11 | 11 | | SEPTEMBER21, 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Mr. C |
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| 13 | 13 | | ASEY(for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. FETTERMAN, and Mr. MARKEY) |
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| 14 | 14 | | introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the |
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| 15 | 15 | | Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions |
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| 16 | 16 | | A BILL |
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| 17 | 17 | | To support national training, technical assistance, and re- |
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| 18 | 18 | | source centers, to ensure that all individuals with signifi- |
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| 19 | 19 | | cant expressive communication disabilities have access |
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| 20 | 20 | | to the augmentative and alternative communication the |
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| 21 | 21 | | individuals need to interact with others, in order to learn, |
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| 22 | 22 | | work, socialize, and take advantage of all aspects of |
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| 23 | 23 | | life in the United States. |
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| 24 | 24 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 25 | 25 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Augmentative and Al-2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | ternative Communication Centers of Excellence and Na-3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | tional Technical Assistance Act’’ or the ‘‘AACCENT Act’’. 4 |
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| 33 | 33 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Congress makes the following findings: 6 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) Communication is a basic human need and 7 |
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| 36 | 36 | | fundamental right, and is essential to self-deter-8 |
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| 37 | 37 | | mination, social inclusion, and emotional and phys-9 |
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| 38 | 38 | | ical well-being. In enacting a provision of the Ameri-10 |
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| 39 | 39 | | cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (referred to in 11 |
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| 40 | 40 | | this section as the ‘‘ADA’’), Congress recognized 12 |
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| 41 | 41 | | that ‘‘physical or mental disabilities in no way di-13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | minish a person’s right to fully participate in all as-14 |
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| 43 | 43 | | pects of society,’’ and that ‘‘the discriminatory ef-15 |
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| 44 | 44 | | fects of communication barriers’’ are a form of dis-16 |
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| 45 | 45 | | crimination. 17 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (2) Three decades after the passage of the 18 |
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| 47 | 47 | | ADA, Americans with significant expressive commu-19 |
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| 48 | 48 | | nication disabilities still experience discrimination in 20 |
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| 49 | 49 | | the form of communication barriers, institutionaliza-21 |
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| 50 | 50 | | tion, segregation, and relegation to lesser services, 22 |
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| 51 | 51 | | programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportu-23 |
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| 52 | 52 | | nities compared to Americans without significant ex-24 |
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| 53 | 53 | | pressive communication disabilities. 25 |
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| 55 | 55 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 57 | 57 | | (3) Data about augmentative and alternative 1 |
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| 58 | 58 | | communication is lacking, but it is estimated there 2 |
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| 59 | 59 | | are at least 4,000,000 people in the United States 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | who cannot reliably meet their daily communication 4 |
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| 61 | 61 | | needs using natural speech. 5 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (4) The population of individuals with signifi-6 |
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| 63 | 63 | | cant expressive communication difficulties is at sub-7 |
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| 64 | 64 | | stantial risk for limited education, unemployment, 8 |
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| 65 | 65 | | poor health outcomes, poverty, and low quality of 9 |
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| 66 | 66 | | life. 10 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (5) People can acquire a significant expressive 11 |
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| 68 | 68 | | communication disability and need augmentative and 12 |
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| 69 | 69 | | alternative communication as a result of many 13 |
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| 70 | 70 | | health and developmental conditions at all stages of 14 |
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| 71 | 71 | | life. 15 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (6) Research indicates that individuals who be-16 |
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| 73 | 73 | | long to racial or ethnic minority communities face a 17 |
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| 74 | 74 | | greater likelihood of being born with or acquiring ex-18 |
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| 75 | 75 | | pressive communication disabilities, as well as added 19 |
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| 76 | 76 | | difficulties in obtaining intervention services, includ-20 |
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| 77 | 77 | | ing augmentative and alternative communication. 21 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (7) Individuals with significant expressive com-22 |
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| 79 | 79 | | munication disabilities, schools, families, employers, 23 |
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| 80 | 80 | | direct support providers, health care providers, the 24 |
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| 81 | 81 | | justice system, and the general public need more in-25 |
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| 83 | 83 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 85 | 85 | | formation about how to effectively deploy, imple-1 |
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| 86 | 86 | | ment, and ensure continued access to robust commu-2 |
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| 87 | 87 | | nication tools, services, and other supports for indi-3 |
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| 88 | 88 | | viduals with significant expressive communication 4 |
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| 89 | 89 | | disabilities. 5 |
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| 90 | 90 | | (8) The lived experiences and writings of indi-6 |
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| 91 | 91 | | viduals with significant expressive communication 7 |
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| 92 | 92 | | disabilities demonstrate the positive impact aug-8 |
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| 93 | 93 | | mentative and alternative communication has on 9 |
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| 94 | 94 | | their lives. These lived experiences and writings also 10 |
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| 95 | 95 | | illustrate the harm that results from denying aug-11 |
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| 96 | 96 | | mentative and alternative communication to those 12 |
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| 97 | 97 | | who need it. 13 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (9) The leadership of individuals with signifi-14 |
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| 99 | 99 | | cant expressive communication disabilities is critical 15 |
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| 100 | 100 | | in crafting and implementing effective policies and 16 |
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| 101 | 101 | | programs affecting their lives, including policies and 17 |
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| 102 | 102 | | programs regarding augmentative and alternative 18 |
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| 103 | 103 | | communication. 19 |
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| 104 | 104 | | (10) The freedoms of expression, and to be un-20 |
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| 105 | 105 | | derstood, are essential to both democracy and to in-21 |
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| 106 | 106 | | dividual well-being. Individuals with significant ex-22 |
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| 107 | 107 | | pressive communication disabilities must be afforded 23 |
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| 108 | 108 | | equal rights, opportunities, strategies, technologies, 24 |
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| 109 | 109 | | services, and other supports to effectively express 25 |
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| 112 | 112 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 113 | 113 | | themselves and participate in their communities and 1 |
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| 114 | 114 | | in democracy. 2 |
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| 115 | 115 | | SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 3 |
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| 116 | 116 | | The purpose of this Act is to work toward eliminating 4 |
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| 117 | 117 | | the continued discrimination, isolation, marginalization, 5 |
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| 118 | 118 | | and denial of equal opportunity of individuals with signifi-6 |
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| 119 | 119 | | cant expressive communication disabilities by providing for 7 |
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| 120 | 120 | | comprehensive national training, technical assistance, and 8 |
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| 121 | 121 | | resource centers to improve— 9 |
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| 122 | 122 | | (1) access to a full range of augmentative and 10 |
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| 123 | 123 | | alternative communication; 11 |
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| 124 | 124 | | (2) access to equal opportunity; 12 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (3) awareness and implementation of relevant 13 |
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| 126 | 126 | | laws, policies, and practices; 14 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (4) leadership and self-advocacy skills; 15 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (5) capacity, in the case of individuals with sig-16 |
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| 129 | 129 | | nificant expressive communication disabilities, edu-17 |
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| 130 | 130 | | cators, professionals, and families; 18 |
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| 131 | 131 | | (6) national statistical data; and 19 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (7) societal awareness. 20 |
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| 133 | 133 | | SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 21 |
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| 134 | 134 | | In this Act: 22 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (1) A |
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| 136 | 136 | | DVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘advisory 23 |
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| 137 | 137 | | council’’ means an 11-person advisory council that— 24 |
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| 140 | 140 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 141 | 141 | | (A) provides guidance, recommendations, 1 |
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| 142 | 142 | | and oversight to an eligible entity; 2 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (B) is comprised exclusively of individuals 3 |
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| 144 | 144 | | with significant expressive communication dis-4 |
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| 145 | 145 | | abilities who collectively have diverse— 5 |
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| 146 | 146 | | (i) educational and professional back-6 |
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| 147 | 147 | | grounds; 7 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (ii) racial, ethnic, gender, and lin-8 |
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| 149 | 149 | | guistic identities; 9 |
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| 150 | 150 | | (iii) disabilities, including intellectual 10 |
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| 151 | 151 | | disabilities, ages, and geographic locations; 11 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (iv) levels of income; and 12 |
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| 153 | 153 | | (v) forms of augmentative and alter-13 |
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| 154 | 154 | | native communication relied upon; and 14 |
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| 155 | 155 | | (C) is subject to each of the following con-15 |
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| 156 | 156 | | ditions: 16 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (i) The initial council members shall 17 |
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| 158 | 158 | | be identified in the grant application by 18 |
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| 159 | 159 | | the partners of the eligible entity. 19 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (ii) Each member of the advisory 20 |
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| 161 | 161 | | council shall be appointed for a period of 21 |
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| 162 | 162 | | 5 years. 22 |
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| 163 | 163 | | (iii) The Chair and Vice Chair of the 23 |
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| 164 | 164 | | council shall be selected by the council 24 |
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| 165 | 165 | | members at the first meeting and there-25 |
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| 168 | 168 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 169 | 169 | | after as the council determines to be ap-1 |
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| 170 | 170 | | propriate. 2 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (iv) The council shall fill any vacancy 3 |
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| 172 | 172 | | in accordance with section 7(b)(8)(C). 4 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (2) A |
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| 174 | 174 | | UGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMU -5 |
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| 175 | 175 | | NICATION.—The term ‘‘augmentative and alternative 6 |
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| 176 | 176 | | communication’’ means any tool, method, tech-7 |
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| 177 | 177 | | nology, strategy, service, training, coaching, and 8 |
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| 178 | 178 | | other support used to supplement or replace speech. 9 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (3) C |
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| 180 | 180 | | OMPETITIVE INTEGRATED EMPLOY -10 |
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| 181 | 181 | | MENT.—The term ‘‘competitive integrated employ-11 |
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| 182 | 182 | | ment’’ has the meaning given the term in section 7 12 |
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| 183 | 183 | | of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705). 13 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (4) D |
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| 185 | 185 | | ISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 14 |
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| 186 | 186 | | meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri-15 |
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| 187 | 187 | | cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 16 |
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| 188 | 188 | | 12102). 17 |
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| 189 | 189 | | (5) E |
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| 190 | 190 | | LIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-18 |
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| 191 | 191 | | ty’’ means a partnership of at least 2 organiza-19 |
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| 192 | 192 | | tions— 20 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (A) for which the controlling partner of the 21 |
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| 194 | 194 | | partnership is a nonprofit organization 22 |
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| 195 | 195 | | headquartered in the United States that vests 23 |
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| 196 | 196 | | power and authority in individuals with signifi-24 |
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| 197 | 197 | | cant expressive communication disabilities in 25 |
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| 200 | 200 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 201 | 201 | | terms of management, staffing, decisionmaking, 1 |
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| 202 | 202 | | operation, and provision of services; 2 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (B) that includes at least one other organi-3 |
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| 204 | 204 | | zation headquartered in the United States that 4 |
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| 205 | 205 | | is either an institution of higher education or 5 |
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| 206 | 206 | | an association of professional service providers 6 |
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| 207 | 207 | | or educators in the field of significant expres-7 |
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| 208 | 208 | | sive communication disabilities; 8 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (C) that has a cross-disability and cross- 9 |
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| 210 | 210 | | generational focus; 10 |
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| 211 | 211 | | (D) that is advised by an advisory council; 11 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (E) that has adopted a mission that values 12 |
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| 213 | 213 | | equal opportunity and the fundamental right of 13 |
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| 214 | 214 | | communication access, and operating principles 14 |
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| 215 | 215 | | that respect the rights of individuals with sig-15 |
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| 216 | 216 | | nificant expressive communication disabilities to 16 |
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| 217 | 217 | | express themselves in the manner of their 17 |
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| 218 | 218 | | choosing; and 18 |
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| 219 | 219 | | (F) of which the organizational members, 19 |
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| 220 | 220 | | collectively— 20 |
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| 221 | 221 | | (i) have knowledge, experience, and 21 |
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| 222 | 222 | | capacity in conducting training, technical 22 |
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| 223 | 223 | | assistance, or knowledge dissemination re-23 |
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| 224 | 224 | | lated to the priority activities described in 24 |
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| 225 | 225 | | section 6; 25 |
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| 228 | 228 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 229 | 229 | | (ii) have experience working directly 1 |
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| 230 | 230 | | with individuals with significant expressive 2 |
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| 231 | 231 | | communication disabilities in association 3 |
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| 232 | 232 | | with— 4 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (I) early intervention programs, 5 |
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| 234 | 234 | | early childhood programs, elementary 6 |
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| 235 | 235 | | or secondary schools, or postsecondary 7 |
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| 236 | 236 | | education programs; or 8 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (II) 2 or more types of entities 9 |
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| 238 | 238 | | from among— 10 |
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| 239 | 239 | | (aa) centers for independent 11 |
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| 240 | 240 | | living authorized under part C of 12 |
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| 241 | 241 | | title VII of the Rehabilitation Act 13 |
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| 242 | 242 | | of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.); 14 |
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| 243 | 243 | | (bb) home and community- 15 |
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| 244 | 244 | | based service providers; 16 |
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| 245 | 245 | | (cc) employers; 17 |
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| 246 | 246 | | (dd) health care providers; 18 |
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| 247 | 247 | | (ee) protection and advocacy 19 |
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| 248 | 248 | | organizations; 20 |
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| 249 | 249 | | (ff) aging networks; 21 |
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| 250 | 250 | | (gg) caregiver organizations; 22 |
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| 251 | 251 | | or 23 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (hh) State, Tribal, or local 24 |
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| 253 | 253 | | government agencies; and 25 |
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| 256 | 256 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 257 | 257 | | (iii) have experience developing and 1 |
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| 258 | 258 | | maintaining collaborative working relation-2 |
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| 259 | 259 | | ships among disability-led advocacy organi-3 |
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| 260 | 260 | | zations, institutions of higher education, 4 |
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| 261 | 261 | | professional associations, or caregiver orga-5 |
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| 262 | 262 | | nizations. 6 |
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| 263 | 263 | | (6) E |
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| 264 | 264 | | VIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence- 7 |
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| 265 | 265 | | based’’, used with respect to assistance that is 8 |
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| 266 | 266 | | knowledge, a resource, training, or technical assist-9 |
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| 267 | 267 | | ance, means assistance— 10 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (A) that demonstrates a rationale based on 11 |
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| 269 | 269 | | a high-quality research finding or positive eval-12 |
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| 270 | 270 | | uation that such assistance is likely to improve 13 |
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| 271 | 271 | | a communication outcome or other relevant out-14 |
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| 272 | 272 | | come; and 15 |
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| 273 | 273 | | (B) for which ongoing efforts are made to 16 |
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| 274 | 274 | | examine the effects of the assistance. 17 |
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| 275 | 275 | | (7) I |
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| 276 | 276 | | NDIVIDUAL WITH SIGNIFICANT EXPRES -18 |
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| 277 | 277 | | SIVE COMMUNICATION DISABILITIES .—The term ‘‘in-19 |
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| 278 | 278 | | dividual with significant expressive communication 20 |
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| 279 | 279 | | disabilities’’ means an individual of any age— 21 |
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| 280 | 280 | | (A) who has 1 or more real or perceived 22 |
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| 281 | 281 | | significant expressive communication disabilities 23 |
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| 282 | 282 | | and may have other disabilities; and 24 |
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| 285 | 285 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 286 | 286 | | (B) whose disabilities result in the individ-1 |
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| 287 | 287 | | ual’s need for, or benefit from, augmentative 2 |
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| 288 | 288 | | and alternative communication and other sup-3 |
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| 289 | 289 | | ports to enable the individual to communicate 4 |
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| 290 | 290 | | and to aid the individual in participating in 1 5 |
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| 291 | 291 | | or more aspects of life. 6 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (8) I |
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| 293 | 293 | | NSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION .—The 7 |
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| 294 | 294 | | term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 8 |
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| 295 | 295 | | meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 9 |
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| 296 | 296 | | Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 10 |
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| 297 | 297 | | (9) N |
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| 298 | 298 | | ATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER .—The term 11 |
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| 299 | 299 | | ‘‘national resource center’’ means a National Re-12 |
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| 300 | 300 | | source Center on Augmentative and Alternative 13 |
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| 301 | 301 | | Communication referred to in section 5(a). 14 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (10) S |
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| 303 | 303 | | ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 15 |
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| 304 | 304 | | means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 16 |
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| 305 | 305 | | (11) S |
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| 306 | 306 | | IGNIFICANT EXPRESSIVE COMMUNICA -17 |
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| 307 | 307 | | TION DISABILITY.— 18 |
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| 308 | 308 | | (A) I |
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| 309 | 309 | | N GENERAL.—The term ‘‘significant 19 |
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| 310 | 310 | | expressive communication disability’’ means any 20 |
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| 311 | 311 | | disability, whether congenital, developmental, or 21 |
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| 312 | 312 | | acquired at any point in life, that prevents or 22 |
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| 313 | 313 | | significantly limits an individual from under-23 |
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| 314 | 314 | | standing or being understood using spoken 24 |
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| 315 | 315 | | words, resulting in the individual’s need for or 25 |
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| 318 | 318 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 319 | 319 | | benefit from augmentative and alternative com-1 |
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| 320 | 320 | | munication. 2 |
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| 321 | 321 | | (B) A |
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| 322 | 322 | | PPLICATION.—The term does not 3 |
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| 323 | 323 | | apply to an individual whose primary commu-4 |
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| 324 | 324 | | nication disability is visual or auditory in na-5 |
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| 325 | 325 | | ture, but does apply to an individual with a dis-6 |
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| 326 | 326 | | ability described in subparagraph (A) who also 7 |
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| 327 | 327 | | has a visual or auditory communication dis-8 |
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| 328 | 328 | | ability and who may communicate using sign 9 |
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| 329 | 329 | | language. 10 |
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| 330 | 330 | | (12) S |
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| 331 | 331 | | TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 11 |
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| 332 | 332 | | States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 12 |
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| 333 | 333 | | of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 13 |
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| 334 | 334 | | Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 14 |
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| 335 | 335 | | the Northern Mariana Islands. 15 |
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| 336 | 336 | | SEC. 5. GRANTS. 16 |
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| 337 | 337 | | (a) I |
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| 338 | 338 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 3 17 |
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| 339 | 339 | | grants through an open competition to eligible entities, 18 |
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| 340 | 340 | | with applications approved under section 7, to create, 19 |
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| 341 | 341 | | maintain, and administer a network of National Resource 20 |
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| 342 | 342 | | Centers on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 21 |
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| 343 | 343 | | Each national resource center shall be a comprehensive 22 |
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| 344 | 344 | | training, technical assistance, and resource center created 23 |
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| 345 | 345 | | to work toward eliminating the continued discrimination 24 |
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| 346 | 346 | | against, isolation of, marginalization of, and denial of ef-25 |
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| 348 | 348 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 13 |
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| 349 | 349 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 350 | 350 | | fective communication for and equal opportunity of, indi-1 |
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| 351 | 351 | | viduals with significant expressive communication disabil-2 |
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| 352 | 352 | | ities, through activities including the priority activities de-3 |
|---|
| 353 | 353 | | scribed in section 6. 4 |
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| 354 | 354 | | (b) A |
|---|
| 355 | 355 | | WARDS FOR MULTIPLECENTERS.—The Sec-5 |
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| 356 | 356 | | retary shall award the grants for national resource centers 6 |
|---|
| 357 | 357 | | in 3 geographically diverse locations, and shall designate 7 |
|---|
| 358 | 358 | | one of the centers as the lead administrative center. 8 |
|---|
| 359 | 359 | | (c) L |
|---|
| 360 | 360 | | EADADMINISTRATIVECENTER.—The lead ad-9 |
|---|
| 361 | 361 | | ministrative center shall coordinate— 10 |
|---|
| 362 | 362 | | (1) all activities of the centers; 11 |
|---|
| 363 | 363 | | (2) specialization of priorities among the cen-12 |
|---|
| 364 | 364 | | ters; 13 |
|---|
| 365 | 365 | | (3) dissemination of information among the 14 |
|---|
| 366 | 366 | | centers; 15 |
|---|
| 367 | 367 | | (4) responses of the centers to the Secretary; 16 |
|---|
| 368 | 368 | | and 17 |
|---|
| 369 | 369 | | (5) ensuring that the full range of individuals 18 |
|---|
| 370 | 370 | | with significant expressive communication disabil-19 |
|---|
| 371 | 371 | | ities is served by the centers. 20 |
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| 372 | 372 | | (d) A |
|---|
| 373 | 373 | | MOUNT.—The Secretary shall, to the extent 21 |
|---|
| 374 | 374 | | practicable, award the 3 grants in amounts that total not 22 |
|---|
| 375 | 375 | | more than $9,000,000 per year of a period described in 23 |
|---|
| 376 | 376 | | subsection (e). 24 |
|---|
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| 378 | 378 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 14 |
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| 379 | 379 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 380 | 380 | | (e) PERIODS.—The Secretary shall award each grant 1 |
|---|
| 381 | 381 | | for a period of 5 years, through an open competition held 2 |
|---|
| 382 | 382 | | initially and at the end of each 5-year period. An eligible 3 |
|---|
| 383 | 383 | | entity that receives a grant under this section may reapply 4 |
|---|
| 384 | 384 | | for such a grant at the end of the grant period. 5 |
|---|
| 385 | 385 | | SEC. 6. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER PRIORITY ACTIVI-6 |
|---|
| 386 | 386 | | TIES. 7 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | The priority activities of a national resource center 8 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | shall be to— 9 |
|---|
| 389 | 389 | | (1) increase access to and effective implementa-10 |
|---|
| 390 | 390 | | tion of the full range of augmentative and alter-11 |
|---|
| 391 | 391 | | native communication for all individuals with signifi-12 |
|---|
| 392 | 392 | | cant expressive communication disabilities in the 13 |
|---|
| 393 | 393 | | United States, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, 14 |
|---|
| 394 | 394 | | gender, gender identity, LGBTQ+ status, immigra-15 |
|---|
| 395 | 395 | | tion status, educational achievement, socioeconomic 16 |
|---|
| 396 | 396 | | condition, primary language, nature or severity of 17 |
|---|
| 397 | 397 | | disability, location of residence, and age of onset of 18 |
|---|
| 398 | 398 | | the significant expressive communication disability; 19 |
|---|
| 399 | 399 | | (2) increase the capacity of individuals with sig-20 |
|---|
| 400 | 400 | | nificant expressive communication disabilities, edu-21 |
|---|
| 401 | 401 | | cators, professional service providers, families, and 22 |
|---|
| 402 | 402 | | direct support professionals to support individuals 23 |
|---|
| 403 | 403 | | with significant expressive communication disabil-24 |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | ities by creating and disseminating evidence-based 25 |
|---|
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| 406 | 406 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 15 |
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| 407 | 407 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 408 | 408 | | knowledge, resources, training and technical assist-1 |
|---|
| 409 | 409 | | ance, and recommended practices in ensuring indi-2 |
|---|
| 410 | 410 | | viduals with significant expressive communication 3 |
|---|
| 411 | 411 | | disabilities have the tools and other supports nec-4 |
|---|
| 412 | 412 | | essary to exercise self-determination and effectively 5 |
|---|
| 413 | 413 | | access and participate in all aspects of life, including 6 |
|---|
| 414 | 414 | | education, employment, health care, and community 7 |
|---|
| 415 | 415 | | living; 8 |
|---|
| 416 | 416 | | (3) promote awareness and implementation of 9 |
|---|
| 417 | 417 | | the laws, regulations, policies, practices, procedures, 10 |
|---|
| 418 | 418 | | and systems that facilitate access to the full range 11 |
|---|
| 419 | 419 | | of augmentative and alternative communication and 12 |
|---|
| 420 | 420 | | promote equal access and opportunity for individuals 13 |
|---|
| 421 | 421 | | with significant expressive communication disabil-14 |
|---|
| 422 | 422 | | ities; 15 |
|---|
| 423 | 423 | | (4) support and enhance the skills and leader-16 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | ship of individuals with significant expressive com-17 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | munication disabilities and their families to advocate 18 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | for the rights of the individuals to effective commu-19 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | nication, education, self-determination, access to jus-20 |
|---|
| 428 | 428 | | tice, and equal opportunity and participation in all 21 |
|---|
| 429 | 429 | | aspects of life; 22 |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | (5) support the improved collection, availability, 23 |
|---|
| 431 | 431 | | and dissemination of demographic and characteristic 24 |
|---|
| 432 | 432 | | data, with a cross-disability and cross-generational 25 |
|---|
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| 434 | 434 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 16 |
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| 435 | 435 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | focus, regarding individuals with significant expres-1 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | sive communication disabilities in the United States, 2 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | the barriers the individuals experience to meaningful 3 |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | access to augmentative and alternative communica-4 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | tion, and the unmet communication support and 5 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | other needs of this population; and 6 |
|---|
| 442 | 442 | | (6) increase societal awareness and knowledge 7 |
|---|
| 443 | 443 | | about individuals with significant expressive commu-8 |
|---|
| 444 | 444 | | nication disabilities and the importance of, need for, 9 |
|---|
| 445 | 445 | | benefits of, and rights to meaningful access to effec-10 |
|---|
| 446 | 446 | | tive communication tools and other supports in all 11 |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | aspects of community and life. 12 |
|---|
| 448 | 448 | | SEC. 7. APPLICATIONS. 13 |
|---|
| 449 | 449 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 450 | 450 | | NGENERAL.—To be qualified to receive a grant 14 |
|---|
| 451 | 451 | | under section 5, an eligible entity shall submit an applica-15 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 16 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | as the Secretary may require. 17 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | (b) C |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | ONTENTS.—Each such application from an eligi-18 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | ble entity shall include, at a minimum, each of the fol-19 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | lowing: 20 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | (1) A description of the experience of each part-21 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | ner organization in the entity in providing training, 22 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | information, advocacy, and support related to aug-23 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | mentative and alternative communication and indi-24 |
|---|
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| 463 | 463 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 17 |
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| 464 | 464 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | viduals with significant expressive communication 1 |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | disabilities. 2 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | (2) A description of each partner organization’s 3 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | experience in providing training, information, advo-4 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | cacy, and support related to augmentative and alter-5 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | native communication and to individuals with signifi-6 |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | cant expressive communication disabilities, to— 7 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | (A) early intervention specialists; 8 |
|---|
| 473 | 473 | | (B) elementary education, secondary edu-9 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | cation, postsecondary education, and specialized 10 |
|---|
| 475 | 475 | | instructional support personnel as defined in 11 |
|---|
| 476 | 476 | | section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 12 |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); 13 |
|---|
| 478 | 478 | | (C) caregiver groups; 14 |
|---|
| 479 | 479 | | (D) providers of home and community- 15 |
|---|
| 480 | 480 | | based services for adults; 16 |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | (E) health care providers and educators; 17 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | (F) employers; 18 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | (G) providers of services to older adults; 19 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | (H) law enforcement agencies, courts, of-20 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | fices of district attorneys, and other public and 21 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | private security agencies and businesses; 22 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | (I) institutional long-term care services 23 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | and support providers; 24 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | (J) nursing home providers; and 25 |
|---|
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| 491 | 491 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 18 |
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| 492 | 492 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | (K) other stakeholders. 1 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | (3) A description of each partner organization’s 2 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | experience working with State, local, or Tribal gov-3 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | ernment agencies in providing training, information, 4 |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | and support related to augmentative and alternative 5 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | communication for full expression and individuals 6 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | with significant expressive communication disabil-7 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | ities. 8 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | (4) A description of each partner organization’s 9 |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | prior partnerships with disability-led organizations 10 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | focused on augmentative and alternative communica-11 |
|---|
| 504 | 504 | | tion and individuals with significant expressive com-12 |
|---|
| 505 | 505 | | munication disabilities. 13 |
|---|
| 506 | 506 | | (5) Evidence of how the applicant satisfies the 14 |
|---|
| 507 | 507 | | requirements of section 4(5). 15 |
|---|
| 508 | 508 | | (6) A description of the applicant’s plan to en-16 |
|---|
| 509 | 509 | | sure that the applicant will provide training, tech-17 |
|---|
| 510 | 510 | | nical assistance, and information to target audi-18 |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | ences, especially those audiences in need of knowl-19 |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | edge and access to augmentative and alternative 20 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | communication. 21 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | (7) A description of the applicant’s plan to im-22 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | plement the priority activities in section 6, including 23 |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | how the organizational members of the eligible entity 24 |
|---|
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| 518 | 518 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 19 |
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| 519 | 519 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | will partner, collaborate, and operationalize the ac-1 |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | tivities. 2 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | (8) Advisory council information, including— 3 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | (A) a description of the advisory council, 4 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | including a list of the inaugural members of the 5 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | advisory council; 6 |
|---|
| 526 | 526 | | (B) an assurance that the Chair and Vice 7 |
|---|
| 527 | 527 | | Chair of the advisory council will be selected by 8 |
|---|
| 528 | 528 | | the advisory council members at the first meet-9 |
|---|
| 529 | 529 | | ing of the advisory council and thereafter as the 10 |
|---|
| 530 | 530 | | council determines to be appropriate; and 11 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | (C) an assurance that, in filling a vacancy 12 |
|---|
| 532 | 532 | | on the advisory council, the advisory council 13 |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | will— 14 |
|---|
| 534 | 534 | | (i) solicit nominations from the popu-15 |
|---|
| 535 | 535 | | lation of augmentative and alternative 16 |
|---|
| 536 | 536 | | communication users; 17 |
|---|
| 537 | 537 | | (ii) if there is not more than 1 nomi-18 |
|---|
| 538 | 538 | | nee for the vacancy, confirm the nominee 19 |
|---|
| 539 | 539 | | as a new member; and 20 |
|---|
| 540 | 540 | | (iii) if there is more than 1 nominee 21 |
|---|
| 541 | 541 | | for the vacancy, vote to determine the 22 |
|---|
| 542 | 542 | | nominee to fill the vacancy and subse-23 |
|---|
| 543 | 543 | | quently confirm the nominee. 24 |
|---|
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| 545 | 545 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 20 |
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| 546 | 546 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 547 | 547 | | (9) A description of how other individuals with 1 |
|---|
| 548 | 548 | | significant expressive communication disabilities will 2 |
|---|
| 549 | 549 | | be involved in the governance and operations of the 3 |
|---|
| 550 | 550 | | national resource center involved, especially through 4 |
|---|
| 551 | 551 | | employment of individuals with significant expressive 5 |
|---|
| 552 | 552 | | communication disabilities. 6 |
|---|
| 553 | 553 | | (10) A description of how the applicant will de-7 |
|---|
| 554 | 554 | | sign and make training, technical assistance, and in-8 |
|---|
| 555 | 555 | | formation available in accessible formats, including 9 |
|---|
| 556 | 556 | | plain language. 10 |
|---|
| 557 | 557 | | (11) Assurances that the applicant, acting 11 |
|---|
| 558 | 558 | | through the national resource center, will work with 12 |
|---|
| 559 | 559 | | the stakeholders identified in section 9(d). 13 |
|---|
| 560 | 560 | | (12) Assurances that the applicant, acting 14 |
|---|
| 561 | 561 | | through the national resource center, will provide the 15 |
|---|
| 562 | 562 | | Secretary with requested data and information for 16 |
|---|
| 563 | 563 | | purposes of evaluating the grant activities. 17 |
|---|
| 564 | 564 | | SEC. 8. AWARD PRIORITY. 18 |
|---|
| 565 | 565 | | In awarding grants for activities described in this 19 |
|---|
| 566 | 566 | | Act, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity 20 |
|---|
| 567 | 567 | | with at least 1 partner organization that— 21 |
|---|
| 568 | 568 | | (1) demonstrates a minimum of 3 years of ex-22 |
|---|
| 569 | 569 | | perience providing training and technical assistance 23 |
|---|
| 570 | 570 | | and disseminating information related to augment-24 |
|---|
| 571 | 571 | | ative and alternative communication and individuals 25 |
|---|
| 572 | 572 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2904.IS S2904 |
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| 573 | 573 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 21 |
|---|
| 574 | 574 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 575 | 575 | | with significant expressive communication disabil-1 |
|---|
| 576 | 576 | | ities, and being otherwise engaged in the priority ac-2 |
|---|
| 577 | 577 | | tivities described in section 6; 3 |
|---|
| 578 | 578 | | (2) demonstrates that individuals with signifi-4 |
|---|
| 579 | 579 | | cant expressive communication disabilities and those 5 |
|---|
| 580 | 580 | | who use augmentative and alternative communica-6 |
|---|
| 581 | 581 | | tion are purposefully involved in the governance and 7 |
|---|
| 582 | 582 | | operation of the organization, especially through 8 |
|---|
| 583 | 583 | | their employment in service, delivery, and leadership 9 |
|---|
| 584 | 584 | | positions; 10 |
|---|
| 585 | 585 | | (3) demonstrates the ability to collaborate with 11 |
|---|
| 586 | 586 | | disability self-advocacy, education, direct service, 12 |
|---|
| 587 | 587 | | health care, employment, aging, caregiver, and hous-13 |
|---|
| 588 | 588 | | ing organizations, whether the organizations are 14 |
|---|
| 589 | 589 | | public agencies or private entities; and 15 |
|---|
| 590 | 590 | | (4) demonstrates expertise in promoting acces-16 |
|---|
| 591 | 591 | | sibility and the use of universal design (the latter as 17 |
|---|
| 592 | 592 | | defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act 18 |
|---|
| 593 | 593 | | of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) in providing training and 19 |
|---|
| 594 | 594 | | technical assistance, and information dissemination. 20 |
|---|
| 595 | 595 | | SEC. 9. USE OF FUNDS. 21 |
|---|
| 596 | 596 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 597 | 597 | | NGENERAL.—An eligible entity that receives a 22 |
|---|
| 598 | 598 | | grant under section 5 shall use the grant funds to manage 23 |
|---|
| 599 | 599 | | and carry out each of the priority activities described in 24 |
|---|
| 600 | 600 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2904.IS S2904 |
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| 601 | 601 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 22 |
|---|
| 602 | 602 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 603 | 603 | | section 6, activities described in this section, and any addi-1 |
|---|
| 604 | 604 | | tional activities approved by the Secretary. 2 |
|---|
| 605 | 605 | | (b) C |
|---|
| 606 | 606 | | OORDINATIONWITHFEDERALPROGRAMS.— 3 |
|---|
| 607 | 607 | | The work of a national resource center shall link to cur-4 |
|---|
| 608 | 608 | | rent and future policy and activities undertaken through-5 |
|---|
| 609 | 609 | | out the Federal Government in relation to self-advocacy, 6 |
|---|
| 610 | 610 | | supported decisionmaking, person-centered planning, com-7 |
|---|
| 611 | 611 | | munity living, and competitive integrated employment for 8 |
|---|
| 612 | 612 | | individuals with disabilities and particularly for individuals 9 |
|---|
| 613 | 613 | | with the most significant expressive communication dis-10 |
|---|
| 614 | 614 | | abilities, for the purpose of increasing— 11 |
|---|
| 615 | 615 | | (1) success and self-determination in life; 12 |
|---|
| 616 | 616 | | (2) the provision of inclusive early intervention 13 |
|---|
| 617 | 617 | | services, elementary education, secondary education, 14 |
|---|
| 618 | 618 | | and postsecondary education programs; 15 |
|---|
| 619 | 619 | | (3) competitive integrated employment; 16 |
|---|
| 620 | 620 | | (4) health, wellness, and personal safety; 17 |
|---|
| 621 | 621 | | (5) economic security; 18 |
|---|
| 622 | 622 | | (6) civic engagement; 19 |
|---|
| 623 | 623 | | (7) community integration; and 20 |
|---|
| 624 | 624 | | (8) improvement in other aspects of life. 21 |
|---|
| 625 | 625 | | (c) I |
|---|
| 626 | 626 | | NFORMATION DISSEMINATION.—Notwith-22 |
|---|
| 627 | 627 | | standing the priority activities described in section 6, a 23 |
|---|
| 628 | 628 | | national resource center shall ensure information and 24 |
|---|
| 629 | 629 | | other resources about augmentative and alternative com-25 |
|---|
| 630 | 630 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2904.IS S2904 |
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| 631 | 631 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 23 |
|---|
| 632 | 632 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 633 | 633 | | munication and individuals with significant expressive 1 |
|---|
| 634 | 634 | | communication disabilities are made available as appro-2 |
|---|
| 635 | 635 | | priate to— 3 |
|---|
| 636 | 636 | | (1) individuals with significant expressive com-4 |
|---|
| 637 | 637 | | munication disabilities and their families; 5 |
|---|
| 638 | 638 | | (2) institutions of higher education; 6 |
|---|
| 639 | 639 | | (3) State, Tribal, and local educational agen-7 |
|---|
| 640 | 640 | | cies; 8 |
|---|
| 641 | 641 | | (4) law enforcement agencies, courts, offices of 9 |
|---|
| 642 | 642 | | district attorneys, and other public and private secu-10 |
|---|
| 643 | 643 | | rity agencies and businesses; 11 |
|---|
| 644 | 644 | | (5) national, State, regional, Tribal, and local 12 |
|---|
| 645 | 645 | | employers, to enable businesses to hire into competi-13 |
|---|
| 646 | 646 | | tive integrated employment more individuals who use 14 |
|---|
| 647 | 647 | | augmentative and alternative communication; 15 |
|---|
| 648 | 648 | | (6) national, State, Tribal, and local govern-16 |
|---|
| 649 | 649 | | ment agencies that provide services and other sup-17 |
|---|
| 650 | 650 | | ports to individuals with significant expressive com-18 |
|---|
| 651 | 651 | | munication disabilities, including agencies respon-19 |
|---|
| 652 | 652 | | sible for emergency preparedness, employment sup-20 |
|---|
| 653 | 653 | | port, and vocational rehabilitation, agencies respon-21 |
|---|
| 654 | 654 | | sible for State programs under the Assistive Tech-22 |
|---|
| 655 | 655 | | nology Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), agen-23 |
|---|
| 656 | 656 | | cies responsible for State alternative financing pro-24 |
|---|
| 657 | 657 | | grams, State agencies responsible for the Medicaid 25 |
|---|
| 658 | 658 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Sep 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2904.IS S2904 |
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| 659 | 659 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 24 |
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| 660 | 660 | | •S 2904 IS |
|---|
| 661 | 661 | | program under title XIX of the Social Security Act 1 |
|---|
| 662 | 662 | | (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and the agencies over-2 |
|---|
| 663 | 663 | | seeing the provision of home and community-based 3 |
|---|
| 664 | 664 | | services; 4 |
|---|
| 665 | 665 | | (7) national and local disability and aging advo-5 |
|---|
| 666 | 666 | | cacy organizations, including disability self-advocacy 6 |
|---|
| 667 | 667 | | organizations; 7 |
|---|
| 668 | 668 | | (8) family support organizations, including the 8 |
|---|
| 669 | 669 | | parent training and information centers supported 9 |
|---|
| 670 | 670 | | under section 671 of the Individuals with Disabilities 10 |
|---|
| 671 | 671 | | Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1471); 11 |
|---|
| 672 | 672 | | (9) centers for independent living and Statewide 12 |
|---|
| 673 | 673 | | Independent Living Councils authorized by title VII 13 |
|---|
| 674 | 674 | | of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et 14 |
|---|
| 675 | 675 | | seq.); 15 |
|---|
| 676 | 676 | | (10) network partners, including the State 16 |
|---|
| 677 | 677 | | Councils on Developmental Disabilities described in 17 |
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| 678 | 678 | | section 125 of the Developmental Disabilities Assist-18 |
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| 679 | 679 | | ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 19 |
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| 680 | 680 | | 15025), the protection and advocacy systems de-20 |
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| 681 | 681 | | scribed in section 143 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 21 |
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| 682 | 682 | | 15043), and University Centers for Excellence in 22 |
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| 683 | 683 | | Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and 23 |
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| 684 | 684 | | Services supported under subtitle D of title I of that 24 |
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| 687 | 687 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 688 | 688 | | Act (42 U.S.C. 15061 et seq.), participating in ac-1 |
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| 689 | 689 | | tivities under that Act (42 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.); 2 |
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| 690 | 690 | | (11) State agencies and area agencies on aging, 3 |
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| 691 | 691 | | entities carrying out long-term care ombudsman pro-4 |
|---|
| 692 | 692 | | grams, and other entities funded under the Older 5 |
|---|
| 693 | 693 | | Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 6 |
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| 694 | 694 | | (12) health care providers and educators, health 7 |
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| 695 | 695 | | care advocacy organizations, nursing home pro-8 |
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| 696 | 696 | | viders, and institutional long-term care facilities; 9 |
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| 697 | 697 | | (13) professional organizations and organiza-10 |
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| 698 | 698 | | tions that certify preservice training programs; and 11 |
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| 699 | 699 | | (14) other groups and entities as identified by 12 |
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| 700 | 700 | | the eligible entity and the advisory council of the eli-13 |
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| 701 | 701 | | gible entity. 14 |
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| 702 | 702 | | (d) S |
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| 703 | 703 | | TAKEHOLDERCOLLABORATION.—A national re-15 |
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| 704 | 704 | | source center shall collaborate with— 16 |
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| 705 | 705 | | (1) organizations of individuals with significant 17 |
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| 706 | 706 | | expressive communication disabilities; 18 |
|---|
| 707 | 707 | | (2) disability organizations; 19 |
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| 708 | 708 | | (3) entities carrying out State assistive tech-20 |
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| 709 | 709 | | nology programs and State alternative financing pro-21 |
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| 710 | 710 | | grams; 22 |
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| 711 | 711 | | (4) State, Tribal, and local educational agen-23 |
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| 712 | 712 | | cies; 24 |
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| 715 | 715 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 716 | 716 | | (5) the councils, systems, and university centers 1 |
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| 717 | 717 | | described in subsection (c)(10); 2 |
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| 718 | 718 | | (6) entities carrying out national, State, Tribal 3 |
|---|
| 719 | 719 | | and Native Hawaiian, and local programs authorized 4 |
|---|
| 720 | 720 | | by the Older Americans Act of 1965; 5 |
|---|
| 721 | 721 | | (7) the federally funded Rehabilitation Engi-6 |
|---|
| 722 | 722 | | neering Research Center on Augmentative and Al-7 |
|---|
| 723 | 723 | | ternative Communication; 8 |
|---|
| 724 | 724 | | (8) State agencies responsible for vocational re-9 |
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| 725 | 725 | | habilitation programs, as defined in section 3 of the 10 |
|---|
| 726 | 726 | | Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 11 |
|---|
| 727 | 727 | | U.S.C. 3102); 12 |
|---|
| 728 | 728 | | (9) professional associations whose members 13 |
|---|
| 729 | 729 | | come in contact with and support individuals who 14 |
|---|
| 730 | 730 | | may use augmentative and alternative communica-15 |
|---|
| 731 | 731 | | tion; 16 |
|---|
| 732 | 732 | | (10) local boards, as defined in section 3 of the 17 |
|---|
| 733 | 733 | | Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 18 |
|---|
| 734 | 734 | | U.S.C. 3102); and 19 |
|---|
| 735 | 735 | | (11) other State, regional, Tribal, and local en-20 |
|---|
| 736 | 736 | | tities with the ability to provide support for individ-21 |
|---|
| 737 | 737 | | uals who need and use augmentative and alternative 22 |
|---|
| 738 | 738 | | communication. 23 |
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| 739 | 739 | | (e) L |
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| 740 | 740 | | IMITATION.—A national resource center that re-24 |
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| 741 | 741 | | ceives grant funds under section 5 for a fiscal year shall 25 |
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| 744 | 744 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 745 | 745 | | use not more than 15 percent of the funds for the adminis-1 |
|---|
| 746 | 746 | | trative costs of carrying out activities under this Act. 2 |
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| 747 | 747 | | SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORT. 3 |
|---|
| 748 | 748 | | (a) P |
|---|
| 749 | 749 | | REPARATION.—The lead administrative center 4 |
|---|
| 750 | 750 | | referred to in section 5(b), in coordination with the other 5 |
|---|
| 751 | 751 | | national resource centers that receive grant funds under 6 |
|---|
| 752 | 752 | | section 5, shall annually prepare a report containing, con-7 |
|---|
| 753 | 753 | | sistent with criteria established by the Secretary, informa-8 |
|---|
| 754 | 754 | | tion on— 9 |
|---|
| 755 | 755 | | (1) activities conducted by each national re-10 |
|---|
| 756 | 756 | | source center funded under section 5 to achieve the 11 |
|---|
| 757 | 757 | | purpose of this Act; 12 |
|---|
| 758 | 758 | | (2) collaboration by each such national resource 13 |
|---|
| 759 | 759 | | center with other entities to achieve the purposes of 14 |
|---|
| 760 | 760 | | this Act; 15 |
|---|
| 761 | 761 | | (3) barriers to and strategies for equitable ac-16 |
|---|
| 762 | 762 | | cess to augmentative and alternative communication 17 |
|---|
| 763 | 763 | | and other supports for individuals who belong to ra-18 |
|---|
| 764 | 764 | | cial, ethnic, and linguistic minority communities and 19 |
|---|
| 765 | 765 | | face a greater likelihood of being born with or ac-20 |
|---|
| 766 | 766 | | quiring significant expressive communication disabil-21 |
|---|
| 767 | 767 | | ities as well as added difficulties in obtaining effec-22 |
|---|
| 768 | 768 | | tive augmentative and alternative communication; 23 |
|---|
| 769 | 769 | | (4) identified gaps in available demographic and 24 |
|---|
| 770 | 770 | | characteristic data on individuals with significant ex-25 |
|---|
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| 773 | 773 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 774 | 774 | | pressive communication disabilities in the United 1 |
|---|
| 775 | 775 | | States; and 2 |
|---|
| 776 | 776 | | (5) the unmet needs of individuals with signifi-3 |
|---|
| 777 | 777 | | cant expressive communication disabilities, from di-4 |
|---|
| 778 | 778 | | verse backgrounds, in the United States and policy 5 |
|---|
| 779 | 779 | | recommendations to address such unmet needs. 6 |
|---|
| 780 | 780 | | (b) S |
|---|
| 781 | 781 | | UBMISSION.—The lead administrative center 7 |
|---|
| 782 | 782 | | shall submit the report to— 8 |
|---|
| 783 | 783 | | (1) the Secretary; 9 |
|---|
| 784 | 784 | | (2) the Secretary of Education; 10 |
|---|
| 785 | 785 | | (3) the relevant subcommittees of the Com-11 |
|---|
| 786 | 786 | | mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 12 |
|---|
| 787 | 787 | | of the Senate, the Special Committee on Aging of 13 |
|---|
| 788 | 788 | | the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 14 |
|---|
| 789 | 789 | | the Workforce of the House of Representatives; and 15 |
|---|
| 790 | 790 | | (4) the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 16 |
|---|
| 791 | 791 | | Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 17 |
|---|
| 792 | 792 | | of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 18 |
|---|
| 793 | 793 | | and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 19 |
|---|
| 794 | 794 | | Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 20 |
|---|
| 795 | 795 | | of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 21 |
|---|
| 796 | 796 | | Representatives. 22 |
|---|
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| 799 | 799 | | •S 2904 IS |
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| 800 | 800 | | SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 |
|---|
| 801 | 801 | | There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 |
|---|
| 802 | 802 | | this Act $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 3 |
|---|
| 803 | 803 | | 2028. 4 |
|---|
| 804 | 804 | | Æ |
|---|
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