BILL NUMBER: SB 210 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2015
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 Hearing unit, the California School for the
Deaf, Fremont, and the California School for the Deaf,
unit, and the department's deaf education resource centers located
in Fremont and 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 using one or both of the
dual both or one of the 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 the overall goals for the
language benchmarks to the parents or guardians of
deaf or hard-of-hearing children, and a child's IFSP or
IEP team, including parents and guardians of deaf or
hard-of-hearing children, 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 using
one or both or one of the dual
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:
SECTION 1. Section 56326.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
56326.5. (a) (1) The department's Deaf and Hard of Hearing
unit, the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, and the
California School for the Deaf, Riverside, unit, and
the department's deaf education resource centers located in Fremont
and Riverside, shall 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.
(2) (A) The language benchmarks shall be selected from the
language benchmarks recommended by the advisory committee pursuant to
subdivision (c), (d), and shall 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 using one
or both of the dual or one of the
languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and English, which
shall be reported to the department.
(B) On or before March 1, 2016, the department shall provide the
advisory committee with a list of existing language benchmarks from
existing standardized norms, along with any relevant information held
by the department regarding those language benchmarks.
(C) On or before June 1, 2016, the advisory committee shall
recommend language benchmarks for selection pursuant to
subdivision (a). paragraph (1).
(D) On or before June 30, 2016, the department shall inform the
advisory committee of which language benchmarks were selected.
(3) The department shall track development stages that are
equivalent to a child's linguistically age-appropriate peers who are
not deaf or hard of hearing, with the goal of assisting children who
are deaf or hard of hearing to become kindergarten-ready.
(b) For purposes of this section, "English" includes spoken
English, written English, or English with the use of visual
supplements.
(b)
(c) (1) 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, shall explain in detail the reasons why the child is not
meeting the benchmarks or progressing towards the age-appropriate
benchmark, and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and
programs that shall be provided to assist the child's success toward
English literacy.
(2) The department shall disseminate the overall goals
for the language benchmarks to the parents or guardians of deaf or
hard-of-hearing children, and the language benchmarks
to a child's IFSP or IEP team, including parents and
guardians of deaf or hard-of-hearing children, and shall
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 using one or both of the dual
both or one of the languages of ASL and English.
(c)
(d) (1) The Superintendent shall establish an ad hoc
advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input from experts on
the selection of language benchmarks for children who are deaf or
hard of hearing that are equivalent to those for children who are not
deaf or hard of hearing.
(2) The advisory committee shall consist of 13 volunteers, the
majority of whom shall be deaf or hard of hearing, and all of whom
shall be within the field of education for the deaf and hard of
hearing. The advisory committee shall include all of the following:
(A) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses
the dual languages of ASL and English.
(B) One parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses
only spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(C) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils
who use the dual languages of ASL and English.
(D) One credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils
from a state certified nonpublic, nonsectarian public
school.
(E) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and
hard-of-hearing children using ASL and English.
(F) One expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and
hard-of-hearing children using English only.
spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(G) One curriculum and instructional specialist
credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils whose
expertise is in curriculum and instruction in ASL and English.
(H) One curriculum and instructional specialist in
English only. credentialed teacher of deaf and
hard-of-hearing pupils whose expertise is in curriculum and
instruction in spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
(I) One advocate for the teaching and use of the dual languages of
ASL and English.
(J) One advocate for the teaching and use of English
only. spoken English, with or without visual
supplements.
(K) One early intervention specialist who works with deaf and
hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using the dual languages of ASL
and English.
(L) One professional from the dual languages of ASL and English.
(M) One professional from English only,
spoken English, with or without the use of visual supplements.
(d)
(e) The department shall, on or before January 1, 2017,
develop specific action plans and regulations to fully implement the
language benchmark assessment protocol and processes.
(e) For purposes of this section, "English" includes spoken
English, written English, or English with the use of visual
supplements.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.