1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for children who are 
  1.3             deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing in Minnesota; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 120. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [FINDINGS; LEGISLATIVE INTENT.] 
  1.8      The legislature finds that students with low-incidence 
  1.9   disabilities, as a group, make up less than one percent of the 
  1.10  total statewide enrollments of kindergarten through grade 12; 
  1.11  and among low-incidence groups, children who are deaf, 
  1.12  deafblind, and hard-of-hearing require unique services, 
  1.13  technology, and materials.  The legislature further finds that 
  1.14  being deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing affects the most basic 
  1.15  of human needs:  the ability to communicate with other people.  
  1.16  Without proper intervention and education, many deaf, deafblind, 
  1.17  or hard-of-hearing children will fail to develop effective 
  1.18  language skills.  It is essential for the well-being and growth 
  1.19  of deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing children that 
  1.20  educational programs recognize and understand the unique nature 
  1.21  of deafness, hearing loss, and combined hearing and vision loss 
  1.22  so that these children have appropriate, ongoing, and fully 
  1.23  accessible educational opportunities in Minnesota. 
  1.24     It is the intent of the legislature that children who are 
  1.25  deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing have the same rights as 
  2.1   children who are not deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing.  In 
  2.2   order to ensure that the children who are deaf, deafblind, or 
  2.3   hard-of-hearing have the same opportunity to become independent, 
  2.4   productive citizens and to fulfill their goals in life, the 
  2.5   legislature declares that the requirements in section 2 are the 
  2.6   policy of the state. 
  2.7      Sec. 2.  [120.186] [EDUCATION BILL OF RIGHTS FOR DEAF, 
  2.8   DEAFBLIND, AND HARD-OF-HEARING CHILDREN.] 
  2.9      Subdivision 1.  [RIGHTS.] All deaf, deafblind, and 
  2.10  hard-of-hearing children have the following rights: 
  2.11     (1) the right to screening and assessment of hearing and 
  2.12  vision capabilities and communication and language needs at the 
  2.13  earliest possible age and to continue periodic assessment 
  2.14  services throughout the child's educational experience; 
  2.15     (2) the right to early intensive intervention for the child 
  2.16  and the child's family to facilitate the acquisition of a solid 
  2.17  language base or bases; 
  2.18     (3) the right of the child's parents or guardians to be 
  2.19  informed about all programs and placement options in an unbiased 
  2.20  manner and to participate as the primary decision makers in the 
  2.21  child's educational planning, and the right of the child's 
  2.22  parents or guardians to be informed of placement and program 
  2.23  options not provided by the school district; 
  2.24     (4) the right to a free, appropriate public education 
  2.25  across a full spectrum of educational programs; 
  2.26     (5) the right to an educational placement that is 
  2.27  appropriate to the child's individual needs, including, but not 
  2.28  limited to, language and communication, academic, social, 
  2.29  emotional, physical, and cultural needs; age; hearing loss; 
  2.30  visual acuity; learning style; and family support; 
  2.31     (6) the right to an education in which the child's unique 
  2.32  language or languages and communication mode or modes are 
  2.33  respected, utilized, and developed to a level of competence 
  2.34  equivalent to hearing children of similar ages; 
  2.35     (7) the right to qualified teachers, interpreters, 
  2.36  intervenors, cued speech transliterators, support services 
  3.1   staff, and resource personnel who can communicate fluently with 
  3.2   the child using the child's own language or languages and mode 
  3.3   or modes of communication; 
  3.4      (8) the right to equal access to all academic programs in 
  3.5   the child's educational settings, supplemented with necessary 
  3.6   support services; 
  3.7      (9) the right to equal access to all extracurricular and 
  3.8   athletic programs supplemented with necessary support services; 
  3.9      (10) the right to associate with both age-appropriate peers 
  3.10  and cognitive- and language-appropriate peers to provide the 
  3.11  child the opportunity for normal social, emotional, and 
  3.12  intellectual development; 
  3.13     (11) the right to have consistent access to adult role 
  3.14  models who are deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing; and 
  3.15     (12) the right to have American sign language and deaf 
  3.16  studies as one of the academic subjects in the child's 
  3.17  educational curriculum. 
  3.18     Subd. 2.  [DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM; ASSESSMENTS AND 
  3.19  DETERMINATION OF NEEDS.] (a) In developing an individual 
  3.20  education plan or individual family services plan for a child 
  3.21  who is deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing, the assessments 
  3.22  shall include evaluation of the child's: 
  3.23     (1) linguistic needs; 
  3.24     (2) communication needs; 
  3.25     (3) hearing status, visual status, and history; 
  3.26     (4) intellectual and academic levels; and 
  3.27     (5) social, emotional, and cultural needs, including 
  3.28  opportunities for peer interaction and communication. 
  3.29     (b) Individuals conducting the assessments shall: 
  3.30     (1) be qualified with testing procedures; 
  3.31     (2) be knowledgeable about appropriate instruments and 
  3.32  tests; 
  3.33     (3) have knowledge about the specific areas in paragraph 
  3.34  (a); 
  3.35     (4) have knowledge and ability to interpret the tests' 
  3.36  validity; and 
  4.1      (5) be proficient in the child's language or languages and 
  4.2   communication mode or modes, and use auxiliary resources when 
  4.3   appropriate. 
  4.4      (c) Assessments shall be performed at the earliest possible 
  4.5   age and regularly thereafter. 
  4.6      Subd. 3.  [DEVELOPING APPROPRIATE SERVICES AND 
  4.7   PLACEMENT.] (a) A variety of options shall be made available 
  4.8   when determining an appropriate program to meet the needs of a 
  4.9   child who is deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing.  These options 
  4.10  include: 
  4.11     (1) American sign language; 
  4.12     (2) manually-coded English; 
  4.13     (3) cued speech; 
  4.14     (4) expression and receipt of spoken language orally and 
  4.15  aurally with or without visible signs or cues; and 
  4.16     (5) a combination of languages or communication modes. 
  4.17     (b) An individualized education program team shall consider 
  4.18  each of the following factors in developing an individual 
  4.19  education plan for a deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing child: 
  4.20     (1) providing the child with school personnel who are 
  4.21  trained to work with deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing 
  4.22  children, with teachers and interpreters or transliterators 
  4.23  being proficient in the child's primary language and mode of 
  4.24  communication; 
  4.25     (2) providing the child with an educational environment 
  4.26  which includes other deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing 
  4.27  students who are approximately of the same age and ability and 
  4.28  with whom the student can communicate directly; 
  4.29     (3) providing the child with opportunities to interact with 
  4.30  adult role models who are deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing as 
  4.31  part of the child's educational experience; 
  4.32     (4) providing the child with full access to all components 
  4.33  of the educational process, including recess, lunch, and 
  4.34  extracurricular activities; 
  4.35     (5) determining the least restrictive environment as used 
  4.36  in state and federal law by taking into consideration the unique 
  5.1   communication and social interaction needs of the deaf, 
  5.2   deafblind, or hard-of-hearing child; 
  5.3      (6) providing training to hearing peers and regular 
  5.4   education teachers that will allow them to communicate 
  5.5   efficiently with the deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing child; 
  5.6   and 
  5.7      (7) providing instruction in more than one language or 
  5.8   communication mode.  Proficiency in one language or 
  5.9   communication mode shall not preclude instruction in another 
  5.10  language or communication mode. 
  5.11     Subd. 4.  [PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.] Parents or guardians 
  5.12  have the right to have advocates including deaf, deafblind, 
  5.13  hard-of-hearing, or others, to participate in the individual 
  5.14  education plan process for their children. 
  5.15     Sec. 3.  [IMPLEMENTATION.] 
  5.16     (a) Effective July 1, 1998, the state board of education 
  5.17  and the tri-agency management team consisting of the departments 
  5.18  of children, families, and learning; human services; and 
  5.19  economic security, shall ensure that the provisions and policies 
  5.20  related to students who are deaf, deafblind, or hard-of-hearing 
  5.21  are implemented and disseminated.  The deaf, deafblind, and 
  5.22  hard-of-hearing educational division's primary responsibility 
  5.23  shall be to oversee and coordinate all programs and services to 
  5.24  students who are deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing. 
  5.25     (b) The state board and tri-agency management team shall 
  5.26  monitor the requirements of this section and section 2 and shall 
  5.27  establish an advisory council to assist it in that 
  5.28  responsibility.  The advisory council shall be made up of equal 
  5.29  numbers of members of deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing 
  5.30  populations, parents of deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing 
  5.31  children, and professionals serving deaf, deafblind, and 
  5.32  hard-of-hearing children.