CSHB 111(EDC): "An Act relating to public school students who are deaf or hard of hearing."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 111(EDC) 01 "An Act relating to public school students who are deaf or hard of hearing." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 14.30.272 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 04 (c) A school district shall 05 (1) provide a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 06 the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, with comprehensive, 07 neutral, and unbiased information regarding 08 (A) hearing technology, including hearing aids, bone-anchored 09 hearing aids, cochlear implants, and remote microphone systems; 10 (B) different methods of communication for a child who is deaf 11 or hard of hearing, including listening and spoken language, a bilingual 12 approach, cued speech, and total communication; 13 (C) services and programs that are designed to meet the needs 14 of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and 15 (D) support and advocacy services offered by public and
01 private agencies and other entities knowledgeable about the needs of children 02 who are deaf or hard of hearing; 03 (2) allow the parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 04 the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, to choose the method of 05 communication that the parent determines is most appropriate for the child and 06 provide services using the parent's chosen method of communication for the child; and 07 (3) deliver services to a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or who 08 the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, through professionals with 09 training, experience, and a background in the chosen method of communication. 10 (d) A school district shall inform a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of 11 hearing, or who the school district suspects may be deaf or hard of hearing, of the 12 school district's duties and of the parent's rights provided under (c) of this section. 13 (e) In this section, 14 (1) "bilingual approach" means the development of both sign language 15 and English language literacy skills as a child's mode of receptive and expressive 16 communication; 17 (2) "cued speech" means a visual communication system that uses 18 hand shapes and placements in combination with the mouth movements of speech to 19 identify the phonemes of spoken language that look similar to one another; 20 (3) "deaf" means possessing hearing levels that, with or without 21 hearing technology, substantially affect a child's ability to understand spoken 22 language; 23 (4) "hard of hearing" means possessing hearing levels that, with or 24 without hearing technology, affect a child's ability to understand spoken language; 25 (5) "listening and spoken language" means communication that 26 focuses on maximizing listening through the use of hearing technologies, professional 27 intervention, and family involvement and support to facilitate the acquisition and 28 development of the spoken language of the child's home and community; 29 (6) "total communication" means the combined use of signs, speech, 30 speech-reading, auditory training, visual aids, manual gestures, and writing to convey 31 information.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 14.30.276 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 02 (b) The department shall establish and operate a centralized program for the 03 deaf to be made available to deaf students in the state. The program must provide 04 residential services as part of its educational program. The program may be operated 05 by a school district under an agreement with the department. If a school district 06 operates the program, the school district shall annually submit a plan of operations to 07 the department for approval and shall perform all duties of a local school district 08 related to special education under state and federal law, except that the school district 09 is only required to offer transportation to students who reside in the district. If a school 10 district determines that placement at the program is appropriate for a child who resides 11 in the district, the school district that makes the placement retains the school district's 12 responsibilities for special education for that child under state and federal law. The 13 department shall provide funding for the students who attend the program operated by 14 a school district under this subsection to the school district that operates the program.