Amended in Senate April 20, 2015

Amended in Senate March 24, 2015

Senate BillNo. 210


Introduced by Senator Galgiani

February 11, 2015


An act to add Section 56326.5 to the Education Code, relating to special education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 210, as amended, Galgiani. Special education: deaf and hard-of-hearing children: language benchmarks.

Existing law provides that the Superintendent of Public Instruction may authorize the California School for the Deaf to establish and maintain a testing center for deaf and hard-of-hearing minors. Existing law provides that the purpose of the center shall be to test hearing acuity and to give such other tests as may be necessary for advising parents and school authorities concerning an appropriate educational program for the child. Existing law authorizes a pupil to be referred, as appropriate, to the California School for the Deaf, among other places, for further assessment and recommendations.

This bill would require the State Department of Education’s Deaf and Hard of Hearingbegin delete unit, the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, and the California School for the Deaf,end deletebegin insert unit, and the department’s deaf education resource centers located in Fremont andend insert Riverside, to jointly select language benchmarks from existing standardized norms for purposes of monitoring and tracking deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy. The bill would require the language benchmarks to be selected from the language benchmarks recommended by an ad hoc advisory committee, which the bill would establish, as provided, and would require the language benchmarks to be used by a child’s individualized family service plan (IFSP) team or individualized education program (IEP) team, as applicable, to assess the progress of the child’s language development usingbegin delete one or both of the dualend deletebegin insert both or one of theend insert languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and English, which would be required to be reported to the department. To the extent using the language benchmarks would impose additional duties on local educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require, if a child does not demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills according to the applicable language benchmarks, the child’s IFSP team or IEP team, as applicable, to explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting the benchmarks or progressing towards the age-appropriate benchmark, and to recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that would be provided to assist the child’s success toward English literacy. To the extent this would impose additional duties on local educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill also would require the department to disseminate thebegin delete overall goals for theend delete language benchmarks tobegin delete the parents or guardians of deaf or hard-of-hearing children, andend delete a child’s IFSP or IEP team,begin insert including parents and guardians of deaf or hard-of-hearing children,end insert and to provide materials and training to ensure appropriate language growth as part of the child’s existing IFSP or IEP in order to assist the deaf or hard-of-hearing child in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten usingbegin delete one orend delete bothbegin insert or oneend insert of thebegin delete dualend delete languages of ASL and English. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2017, to develop specific action plans and regulations to fully implement the language benchmark assessment protocol and processes.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 56326.5 is added to the Education Code,
2to read:

3

56326.5.  

(a) (1) The department’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing
4begin delete unit, the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, and the
5California School for the Deaf, Riverside,end delete
begin insert unit, and the
6department’s deaf education resource centers located in Fremont
7and Riverside,end insert
shall jointly select language benchmarks from
8existing standardized norms for purposes of monitoring and
9tracking deaf and hard-of-hearing children’s expressive and
10receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward
11English literacy.

12(2) (A) The language benchmarks shall be selected from the
13language benchmarks recommended by the advisory committee
14pursuant to subdivisionbegin delete (c),end deletebegin insert (d),end insert and shall be used by a child’s
15individualized family service plan (IFSP) team or individualized
16education program (IEP) team, as applicable, to assess the progress
17of the child’s language development usingbegin delete one orend delete bothbegin delete of the dualend delete
18begin insert or one of theend insert languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and
19English, which shall be reported to the department.

20(B) On or before March 1, 2016, the department shall provide
21the advisory committee with a list of existing language benchmarks
22from existing standardized norms, along with any relevant
23information held by the department regarding those language
24benchmarks.

25(C) On or before June 1, 2016, the advisory committee shall
26recommend language benchmarks for selection pursuant to
27begin delete subdivision (a).end deletebegin insert paragraph (1).end insert

28(D) On or before June 30, 2016, the department shall inform
29the advisory committee of which language benchmarks were
30selected.

31(3) The department shall track development stages that are
32equivalent to a child’s linguistically age-appropriate peers who
33are not deaf or hard of hearing, with the goal of assisting children
34who are deaf or hard of hearing to become kindergarten-ready.

begin insert

35(b) For purposes of this section, “English” includes spoken
36English, written English, or English with the use of visual
37supplements.

end insert
begin delete

38(b)

end delete

P4    1begin insert(c)end insert (1) If a child does not demonstrate progress in expressive
2and receptive language skills according to the applicable language
3benchmarks, the child’s IFSP team or IEP team, as applicable,
4shall explain in detail the reasons why the child is not meeting the
5benchmarks or progressing towards the age-appropriate benchmark,
6and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and programs
7that shall be provided to assist the child’s success toward English
8 literacy.

9(2) The department shall disseminatebegin delete the overall goals for the
10language benchmarks to the parents or guardians of deaf or
11hard-of-hearing children, andend delete
begin insert the language benchmarks toend insert a child’s
12IFSP or IEP team,begin insert including parents and guardians of deaf or
13hard-of-hearing children,end insert
and shall provide materials and training
14to ensure appropriate language growth as part of the child’s existing
15IFSP or IEP in order to assist the deaf or hard-of-hearing child in
16becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten usingbegin delete one or both
17of the dualend delete
begin insert both or one of theend insert languages of ASL and English.

begin delete

18(c)

end delete

19begin insert(d)end insert (1) The Superintendent shall establish an ad hoc advisory
20committee for purposes of soliciting input from experts on the
21selection of language benchmarks for children who are deaf or
22hard of hearing that are equivalent to those for children who are
23not deaf or hard of hearing.

24(2) The advisory committee shall consist of 13 volunteers, the
25majority of whom shall be deaf or hard of hearing, and all of whom
26shall be within the field of education for the deaf and hard of
27hearing. The advisory committee shall include all of the following:

28(A) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who
29uses the dual languages of ASL and English.

30(B) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who
31uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements.

32(C) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils
33who use the dual languages of ASL and English.

34(D) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils
35from a state certified nonpublic, nonsectarianbegin delete publicend delete school.

36(E) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and
37hard-of-hearing children using ASL and English.

38(F) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and
39hard-of-hearing children usingbegin delete English only.end deletebegin insert spoken English, with
40or without visual supplements.end insert

P5    1(G) Onebegin delete curriculum and instructional specialistend deletebegin insert credentialed
2teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose expertise is in
3curriculum and instructionend insert
in ASL and English.

4(H) Onebegin delete curriculum and instructional specialist in English only.end delete
5begin insert credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose
6expertise is in curriculum and instruction in spoken English, with
7or without visual supplements.end insert

8(I) One advocate for the teaching and use of the dual languages
9of ASL and English.

10(J) One advocate for the teaching and use ofbegin delete English only.end delete
11begin insert spoken English, with or without visual supplements.end insert

12(K) One early intervention specialist who works with deaf and
13hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using the dual languages of
14ASL and English.

15(L) One professional from the dual languages of ASL and
16English.

17(M) One professional frombegin delete English only,end deletebegin insert spoken English,end insert with
18or without the use of visual supplements.

begin delete

19(d)

end delete

20begin insert(e)end insert The department shall, on or before January 1, 2017, develop
21specific action plans and regulations to fully implement the
22language benchmark assessment protocol and processes.

begin delete

23(e) For purposes of this section, “English” includes spoken
24English, written English, or English with the use of visual
25supplements.

end delete
26

SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
27this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
28local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
29pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
304 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



O

    97