Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 260
By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senators Wise and
Sobel
581-00822-12 2012260c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to deaf and hard-of-hearing children;
3 providing a short title; providing legislative
4 findings and purpose; encouraging certain state
5 agencies, institutions, and political subdivisions to
6 develop recommendations ensuring that the language and
7 communication needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing
8 children are addressed; requiring that the act be
9 expeditiously implemented; requiring that the
10 Department of Education develop a communication plan
11 to be included in the individual education plan for
12 deaf and hard-of-hearing students; requiring that the
13 department disseminate the model to each school
14 district and provide training as it determines
15 necessary; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. (1) SHORT TITLE.—This act may be cited as the
20 “Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children’s Educational Bill of
21 Rights.”
22 (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—
23 (a) The Legislature finds that:
24 1. Hearing loss affects the most basic human need, which is
25 communication. Without quality communication, a child is
26 isolated from other human beings and from the exchange of
27 knowledge essential for educational growth and, therefore,
28 cannot develop the skills required to become a productive,
29 capable adult and a full participant of society.
30 2. Children who have a hearing loss possess the same innate
31 capabilities to acquire language as any other children. They
32 communicate through a visual language/American Sign Language or
33 a spoken-written language/English. Manual systems, which do not
34 include American Sign Language, are not languages and shall be
35 used only as a tool to teach spoken English, not as a mode of
36 communication in the classroom. American Sign Language is a
37 formal language as well as the preferred language of the signing
38 Deaf community as spoken English is the preferred language of
39 the oral deaf community.
40 3. It is critical that all citizens in the state work
41 toward ensuring that:
42 a. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, like all children,
43 have quality, ongoing, and accessible communication in their
44 preferred language, both in and out of the classroom.
45 b. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children be placed in the least
46 restrictive educational environment that is appropriate for
47 their communication modality and receive services based on their
48 unique communication, language, and educational needs, as well
49 as the culture and choices of their families, consistent with 20
50 U.S.C. s. 1414(d)(3)(B)(iv) of the Individuals with Disabilities
51 Education Act.
52 c. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children be given an education
53 in which teachers, related service providers, and assessors
54 understand the unique nature of deafness; are specifically
55 trained to work with deaf and hard-of-hearing students; and can
56 communicate spontaneously and fluidly with these children in a
57 spoken-written language/English, listening and spoken
58 language/auditory-oral, or a visual language/American Sign
59 Language, which are accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing
60 children.
61 d. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, like all children,
62 have the benefit of an education in which there is a sufficient
63 number of age-appropriate peers and adults with whom they can
64 interact and communicate in a spontaneous and fluid way.
65 e. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children receive an education
66 in which they are exposed to deaf and hard-of-hearing role
67 models in their preferred communication modalities.
68 f. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, like all children,
69 have direct and appropriate access to all components of the
70 educational process, including recess, lunch, and
71 extracurricular, social, and athletic activities.
72 g. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, like all children, be
73 provided with programs in which transition planning, as required
74 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, focuses
75 on their unique vocational needs.
76 h. Families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing
77 receive accurate, balanced, and complete information regarding
78 their children’s educational and communication needs and the
79 available programmatic, placement, and resource options, as well
80 as access to support services and advocacy resources from public
81 and private agencies, departments, and all other institutions
82 and resources knowledgeable about hearing loss and the needs of
83 children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
84 (b) Given the central importance of communication to all
85 human beings, the purpose of this act is to encourage the
86 development of a communication-driven and language-driven
87 educational delivery system in the state for children who are
88 deaf or hard of hearing.
89 (3) EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING
90 CHILDREN; DUTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.—
91 (a) The Legislature recognizes the unique communication
92 needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and encourages
93 the development of specific recommendations by all state
94 agencies, institutions, and political subdivisions concerned
95 with the early intervention, early childhood, and kindergarten
96 through grade 12 education of students who are deaf or hard of
97 hearing, including the Department of Education, the Florida
98 School for the Deaf and the Blind, and the Department of Health,
99 to ensure that:
100 1. These children have access to the same educational
101 environment that other children have in which their language and
102 communication needs are fully addressed and developed and in
103 which they have early, ongoing, and quality access to planned
104 and incidental communication opportunities.
105 2. The purposes of this act are expeditiously implemented.
106 (b) Pursuant to 20 U.S.C. s. 1414(d)(3)(B)(iv) of the
107 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires that
108 the individual education plan team consider the unique
109 communication needs of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing,
110 the preferred communication modality of the child, and the
111 culture of the child’s family, the Department of Education shall
112 develop a model addressing communication considerations for
113 students who are deaf or hard of hearing as part of the
114 individual education plan process. The department shall also
115 disseminate the model to each school district and provide
116 training as it determines necessary.
117 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.