BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 210
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|Author: |Galgiani |
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|Version: |April 20, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: April 29, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Special education: deaf and hard-of-hearing children:
language benchmarks
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Department of Education to
select language benchmarks to monitor and track the language
acquisition and development of students who are deaf and
hard-of-hearing.
BACKGROUND
The California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations
were developed by the California Department of Education, in
collaboration with many researchers and stakeholders. The
Infant/Toddler foundations were released in 2009.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/itfoundations2009.pdf
The California Preschool Learning Foundations were developed by
the California Department of Education, in collaboration with
many researchers and stakeholders. These foundations include
three volumes. Volume 1, released on January 22, 2008, includes
language and literacy, and English language development:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/preschoollf.pdf
Children with disabilities age birth to three years are provided
with an individualized family service plan (IFSP). Students
with disabilities age three to 22 years are provided with an
individualized education program (IEP).
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Current law requires each student's IEP team to:
1. Consider, among other things, the communication needs of
the student, and in the case of a student who is deaf or
hard of hearing, consider the student's language and
communication needs, opportunities for direct
communications with peers and professional personnel in the
student's language and communication mode, academic level,
and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct
instruction in the student's language and communication
mode. (Education Code § 56341.1)
2. Specifically discuss the communication needs of the
student, consistent with "Deaf Students Education Services
Policy Guidance" including, among other things, the
following:
A. The student's primary language mode and
language, which may include the use of spoken language
with or without visual cues, or the use of sign
language, or a combination of both.
B. Appropriate, direct, and ongoing language
access to special education teachers and other
specialists who are proficient in the student's
primary language mode and language consistent with
existing law regarding teacher training requirements.
C. Services necessary to ensure
communication-accessible academic instructions, school
services, and extracurricular activities. (EC §
56345)
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the California Department of Education to
select language benchmarks to monitor and track the language
acquisition and development of students who are deaf and
hard-of-hearing. Specifically, this bill:
1. Requires the California Department of Education's (CDE)
Deaf and Hard of Hearing unit, and the CDE's deaf education
resource centers located in Fremont and Riverside, to
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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. Requires the language benchmarks to be selected from the
language benchmarks recommended by the advisory committee
established by this bill.
3. Requires the selected benchmarks to be used by a child's
individualized family service plan (IFSP) or individualized
education program (IEP) team to assess the progress of the
child's language development using both or one of the
languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and English.
4. Requires each IEP and IFSP team to report progress of
students toward reaching the benchmarks to the CDE.
5. Requires the CDE to 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.
6. Requires the IEP or IFSP team, if a child does not
demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language
skills according to the language benchmarks, to explain in
detail the reasons why the child is not meeting the
benchmarks or progressing towards the age-appropriate
benchmark, and requires the IEP or IFSP team to recommend
specific strategies, services, and programs that must be
provided to assist the child's success toward English
literacy.
7. Requires the CDE to disseminate the language benchmarks to
a child's IFSP or IEP team, including parents and guardians
of deaf or hard-of-hearing children, and requires the CDE
to provide materials and training to ensure appropriate
language growth as part of the child's existing
individualized family service plan (IFSP) or individualized
education program (IEP) in order to assist the child in
becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten using both
or one of the languages of American Sign Language (ASL) or
English.
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8. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
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.
9. Requires the advisory committee to consist of 13
volunteers, the majority of whom must be deaf or hard-of
hearing, and all of whom must be within the field of
education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. This bill
requires the advisory committee to 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 students who use the dual languages of
ASL and English.
D. One credentialed teacher of deaf and
hard-of-hearing students from a state certified
non-public, non-sectarian 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
spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
G. One credentialed teacher of deaf and
hard-of-hearing students whose expertise is in
curriculum and instruction in ASL and English.
H. One credentialed teacher of deaf and
hard-of-hearing students whose expertise is in
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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 spoken English, with or without visual supplements.
AA. One early intervention specialist who
works with deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and
toddlers using the dual languages of ASL and English.
BB. One professional from the dual
languages of American Sign Language (ASL) and English.
CC. One professional from spoken English,
with or without the use of visual supplements.
10. Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), by
March 1, 2016, to provide the advisory committee with a
list of existing language benchmarks from existing
standardized norms, along with any relevant information
held by the CDE regarding those language benchmarks.
11. Requires the advisory committee to recommend language
benchmarks for selection by June 1, 2016.
12. Requires the CDE to inform the advisory committee of which
language benchmarks were selected, by June 30, 2016.
13. Requires the CDE to develop specific action plans and
regulations to fully implement the language benchmark
assessment protocol and processes.
14. Defines "English" to include spoken English, written
English, or English with the use of visual supplements.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, "Children who
are deaf and hard of hearing have the same ability and
capability to learn language as their peers who are not
deaf and hard of hearing. Current statistics show that
many children who are deaf and hard of hearing arrive at
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Kindergarten with severe language delays and in many cases,
language deprivation. These children begin Kindergarten
without the necessary language skills to acquire the
knowledge and academic competencies, which will allow them
to be successful in school and life. Currently, there are
no requirements to assess the language development of
children birth to five who are deaf and hard of hearing, or
to monitor their progress in the languages most commonly
used by individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing in the
United States: American Sign Language and English."
2. Author's amendments. The author wishes to amend this bill
as follows:
A. Limit the scope of the bill to children age birth
to five years.
B. Clarify that progress toward benchmarks is to be
reported by each IEP and IFSP team to the CDE. On
page 3, line 19.
3. Existing infant/toddler and preschool foundations. The
California Department of Education developed the California
Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations and the
California Preschool Learning Foundations to provide
guidance to providers of early education and care. Both
the infant/toddler and preschool foundations are
non-binding (voluntary) on providers, programs, and local
educational agencies.
The California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations
do not include any reference to the development of children
who are deaf or hard of hearing. (specific to language and
literacy, and English language development:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/itf09langdev.asp )
The California Preschool Learning Foundations include only a
footnote reference to students who are deaf or hard of
hearing: specifically, that phonological awareness is an
important skill for students who are deaf, and that
teachers of the deaf should be consulted for strategies for
facilitating phonological awareness. Phonological
awareness is defined as sensitivity to the sound (or
phonological) structure of spoken language.
4. Resources for parents. Various resources existing for
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parents regarding the development of children who are deaf
or hard of hearing; none are specific to benchmarks for
language development. In 2011, a panel of parents convened
with the California Department of Education to create a
guide for parents that contains information to help parents
understand the services that may be provided through an
individualized family service plan (IFSP) and
individualized educational program (IEP), including a focus
on language development. The purpose of the Resource Guide
for Parents of Infants and Toddlers Who are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing, released by the California Department of Education
in 2013, is to provide parents with an introduction to the
benefits of both signed and spoken language, as well as to
the various communication tools and educational approaches.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ss/dh/documents/prgsummary.pdf
5. Role and capacity of the California Department of
Education. This bill requires each IEP and IFSP team to
report progress of students toward reaching the benchmarks
to the California Department of Education (CDE). This bill
also requires the CDE to 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. It is unclear how CDE will
manage progress reports for each child age birth-five who
is deaf or hard of hearing, or how CDE will use that
information to assist children to be ready for
kindergarten.
6. Things to clarify. The author may wish to consider
clarifying the following:
A. This bill requires IEP and IFSP teams to explain
reasons why a child is not meeting or progressing
toward the benchmarks, and requires teams to recommend
specific ways to assist the child's success toward
English literacy. This bill does not specify when the
IEP or IFSP team is to determine and provide the
explanation, or make the recommendations. These teams
typically meet annually to review the individualized
plan or program.
B. This bill requires the CDE to provide materials
and training to ensure appropriate language growth as
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part of the child's existing IFSP or IEP in order to
assist the child in becoming linguistically ready for
kindergarten using both or one of the languages of ASL
or English. It is unclear if the
CDE is to actually provide training to individualized
educational program (IEP) and individualized family
service plan (IFSP) team members, or if the California
Department of Education (CDE) is to identify existing
training that is relevant.
C. Should this bill include a role for the
California Department of Developmental Services,
particularly as the administrator of the Early Start
program?
7. Related and prior legislation.
AB 455 (Medina, 2014) required requires the Superintendent
of Public Instruction to develop standards in Braille and
American Sign Language that are aligned to the common core
standards. AB 455 passed the Assembly but was never heard
in the Senate.
AB 2072 (Mendoza, 2010) required the Department of Health
Care Services to develop an unbiased, comprehensive,
evidence-based informational pamphlet for newborns and
infants identified as deaf or hard of hearing about visual
and auditory communication and language options including,
but not limited to, American Sign Language, and Listening
and Spoken Language, that is sufficient to allow a parent
to make an informed decision on which options to choose for
his or her child. AB 2072 was vetoed by the Governor,
whose veto message read:
I appreciate the strong feelings from advocates on
both sides of this issue. Parents, when first advised
that their child has been identified with a hearing
loss, are in need of information. It is in the
parents' and the affected child's best interest to
have information that is timely, appropriate,
unbiased, and linguistically and culturally sensitive.
This bill is an attempt to provide that type of
comprehensive information. Unfortunately, the
mechanism is through an advisory committee that is
anything but unbiased. It's also an advisory
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committee that will not only duplicate efforts by
other state programs and materials by nationally
recognized and respected organizations, but it
represents a significant workload that will require
fiscal resources that cannot be spared. I do believe
that our state's Newborn Hearing Screening Program,
along with other state agencies and departments,
already coordinate and work to provide the best
programs for California children that are deaf or hard
of hearing. This bill is unnecessary and potentially
contradictory to those successful efforts.
SUPPORT
California Association of the Deaf
California Coalition of Option Schools
Center for Early Intervention on Deafness
NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
OPPOSITION
None received.
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