II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2945 

To promote and ensure delivery of high-quality special education and related 

services to children and youth who are blind or visually impaired, deaf, 

hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind through instructional methodologies meeting their unique language and learning needs, to enhance 

accountability for the provision of such services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To promote and ensure delivery of high-quality special education and related services to children and youth who 

are blind or visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, 

deafdisabled, or deafblind through instructional methodologies meeting their unique language and learning 

needs, to enhance accountability for the provision of such 

services, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES; TABLE OF CON2 TENTS. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act’’. 

5 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

6 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal 

7 is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

8 a section or other provision, the reference shall be consid9 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Indi10 viduals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 

11 et seq.). 

12 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

13 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; references; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

TITLE I—IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 

WHO ARE DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 101. Identifying children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

deafdisabled. 

Sec. 102. State plans. 

Sec. 103. Evaluations. 

Sec. 104. Individualized education program team. 

Sec. 105. Consideration of special factors. 

Sec. 106. Monitoring. 

Sec. 107. Continuum of service delivery options. 

Sec. 108. Technical assistance for parents and educators of children and youth 

who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafdisabled. 

Subtitle B—Improving the Effectiveness of Early Intervention for Deaf, Hard 

of Hearing, or Deafdisabled Infants and Toddlers and Their Families 

Sec. 111. Qualified personnel. 

Sec. 112. Natural environment. 

Sec. 113. Content of plan. 


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Subtitle C—National Activities To Improve Education of Children With 

Disabilities 

Sec. 121. Personnel development to improve services and results for children 

with disabilities. 

TITLE II—IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 

WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 201. Identifying children and youth who are blind or visually impaired. 

Sec. 202. State plans. 

Sec. 203. Evaluations. 

Sec. 204. Consideration of special factors. 

Sec. 205. Technical assistance for parents and educators of children and youth 

who are blind or visually impaired. 

Sec. 206. Related services. 

Sec. 207. Personnel development to improve services and results for children 

with blindness or visual impairment. 

Sec. 208. Clarifying eligible users of accessible instructional materials. 

Subtitle B—Specialized Early Childhood Intervention Services to Infants and 

Toddlers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 

Sec. 209. Content of plan. 

Subtitle C—Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational 

Excellence 

Sec. 211. Center establishment and mission. 

Sec. 212. Administration; eligibility; governance; structure. 

Sec. 213. Activities. 

Sec. 214. Authorization of appropriations and carryover. 

Sec. 215. Relationship to other programs and activities. 

TITLE III—IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH 

WHO ARE DEAFBLIND 

Subtitle A—General Provisions 

Sec. 301. Identifying children and youth who are deafblind. 

Sec. 302. Related services. 

Sec. 303. State plans. 

Sec. 304. Evaluations. 

Sec. 305. Consideration of special factors. 

Sec. 306. Technical assistance for parents and educators of children and youth 

who are deafblind. 

Sec. 307. Conforming regulations. 

Subtitle B—Improving the Effectiveness of Early Intervention for Infants and 

Toddlers Who Are Deafblind and Their Families 

Sec. 311. Content of plan. 


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Subtitle C—National Activities To Improve the Education of Children With 

Disabilities 

Sec. 321. Personnel development to improve services and results for children 

with disabilities; ensuring sufficient teachers of children who 

are deafblind, interveners, and early intervention specialists. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

3 (1) To better ensure delivery of high quality 

4 special education and related services to children 

5 and youth who are blind or visually impaired, deaf, 

6 hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind through 

7 specialized instructional services and methodologies 

8 designed to meet their unique language and learning 

9 needs. 

10 (2) To better ensure delivery of high quality 

11 early intervention services to children and youth who 

12 are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind, 

13 and their families, through specialized services and 

14 methodologies designed to meet their unique lan15 guage and other developmental needs. 

16 (3) To foster the proliferation of research sup17 porting the development and evaluation of effective 

18 and innovative assessments and instructional meth19 odologies consonant with the unique learning needs 

20 of children and youth who are blind or visually im21 paired. 


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1 (4) To enhance accountability for the provision 

2 of such services. 

3 (5) To support the development of personnel 

4 serving children and youth who are blind or visually 

5 impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, or 

6 deafblind. 

7 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) When American author, Mark Twain, im10 mortalized Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan 

11 Macy, with the moniker ‘‘the miracle worker’’, his 

12 words, though meant as praise, reflect the mis13 conception that educating individuals with disabil14 ities is a nearly insurmountable task requiring ex15 traordinary feats performed by gifted and saintly 

16 persons. Rather, the work of teaching children with 

17 disabilities can and does occur when committed and 

18 qualified but everyday special educators are properly 

19 prepared and supported to practice their professions. 

20 Yet, the educational systems within which they act 

21 must also be held accountable for results. 

22 (2) In 1817, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and a 

23 deaf teacher, Laurent Clerc, opened the first school 

24 in the United States for deaf students—the Amer25 ican School for the Deaf—with young Alice Cogswell 


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1 as its first pupil. Ultimately the school grew into a 

2 national institution and the mother of many other 

3 schools. As Alice demonstrated, deaf, hard of hear4 ing, or deafdisabled children can learn and achieve 

5 to high levels when they have full access to language, 

6 are taught by professionals with specialized training, 

7 and have access to educational placements that rec8 ognize and provide for their language, social-emo9 tional, and academic needs. 

10 (3) Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafdisabled 

11 children who are identified early and receive appro12 priate early intervention from specialized, qualified 

13 providers achieve higher academic and language out14 comes. However, as of the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, early intervention services often are limited to 

16 one language, many children are lost to follow-up, 

17 and there are severe shortages of specialized early 

18 intervention professionals, resulting in many deaf, 

19 hard of hearing, and deafdisabled children not 

20 reaching their appropriate milestones and experi21 encing language deprivation, impacting their full 

22 lives. 

23 (4) Research demonstrates that children and 

24 youth who are blind or visually impaired are among 

25 the highest performing students with disabilities in 


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1 terms of academic achievement, and yet they are 

2 among the least employed, even after successful ac3 complishment of postsecondary academic objectives. 

4 (5) Likewise, children and youth who are 

5 deafblind have the same capacity to learn and 

6 achieve as any other children. However, they must 

7 have ongoing access to the same environmental and 

8 educational information that their sighted and hear9 ing peers can access automatically. These children 

10 require direct learning experiences, including hands11 on experiences and intense involvement in edu12 cational routines and activities. They must receive 

13 specialized direct instruction in their accessible lan14 guage in a range of academic and functional areas. 

15 (6) Children and youth who are deaf, hard of 

16 hearing, deafdisabled, or deafblind require more lan17 guage access and support to acquire skills than they 

18 are, as of the date of enactment of this Act, pre19 dominantly receiving in local school districts strug20 gling to find qualified personnel, so that such indi21 viduals risk experiencing language deprivation. It 

22 has been the Department of Education’s position 

23 since 1992 that ‘‘[a]ny educational setting that does 

24 not meet the communication and related needs of a 

25 child who is deaf does not allow for the provision of 


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1 [a Free Appropriate Public Education] and cannot 

2 be considered the [Least Restrictive Environment] 

3 for that child’’. 

4 (7) Moreover, a principal way that sighted and 

5 hearing children and youth acquire knowledge and 

6 skills is through incidental learning, naturally ob7 serving others and the environment. Deficits in inci8 dental learning leave children and youth with sen9 sory disabilities behind in an array of skill areas. In 

10 addition to core academics, deaf, hard of hearing, 

11 and deafdisabled children and youth, for example, 

12 must also receive specialized instruction and services 

13 designed to maximize their capacity to learn effec14 tively and live productively and independently. Simi15 larly, children and youth who are blind or visually 

16 impaired must also receive instruction in the ex17 panded core curriculum, a comprehensive array of 

18 specialized instruction and services maximizing the 

19 capacity of children and youth who are blind or vis20 ually impaired to learn effectively and live produc21 tively and independently. 

22 (8) The widespread use by States of the Indi23 viduals with Disabilities Education Act’s disability 

24 categories has led to a sizable undercount of children 

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1 sequently, a lack of recognition of the extent of the 

2 systemic need for the delivery of appropriate instruc3 tional services meeting their unique needs. This oc4 curs in large measure because children and youth 

5 with sensory disabilities who also have additional 

6 disabilities are frequently formally classified as hav7 ing multiple disabilities. Consequently, their vision, 

8 hearing, or concomitant vision and hearing disabil9 ities and related support needs are not fully ac10 knowledged. 

11 (9) It also must be acknowledged and recog12 nized that the population of deaf, hard of hearing, 

13 or deafdisabled children and youth is inherently di14 verse, with 55 percent or more being children of 

15 color. In contrast, less than 10 percent of personnel, 

16 including teachers of deaf, hard of hearing, or 

17 deafdisabled children and youth, and interpreters, 

18 are people of color. 

19 (10) Qualified teachers of the deafblind are 

20 needed to assist children and youth who are 

21 deafblind in schools and school-related activities. 

22 Also needed are qualified interveners, who work one23 to-one with children and youth who are deafblind 

24 and who have training and specialized skills in 

25 deafblindness. Interveners play a critical role in the 


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1 provision of a Free and Appropriate Public Edu2 cation for children and youth who are deafblind, be3 cause they provide access to the information needed 

4 for learning and conceptual understanding, facilitate 

5 communication development, and promote social and 

6 emotional well-being. 

7 (11) A national resource in blindness and visual 

8 impairment is needed— 

9 (A) to supplement the work of State and 

10 local educational agencies through student en11 richment activities; 

12 (B) to support teachers of children and 

13 youth who are blind or visually impaired and 

14 related services personnel through state-of-the15 art continuing education opportunities; and 

16 (C) to spur the further advancement of in17 structional services for children and youth who 

18 are blind or visually impaired through scientific 

19 research and evidence-based best practices. 

20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

21 For purposes of this Act: 

22 (1) The term ‘‘deafblind’’, when applied to an 

23 individual, means the individual has concomitant 

24 hearing and visual impairments, the combination of 

25 which— 


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1 (A) prevents access to information; 

2 (B) causes severe communication chal3 lenges; 

4 (C) interferes with social and emotional 

5 well-being; and 

6 (D) impacts other developmental areas in a 

7 manner that adversely affect a child’s edu8 cational performance (including children who 

9 are deafblind with additional disabilities). 

10 (2) The term ‘‘deafdisabled’’, when applied to 

11 an individual, means the individual is deaf and also 

12 has at least one other disability, but excludes indi13 viduals who are deafblind. 


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1 TITLE I—IMPROVING THE EF2 FECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL 

3 EDUCATION AND RELATED 

4 SERVICES FOR CHILDREN 

5 AND YOUTH WHO ARE DEAF, 

6 HARD OF HEARING, OR 

7 DEAFDISABLED 

8 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

9 SEC. 101. IDENTIFYING CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

10 DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR 

11 DEAFDISABLED. 

12 (a) SERVING ALL CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF, HARD

13 OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED REGARDLESS OF CLAS14 SIFICATION.—Section 612(a)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3)) is 

15 amended at the end by adding the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) SERVING CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF, 

17 HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED.—When 

18 a State classifies children by disability, the 

19 State, in complying with subsection (a)— 

20 ‘‘(i) identifies, locates and evaluates 

21 children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

22 deafdisabled who are, or may be, classified 

23 in a disability category other than deaf, 

24 hard of hearing, or deafdisabled; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provides (without prejudice to 

2 such classification) special education and 

3 related services to such children, including 

4 the specific services determined appro5 priate based on proper evaluation as would 

6 be provided to children classified in the 

7 State as deaf or hard of hearing; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) ceases to use vague other termi9 nology, such as ‘hearing impaired’, ‘section 

10 504 student’, or ‘having a communication 

11 disorder’.’’. 

12 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section 

13 618 (20 U.S.C. 1418) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking subsection (a)(1)(A)(iii) and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) In separate classes, separate schools 

17 or facilities, or public or private residential fa18 cilities, with the exception of deaf, hard of hear19 ing, deafdisabled, and deafblind students due to 

20 their being low-incidence and benefiting from 

21 specialized language instruction and access.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘and funding 

23 to appropriate entities’’ after ‘‘States’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(e) ACCOUNTING FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF, 

2 HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED.—In addition to 

3 the other data collection and reporting requirements of 

4 this section and subject to such provisions, the State and 

5 the Secretary of the Interior shall, with respect to children 

6 classified in a disability category other than hearing im7 pairment or deafness, include the number and percentage 

8 of such children in each disability category who are also 

9 deaf, hard of hearing, or deafdisabled and their avenue 

10 of access to American Sign Language, whether it be via 

11 an interpreter, a teacher of the deaf, or expressly waived 

12 by the parents.’’. 

13 (c) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—Section 

14 602(3)(A)(i) (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i)) is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘who is deaf, hard of hearing, 

16 or deafdisabled or’’ before ‘‘with intellectual disabil17 ities,’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘hearing impairments (including 

19 deafness),’’. 

20 SEC. 102. STATE PLANS. 

21 Section 612 (20 U.S.C. 1412) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(g) ADDENDUM CONCERNING CHILDREN WHO ARE

24 DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi2 sions of subsection (c), a State shall not be deter3 mined to be in compliance with this section unless, 

4 not later than 2 years after the date of the enact5 ment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy 

6 Act, the State files with the Secretary a written ad7 dendum to the plan required by this section describ8 ing how the State ensures that— 

9 ‘‘(A) children who are deaf, hard of hear10 ing, or deafdisabled (regardless of the State’s 

11 use of disability categories or the extent to 

12 which deaf or hard of hearing children may be 

13 classified in disability categories other than 

14 hearing impairment or deafness) are evaluated 

15 by qualified professionals, using valid and reli16 able assessments, for such children’s need for 

17 instruction and services meeting their unique 

18 language, literacy, academic, social and related 

19 learning needs, including instruction which may 

20 be needed by children without disabilities or 

21 with other disabilities but which must be spe22 cifically designed, modified, or delivered to meet 

23 the unique language and academic and related 

24 learning needs of children who are deaf, hard of 

25 hearing, or deafdisabled; 


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1 ‘‘(B) there is sufficient availability of per2 sonnel within the State qualified to provide the 

3 evaluation and instruction described in subpara4 graph (A) to all children within the State re5 quiring such instruction; and 

6 ‘‘(C) all children who are deaf, hard of 

7 hearing, or deafdisabled within the State who 

8 need special education and related services re9 ceive instruction in American Sign Language 

10 unless expressly waived by the child’s parents 

11 and are not being served solely in accordance 

12 with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

13 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In preparing the addendum 

15 described in paragraph (1), the State shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) specifically address how the State 

17 meets the needs of deaf, hard of hearing, and 

18 deafdisabled students to support appropriate, 

19 measurable progress in language development, 

20 including American Sign Language and written 

21 language with or without speech therapy, and 

22 including the provision of school-related oppor23 tunities for direct interactions with peers and 

24 professional personnel in the child’s language 

25 and opportunities for direct instruction in the 


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1 child’s language, as well as instruction in audi2 ology, age appropriate career education, lan3 guage, social skills, functional skills for aca4 demic success, self-determination and advocacy 

5 (including preparation for transition to work or 

6 higher education), social emotional skills, tech7 nology, and support for the student through 

8 family education; and 

9 ‘‘(B) consult with individuals and organiza10 tions with expertise in the education of children 

11 who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafdisabled, 

12 including parents, schools for the deaf, con13 sumer and advocacy organizations, State com14 missions of the deaf, researchers, teachers of 

15 students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

16 deafdisabled and others the State may iden17 tify.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. EVALUATIONS. 

19 (a) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—Section 614(b) (20 

20 U.S.C. 1414(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(7) CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF, HARD OF

23 HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED.— 

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1 dren who are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

2 deafdisabled shall be evaluated on language pro3 ficiency levels, including expressive, receptive, 

4 and pragmatic skills, and ability to access grade 

5 level content in the student’s primary language, 

6 including American Sign Language, and if ap7 propriate, written language with or without vis8 ual supports or hearing assistance technology. 

9 Determination of the need for special education 

10 and related services shall include evaluation of 

11 such children’s unique learning needs, including 

12 opportunities for direct language access, with13 out an intermediary such as an interpreter, 

14 with peers and professionals in the child’s pri15 mary language, including American Sign Lan16 guage and, if appropriate, spoken language with 

17 or without visual supports, and instruction 

18 which may be needed by students without dis19 abilities or with other disabilities but which 

20 must be specifically designed, modified, or deliv21 ered to meet the unique linguistic needs of stu22 dents who are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

23 deafdisabled. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF EVALUATIONS.—The 

25 evaluations described in subparagraph (A) shall, 


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1 at a minimum, include evaluations assessing the 

2 need for services and settings to assist the child 

3 in developing or maintaining age appropriate 

4 milestones in the child’s primary language, in5 cluding American Sign Language and written 

6 language with or without speech therapy, social 

7 development, literacy instruction, instruction in 

8 assistive technology proficiency, self sufficiency 

9 and self-determination, socialization, recreation 

10 and fitness, independent living skills, and age 

11 appropriate career education.’’. 

12 (b) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—Sec13 tion 614(d)(1)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(A)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in clause (i)— 

16 (A) in subclause (VII), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

17 at the end; 

18 (B) in subclause (VIII), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(IX) the projected date for the 

22 beginning of the services and modi23 fications described in subclause (IV), 

24 the anticipated frequency, location, 


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1 and duration of those services and 

2 modifications.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iii) RULE REGARDING A SCHOOL

5 FOR THE DEAF.—If a student is placed at 

6 a school for the deaf, the school may pro7 vide documentation of how its teachers are 

8 trained specifically to educate deaf and 

9 hard of hearing students, and as a result, 

10 will not be required to provide individual11 ized education plans unless the student is 

12 deafdisabled.’’. 

13 SEC. 104. INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM TEAM. 

14 Section 614(d)(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(B)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘(vi);’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘(vii);’’; 

18 (2) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (3) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii); 

20 and 

21 (4) by inserting after clause (vi) the following: 

22 ‘‘(vii) at the discretion of the parent 

23 or the agency, a representative of a State24 operated, State-supported, or State-aided 

25 school for the deaf; and’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FACTORS. 

2 Section 614(d)(3)(B)(iv) (20 U.S.C. 

3 1414(d)(3)(B)(iv)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(iv) consider the linguistic needs of 

5 the child, and in the case of a child who 

6 is deaf, hard of hearing, or deafdisabled 

7 provide for— 

8 ‘‘(I) the child’s language and ac9 cess, opportunities for direct commu10 nications, without an intermediary 

11 such as an interpreter, with peers and 

12 professional personnel in the child’s 

13 primary language, including American 

14 Sign Language and, if appropriate, 

15 spoken language with or without vis16 ual supports, academic level, and full 

17 range of needs, including ensuring op18 portunities for direct instruction in 

19 the child’s language; and 

20 ‘‘(II) instruction— 

21 ‘‘(aa) meeting the child’s 

22 unique learning needs, including 

23 services and settings to assist the 

24 child in developing or maintain25 ing age appropriate language 

26 milestones in the child’s primary 


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1 language, American Sign Lan2 guage and written language with 

3 or without speech therapy, lit4 eracy instruction, instruction 

5 which may be needed by children 

6 without disabilities or with other 

7 disabilities but which must be 

8 specifically designed, modified, or 

9 delivered to meet the unique 

10 learning needs of children who 

11 are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

12 deafdisabled; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) that includes assistive 

14 technology proficiency, self suffi15 ciency and self-determination, so16 cialization, recreation and fitness, 

17 independent living skills, and age 

18 appropriate career education; 

19 and’’. 

20 SEC. 106. MONITORING. 

21 Section 616(a) (20 U.S.C. 1416(a)) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(5) ENHANCED MONITORING OF SERVICES

24 FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.—In carrying out the re25 sponsibilities of this subsection, the Secretary shall 


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1 specifically monitor compliance with sections 

2 612(a)(3), 612(a)(5), 614(b), and clauses (iii) and 

3 (iv) of section 614(d)(3)(B), as such sections are 

4 amended by the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan 

5 Macy Act, and shall regularly report findings to 

6 Congress.’’. 

7 SEC. 107. CONTINUUM OF SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS. 

8 (a) ENSURING CONTINUUM AVAILABILITY.—Section 

9 612(a)(5) (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(5)) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(C) CONTINUUM OF ALTERNATIVE

12 PLACEMENTS.—The State shall ensure that a 

13 full continuum of alternative placements is 

14 available to meet the needs of children with dis15 abilities for special education and related serv16 ices. Such continuum shall include instruction 

17 in regular classes, specialized classes, special18 ized schools, home instruction, and instruction 

19 in hospitals and institutions, and shall make 

20 provision for supplementary services (such as a 

21 resource room or itinerant instruction) to be 

22 provided in conjunction with regular class place23 ment.’’. 

24 (b) MAINTENANCE OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES AND

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1 ITIES.—Section 612(a)(18) (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(18)) is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(E) MAINTAINING A CONTINUUM OF

4 PLACEMENT OPTIONS.—For purposes of sub5 paragraph (A), a State’s closure of a specialized 

6 school serving children who are blind or a spe7 cial school serving children who are deaf (or the 

8 consolidation or merger of such school with an9 other school), shall be considered a reduction of 

10 the State’s financial support for special edu11 cation and related services resulting in a failure 

12 to meet a condition on receipt of assistance 

13 under this part.’’. 

14 SEC. 108. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENTS AND EDU15 CATORS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

16 DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR 

17 DEAFDISABLED. 

18 Section 616 (20 U.S.C. 1416) is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(j) MAINTENANCE OF POLICY GUIDANCE CON21 CERNING THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WHO ARE

22 DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED.—The 

23 Secretary shall ensure that not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of the enactment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sul25 livan Macy Act (and periodically thereafter but not less 


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1 than once every 5 years), policy guidance concerning the 

2 provision of special education and related services to deaf, 

3 hard of hearing, and deafdisabled children (published at 

4 57 Fed. Reg. 49274 (October 30, 1992)) is reviewed and 

5 updated (with particular attention to explanation of rel6 evant amendments to this Act or to its implementing regu7 lations) and is published in the Federal Register.’’. 

8 Subtitle B—Improving the Effec9 tiveness of Early Intervention 

10 for Deaf, Hard of Hearing or 

11 Deafdisabled Infants and Tod12 dlers and Their Families 

13 SEC. 111. QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. 

14 Section 632(4)(F) (20 U.S.C. 1432(4)(F)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in clause (xi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (2) in clause (xii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(xiii) teachers of infants and toddlers 

21 with sensory disabilities;’’. 

22 SEC. 112. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. 

23 Section 632(4)(G) (20 U.S.C. 1432(4)(G)) is amend24 ed to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(G) to the maximum extent appropriate, 

2 are provided in natural environments— 

3 ‘‘(i) including the home, and commu4 nity settings in which children without dis5 abilities participate; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) which for infants and toddlers 

7 with sensory disabilities, particularly deaf8 ness, blindness, or deafblindness, shall in9 clude— 

10 ‘‘(I) specialized schools, centers, 

11 and other programs where the child’s 

12 language, including American Sign 

13 Language and written language with 

14 or without speech therapy, is the pri15 mary language and mode of commu16 nication; or 

17 ‘‘(II) any school, center or other 

18 program or environment where serv19 ices meeting the unique needs of in20 fants and toddlers with sensory dis21 abilities are available; and’’. 

22 SEC. 113. CONTENT OF PLAN. 

23 Section 636(d) (20 U.S.C. 1436(d)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

25 end; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(9)(A) in the case of an infant or toddler who 

5 is deaf, hard of hearing, or deafdisabled, a statement 

6 of the ongoing language assessment that will be pro7 vided to the child, language development goals com8 mensurate with the child’s cognitive abilities, the 

9 language access that will be provided, including doc10 umentation of providing access to ongoing opportu11 nities for direct language learning access to peers, 

12 early intervention service providers, and other pro13 fessional personnel in American Sign Language and, 

14 if appropriate, spoken language with or without vis15 ual supports, and the support and instruction that 

16 will be provided to families to learn and support the 

17 child’s language acquisition and development;’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—National Activities To 

2 Improve Education of Children 

3 With Disabilities 

4 SEC. 121. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERV5 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DIS6 ABILITIES. 

7 (a) LICENSING OF EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETERS.— 

8 Section 662(c)(2)(E) (20 U.S.C. 1462(c)(2)(E)) is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(E) Preparing personnel to be qualified 

11 educational interpreters, as licensed by the ap12 propriate licensing body, to assist (but not 

13 teach language to) children with low incidence 

14 disabilities, particularly deaf, hard of hearing, 

15 and deafdisabled children, in school and school16 related activities, and deaf, hard of hearing, 

17 and deafdisabled infants, toddlers, and pre18 school children in early intervention and pre19 school programs, except that this subparagraph 

20 shall not be construed to authorize the replace21 ment of the essential service of an interpreter 

22 by other personnel (including replacement by a 

23 communication facilitator).’’. 


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1 (b) ENSURING SUFFICIENT TEACHERS OF THE DEAF

2 AND EARLY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS.—Section 

3 662(c)(2) (20 U.S.C. 1462(c)(2)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and 

5 (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(F) Preparing personnel to be qualified 

9 teachers of the deaf and early intervention spe10 cialists, to assist children with low incidence 

11 disabilities, particularly deaf, hard of hearing, 

12 and deafdisabled children, to develop age appro13 priate language, including American Sign Lan14 guage and, if appropriate, spoken language with 

15 or without visual supports, and age appropriate 

16 literacy skills in school and school-related activi17 ties, and deaf, hard of hearing, and 

18 deafdisabled infants and toddlers and preschool 

19 children in early intervention and preschool pro20 grams.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—IMPROVING THE EF2 FECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL 

3 EDUCATION AND RELATED 

4 SERVICES FOR CHILDREN 

5 AND YOUTH WHO ARE BLIND 

6 OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED 

7 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

8 SEC. 201. IDENTIFYING CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

9 BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED. 

10 (a) SERVING ALL CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND OR

11 VISUALLY IMPAIRED REGARDLESS OF CLASSIFICATION.— 

12 Section 612(a)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3)), as amended by 

13 section 101(a) of this Act, is further amended at the end 

14 by adding the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) SERVING CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND

16 OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED.—When a State classi17 fies children by disability, the State, in com18 plying with this subsection— 

19 ‘‘(i) identifies, locates and evaluates 

20 children who are blind or visually impaired 

21 who are, or may be, classified in a dis22 ability category other than blindness or vis23 ual impairment; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) provides (without prejudice to 

25 such classification) special education and 


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1 related services to such children, including 

2 the specific services determined appro3 priate based on proper evaluation as would 

4 be provided to children classified in the 

5 State as having blindness.’’. 

6 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section 

7 618 (20 U.S.C. 1418), as amended by section 101(b) of 

8 this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(f) ACCOUNTING FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE BLIND

11 OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED.—In addition to the other data 

12 collection and reporting requirements of this section and 

13 subject to such provisions, the State and the Secretary of 

14 the Interior shall, with respect to children classified in a 

15 disability category other than blindness, include the num16 ber and percentage of such children in each disability cat17 egory who are also blind or visually impaired.’’. 

18 (c) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—Section 

19 602(3)(A)(i) (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i)), as amended by 

20 section 101(c) of this Act, is further amended by inserting 

21 ‘‘or low vision’’ after ‘‘blindness’’. 

22 SEC. 202. STATE PLANS. 

23 Section 612 (20 U.S.C. 1412), as amended by section 

24 102 of this Act, is further amended at the end by adding 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(h) ADDENDUM CONCERNING CHILDREN WHO ARE

2 BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi4 sions of subsection (c), a State shall not be deter5 mined to be in compliance with this section unless, 

6 not later than 2 years after the date of the enact7 ment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy 

8 Act, the State files with the Secretary a written ad9 dendum to the plan required by this section describ10 ing how the State ensures that— 

11 ‘‘(A) children who are blind or visually im12 paired (regardless of the State’s use of dis13 ability categories or the extent to which children 

14 with blindness or visual impairment may be 

15 classified in disability categories other than 

16 blindness) are evaluated for such children’s 

17 need for instruction and services meeting their 

18 unique academic and related learning needs, in19 cluding instruction which may be needed by 

20 children without disabilities or with other dis21 abilities but which must be specifically de22 signed, modified, or delivered to meet the 

23 unique academic and related learning needs of 

24 children with blindness or visual impairment; 


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1 ‘‘(B) there is sufficient availability of per2 sonnel within the State qualified to provide the 

3 instruction described in subparagraph (A) to all 

4 children within the State requiring such in5 struction; and 

6 ‘‘(C) all children who are blind or visually 

7 impaired within the State who need special edu8 cation and related services, whether or not such 

9 children have other disabilities, receive such in10 struction and are not being served solely in ac11 cordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

12 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In preparing the addendum 

14 described in paragraph (1), the State shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) specifically address how the State 

16 meets the needs of children who are blind or 

17 visually impaired for instruction in Braille, pro18 ficient use of assistive technologies (both at 

19 home and in school and including low vision de20 vices as determined appropriate), orientation 

21 and mobility (provided and exercised in a vari22 ety of environments including at home, in 

23 school, and in community), self-determination, 

24 sensory efficiency, socialization, recreation and 


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1 fitness, independent living skills, and age-appro2 priate career education; 

3 ‘‘(B) describe how the State will ensure the 

4 proper administration of widely recognized and 

5 research-based evaluations (including Learning 

6 Media Assessments, Functional Vision Evalua7 tions, and other similarly well-established eval8 uation methodologies and tools) that are admin9 istered by the highest qualified personnel in the 

10 State specializing in blindness or visual impair11 ment; and 

12 ‘‘(C) consult with individuals and organiza13 tions with expertise in the education of children 

14 who are blind or visually impaired, including 

15 parents, consumer and advocacy organizations, 

16 and teachers of students with visual impair17 ments and others the State may identify.’’. 

18 SEC. 203. EVALUATIONS. 

19 Section 614(b) (20 U.S.C. 1414(b)), as amended by 

20 section 103(a) of this Act, is further amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(8) BLINDNESS OR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the as24 sessments prescribed in paragraph (3)(B), de25 termination of the need of children who are 


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1 blind or visually impaired (including children 

2 who may have additional disabilities) for special 

3 education and related services shall include 

4 evaluation of such children’s unique learning 

5 needs, including needs for instruction which 

6 may be needed by children without disabilities 

7 or with other disabilities but which must be spe8 cifically designed, modified, or delivered to meet 

9 the unique learning needs of children who are 

10 blind or visually impaired. Such assessments 

11 shall also include widely recognized and re12 search-based evaluations (including Learning 

13 Media Assessments, Functional Vision Evalua14 tions, and other similarly well-established eval15 uation methodologies and tools) administered by 

16 the highest qualified personnel in the State spe17 cializing in blindness or visual impairment. 

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF EVALUATIONS.—The 

19 evaluations described in subparagraph (A) shall, 

20 at a minimum, include evaluations assessing the 

21 need for instruction in Braille, proficient use of 

22 assistive technologies (both at home and in 

23 school and which includes low vision devices as 

24 determined appropriate), orientation and mobil25 ity (provided and exercised in a variety of enviVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:46 Sep 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2945.IS S2945

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1 ronments including at home, in school, and in 

2 community), self-determination, sensory effi3 ciency, socialization, recreation and fitness, 

4 independent living skills, and age-appropriate 

5 career education.’’. 

6 SEC. 204. CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FACTORS. 

7 Section 614(d)(3)(B)(iii) (20 U.S.C. 

8 1414(d)(3)(B)(iii)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a child who is 

10 blind or visually impaired— 

11 ‘‘(I) provide for instruction in 

12 Braille and the use of Braille unless— 

13 ‘‘(aa) the IEP Team deter14 mines (after a properly adminis15 tered Learning Media Assess16 ment, Functional Vision Evalua17 tion, and any additional assess18 ment administered or overseen by 

19 a teacher of students with visual 

20 impairments, including an assess21 ment of the child’s future needs 

22 for instruction in Braille or the 

23 use of Braille) that instruction in 

24 Braille or the use of Braille is 

25 not appropriate for the child; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the parent has given 

2 specific written informed parental 

3 consent; and 

4 ‘‘(II) provide instruction meeting 

5 the child’s unique learning needs, in6 cluding instruction which may be 

7 needed by students without disabilities 

8 or with other disabilities but which 

9 must be specifically designed, modi10 fied, or delivered to meet the unique 

11 learning needs of children who are 

12 blind or visually impaired, which in13 struction includes proficient use of as14 sistive technologies (both at home and 

15 in school and which includes low vi16 sion devices as determined appro17 priate), orientation and mobility (pro18 vided and exercised in a variety of en19 vironments including at home, in 

20 school, and in community), self-deter21 mination, sensory efficiency, socializa22 tion, recreation and fitness, inde23 pendent living skills, and age appro24 priate career education;’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENTS AND EDU2 CATORS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

3 BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED. 

4 Section 616 (20 U.S.C. 1416), as amended by section 

5 108 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) MAINTAINING CURRENT POLICY GUIDANCE FOR

8 PARENTS AND EDUCATORS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE

9 BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that not later than 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act 

12 (and periodically thereafter but not less than once every 

13 5 years), policy guidance concerning the provision of spe14 cial education and related services to children who are 

15 blind or visually impaired (published at 65 Fed. Reg. 

16 36586 (June 8, 2000)) is reviewed and updated (with par17 ticular attention to explanation of relevant amendments 

18 to the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act or to 

19 its implementing regulations) and is published in the Fed20 eral Register.’’. 

21 SEC. 206. RELATED SERVICES. 

22 Section 602(26)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1401(26)(A)) is 

23 amended by inserting ‘‘vision rehabilitation therapy,’’ 

24 after ‘‘rehabilitation counseling,’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERV2 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH 

3 BLINDNESS OR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. 

4 Section 662(c)(2)(D) (20 U.S.C. 1462(c)(2)(D)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(D) Preparing personnel to provide the 

7 complete array of specialized instruction and 

8 services appropriate to children who are blind 

9 or visually impaired (including children with oc10 ular or brain-based visual impairment), includ11 ing instruction in Braille, proficient use of as12 sistive technologies (both at home and in school 

13 and which includes low vision devices as deter14 mined appropriate), orientation and mobility 

15 (provided and exercised in a variety of environ16 ments including at home, in school, and in com17 munity), self-determination, sensory efficiency, 

18 socialization, recreation and fitness, inde19 pendent living skills, and age-appropriate career 

20 education to fully serve and support such chil21 dren and their families and to improve early 

22 intervention, educational and transitional re23 sults.’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. CLARIFYING ELIGIBLE USERS OF ACCESSIBLE IN2 STRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. 

3 Section 674(e)(3)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(A)) is 

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) BLIND OR OTHER PERSONS WITH

6 PRINT DISABILITIES.—The term ‘blind or other 

7 persons with print disabilities’ means children 

8 served under this Act, or children served by ele9 mentary schools and secondary schools pursu10 ant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

11 1973 (as amended) (29 U.S.C. 794) and its im12 plementing regulations, and who may qualify in 

13 accordance with the Act entitled ‘An Act to pro14 vide books for the adult blind’, approved March 

15 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46 Stat. 1487), to re16 ceive books and other publications produced in 

17 specialized formats.’’. 

18 Subtitle B—Specialized Early 

19 Childhood Intervention Services 

20 to Infants and Toddlers Who 

21 Are Blind or Visually Impaired 

22 SEC. 209. CONTENT OF PLAN. 

23 Section 636(d)(9) (20 U.S.C. 1436(d)), as amended 

24 by section 113 of this Act, is further amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an infant or toddler who is 

2 blind or visually impaired, a statement of the ongo3 ing developmental and educational assessment that 

4 will be provided to the child, early intervention serv5 ice providers specializing in blindness or visual im6 pairment (including ocular or brain-based visual im7 pairment), instruction in Braille (inclusive of a 

8 range of instructional strategies, including pre-lit9 eracy tactual exposure to Braille code reading and 

10 writing), orientation and mobility (provided and ex11 ercised in a variety of environments both within and 

12 outside the home), socialization, sensory efficiency, 

13 exposure to assistive technologies (including low vi14 sion devices as determined appropriate), self-deter15 mination, recreation and fitness, and age-appro16 priate transitional services, and the support and in17 struction that will be provided to families to learn 

18 and support the child’s acquisition, retention and 

19 age-appropriate mastery of the instruction and serv20 ices provided to such child; and’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Anne Sullivan Macy 

2 Center on Visual Disability and 

3 Educational Excellence 

4 SEC. 211. CENTER ESTABLISHMENT AND MISSION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

6 the Department of Education a national program named 

7 the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and 

8 Educational Excellence, which shall carry out the activities 

9 described in section 213 in furtherance of the mission de10 scribed in subsection (b). 

11 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the program estab12 lished in subsection (a) is to better support students with 

13 visual disabilities receiving special education and related 

14 services to learn effectively and live productively and inde15 pendently through— 

16 (1) development and dissemination of curricula, 

17 courses, materials, and methods supporting the con18 tinuing education of personnel qualified under State 

19 law to serve as teachers of students with visual im20 pairments and related services personnel serving 

21 such children; 

22 (2) support for the establishment of programs 

23 within institutions of higher education to prepare 

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1 paired to serve children who are blind or visually im2 paired who also have additional disabilities; 

3 (3) model local, regional, and national enrich4 ment projects open to children who are blind or vis5 ually impaired intended to supplement State and 

6 local educational agency provision of specialized in7 struction and services meeting such children’s 

8 unique learning needs; and 

9 (4) research identifying, developing, and evalu10 ating valid assessments and effective interventions 

11 measuring and addressing the unique needs of chil12 dren who are blind or visually impaired, including 

13 need for instruction and services— 

14 (A) which may be needed by children with15 out disabilities or with other disabilities but 

16 which must be specifically designed, modified, 

17 or delivered to meet the unique learning needs 

18 of children who are blind or visually impaired; 

19 and 

20 (B) which, at a minimum, shall include in21 struction in Braille, proficient use of assistive 

22 technologies (both at home and in school and 

23 which includes low vision devices as determined 

24 appropriate), orientation and mobility (provided 

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1 cluding at home, in school, and in community), 

2 self-determination, sensory efficiency, socializa3 tion, recreation and fitness, independent living 

4 skills, and age-appropriate career education. 

5 SEC. 212. ADMINISTRATION; ELIGIBILITY; GOVERNANCE; 

6 STRUCTURE. 

7 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—To carry out the provisions 

8 of section 211, the Secretary of Education shall enter into 

9 a contract or cooperative agreement (of no less than 5 

10 years in duration) with a consortium of entities described 

11 in subsection (b) which shall, with oversight by the Sec12 retary, have primary responsibility for administering the 

13 program described in this subtitle. The Secretary shall 

14 have ongoing authority to enter into such contracts or co15 operative agreements. 

16 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The consortium of entities de17 scribed in subsection (a) shall include— 

18 (1) not less than 1 nonprofit professional mem19 bership association which both operates a program 

20 for accreditation of institutions of higher education 

21 preparing teachers of children who are blind or vis22 ually impaired or orientation and mobility specialists 

23 and which maintains a continuing education pro24 gram supporting the ongoing professional develop25 ment of such personnel; 


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1 (2) not less than 1 national nonprofit organiza2 tion, which may include a manufacturer of products 

3 or publisher of materials or a special school or cen4 ter with demonstrated experience directly serving 

5 children who are blind or visually impaired (includ6 ing students who may or may not have additional 

7 disabilities); 

8 (3) not less than 1 institution of higher edu9 cation that— 

10 (A) has consistently maintained for not 

11 less than 10 years a program of instruction pre12 paring teachers of children who are blind or vis13 ually impaired or orientation and mobility spe14 cialists; and 

15 (B) offers a program of doctoral study in 

16 special education; and 

17 (4) any other entity or entities with which the 

18 entities described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 

19 choose to partner (with approval of the Secretary). 

20 (c) GOVERNANCE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Secretary’s 

22 oversight responsibilities, the Secretary shall appoint 

23 an advisory board (of no more than 12 individual 

24 members who do not have a concurrent contractual, 

25 fiscal, fiduciary, or employment relationship with 


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1 any of the entities comprising the consortium de2 scribed in subsection (b)) which shall advise the Sec3 retary and such consortium of entities with respect 

4 to strategic planning and annual program perform5 ance. 

6 (2) COMPOSITION.—The advisory board shall be 

7 comprised of individuals with personal or profes8 sional experience with the needs of children who are 

9 blind or visually impaired, and shall include parents 

10 of children who are blind or visually impaired (in11 cluding children with additional disabilities), admin12 istrators of special education programs (including 

13 State and local educational agency program adminis14 trators), and representatives of national, regional, or 

15 community-based organizations of individuals who 

16 are blind or visually impaired and the professionals 

17 who serve them. 

18 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary may com19 pensate the members of the advisory board for rea20 sonable expenses incurred for travel related to in21 person meetings of the advisory board, which shall 

22 occur no more frequently than 3 times within a cal23 endar year. 


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1 (4) FACA.—The provisions of the Federal Ad2 visory Committee Act shall not apply to meetings or 

3 other activities of the advisory board. 

4 (5) CONSULTATION PRIOR TO APPOINTMENT.— 

5 Prior to the appointment of any individual to the ad6 visory board, the Secretary shall consult with such 

7 consortium of entities, which may also nominate in8 dividuals to the Secretary for advisory board mem9 bership. 

10 (d) STRUCTURE.—The Secretary, as part of the con11 tract or cooperative agreement described in subsection (a), 

12 shall ensure that such contract or cooperative agreement 

13 specifies any and all necessary fiscal and other responsibil14 ities between and among the entities described in sub15 section (b) whom shall propose such responsibilities to the 

16 Secretary in an application for award of such contract or 

17 cooperative agreement containing such information as the 

18 Secretary may require. 

19 SEC. 213. ACTIVITIES. 

20 Subject to the provisions of this subtitle, the Anne 

21 Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Edu22 cational Excellence shall— 

23 (1) conduct or fund original quantitative and 

24 qualitative research and publish or otherwise dis25 seminate such research; 


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1 (2) conduct or fund in-person and online con2 tinuing education opportunities for teachers of chil3 dren who are blind or visually impaired and related 

4 services personnel specifically trained to meet the 

5 unique learning needs of such students, and prepare, 

6 publish or otherwise disseminate supporting mate7 rials; 

8 (3) conduct or fund in-person or online enrich9 ment projects for children who are blind or visually 

10 impaired (including those who may also have addi11 tional disabilities) to offer direct instruction and 

12 services intended to improve the capacity of such 

13 students to learn effectively and live both produc14 tively and independently for the purpose of— 

15 (A) supplementing the availability of such 

16 instruction and services offered by State and 

17 local educational agencies; and 

18 (B) evaluating, through appropriate quan19 titative and qualitative methods, the effective20 ness of instruction and services offered by such 

21 projects; 

22 (4) fund the establishment or maintenance of 

23 programs within institutions of higher education pre24 paring teachers of children who are blind or visually 

25 impaired and related services personnel to better 


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1 equip such personnel both to provide expert instruc2 tion and services to infants and toddlers with blind3 ness or visual impairment and their families and to 

4 provide specialized instruction and services to chil5 dren with blindness and visual impairment who may 

6 have additional disabilities; and 

7 (5) enter into cooperative agreements, con8 tracts, grants (or other arrangements which may be 

9 permitted by the Secretary) with nonprofit organiza10 tions possessing demonstrable expertise and experi11 ence serving children who are blind or visually im12 paired or the professionals trained to work with such 

13 students, institutions of higher education, State and 

14 local educational agencies, public and private special15 ized schools serving students with visual disabilities, 

16 and consortia of such entities, for the purpose of 

17 carrying out activities authorized in this section that 

18 are not otherwise directly conducted, in whole or in 

19 part, by the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual 

20 Disability and Educational Excellence. 

21 SEC. 214. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CAR22 RYOVER. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

24 out the provisions of this subtitle, there are authorized to 

25 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary, except 


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1 that appropriations made during any fiscal year shall be 

2 maintained at the funding level appropriated in such fiscal 

3 year or increased over such funding level for a period of 

4 not less than 4 subsequent fiscal years. 

5 (b) CARRYOVER.—Funds appropriated pursuant to 

6 subsection (a) that have not been expended during the fis7 cal year for which they were appropriated shall remain 

8 available in the subsequent fiscal year, except that no 

9 more than 15 percent of a given fiscal year’s appropriation 

10 may be so carried over. 

11 SEC. 215. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND AC12 TIVITIES. 

13 (a) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH.—The Secretary 

14 shall ensure that research activities authorized and carried 

15 out pursuant to this subtitle are conducted or funded in 

16 coordination as appropriate with the National Center for 

17 Special Education Research and other divisions within the 

18 Department of Education responsible for research activi19 ties. 

20 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO SERVICES OFFERED BY THE

21 AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND.—Nothing 

22 in this subtitle shall be construed to limit or otherwise con23 dition the use of any funds appropriated pursuant to the 

24 Act to Promote the Education of the Blind (20 U.S.C. 

25 101 et seq.) and no funds made available pursuant to this 


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1 subtitle shall be used by any State or local educational 

2 agency to supplant the use of funds appropriated under 

3 such Act. 

4 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO FUNDING FOR NATIONAL

5 CENTER ON DEAF-BLINDNESS, STATE DEAFBLIND

6 PROJECTS, AND THE HELEN KELLER NATIONAL CEN7 TER.—The Secretary shall ensure that any activities con8 ducted or funded by the Anne Sullivan Macy Center di9 rectly serving individuals who are deafblind are coordi10 nated as appropriate with the National Center on Deaf11 Blindness, State deaf-blind projects, and the Helen Keller 

12 National Center. No funds made available pursuant to this 

13 title may be used to support or supplant activities that 

14 are otherwise the sole responsibility of the National Center 

15 on Deaf-Blindness and State deafblind projects pursuant 

16 to sections 663(c)(8)(A) and 682(d)(1)(A) of the Individ17 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

18 1463(c)(8)(A); 20 U.S.C. 1482(d)(1)(A)). No funds made 

19 available pursuant to this title may be used to support 

20 activities that are otherwise the sole responsibility of the 

21 Helen Keller National Center or may be used to supplant 

22 funds for such Center. 

23 (d) WORK PRODUCT.—All matter produced by the 

24 Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Edu25 cational Excellence shall be the property of the United 


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1 States Government, except that entities comprising the 

2 consortium of entities described in section 212(b) shall be 

3 individually free, within the terms of the contract or coop4 erative agreement described in section 212(a), to repro5 duce, or author copyrighted derivative works, using such 

6 matter. 

7 TITLE III—IMPROVING THE EF8 FECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL 

9 EDUCATION AND RELATED 

10 SERVICES FOR CHILDREN 

11 AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

12 DEAFBLIND 

13 Subtitle A—General Provisions 

14 SEC. 301. IDENTIFYING CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

15 DEAFBLIND. 

16 (a) SERVING ALL CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAFBLIND

17 REGARDLESS OF CLASSIFICATION.—Section 612(a)(3) 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(3)), as amended by sections 101(a) 

19 and 201(a) of this Act, is further amended by adding at 

20 the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(E) SERVING CHILDREN WHO ARE

22 DEAFBLIND.—When a State classifies children 

23 by disability, the State, in complying with sub24 section (a)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) identifies, locates and evaluates 

2 children with concomitant vision and hear3 ing losses who are, or may be, classified in 

4 a disability category other than 

5 deafblindness; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) provides (without prejudice to 

7 such classification) special education and 

8 related services to such children, including 

9 the specific services determined appro10 priate based on proper evaluation as would 

11 be provided to children classified in the 

12 State as having deafblindness.’’. 

13 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section 

14 618 (20 U.S.C. 1418), as amended by sections 101(b) and 

15 201(b) of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) ACCOUNTING FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE

18 DEAFBLIND.—In addition to the other data collection and 

19 reporting requirements of this section and subject to such 

20 provisions, the State and the Secretary of the Interior 

21 shall, with respect to children classified in a disability cat22 egory other than deafblindness, include the number and 

23 percentage of such children in each disability category who 

24 are also deafblind.’’. 


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1 (c) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—Section 

2 602(3)(A)(i) (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)(A)(i)), as amended by 

3 sections 101(c) and 201(c) of this Act, is further amended 

4 by inserting ‘‘deafblindness,’’ before ‘‘serious’’. 

5 SEC. 302. RELATED SERVICES. 

6 Section 602(26)(A) (20 U.S.C. 1401(26)(A)), as 

7 amended by section 206 of this Act, is further amended 

8 by inserting ‘‘, and intervener services, which are provided 

9 to children who are deafblind by a qualified intervener’’ 

10 after ‘‘for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only’’. 

11 SEC. 303. STATE PLANS. 

12 Section 612 (20 U.S.C. 1412), as amended by sec13 tions 102 and 202 of this Act, is further amended by add14 ing at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) ADDENDUM CONCERNING CHILDREN WHO ARE

16 DEAFBLIND.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provi18 sions of subsection (c), a State shall not be deter19 mined to be in compliance with this section unless, 

20 not later than 2 years after the date of the enact21 ment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy 

22 Act, the State files with the Secretary a written ad23 dendum to the plan required by this section describ24 ing how the State ensures that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) children who are deafblind (regardless 

2 of the State’s use of disability categories or the 

3 extent to which children with deafblindness may 

4 be classified in disability categories other than 

5 deafblindness) are evaluated by qualified profes6 sionals, including teachers of the deafblind, 

7 using valid and reliable assessments, for such 

8 children’s need for instruction and services that 

9 meet their unique language and communication, 

10 literacy, academic, social and related learning 

11 needs, including instruction which may be need12 ed by children without disabilities or with other 

13 disabilities but which must be specifically de14 signed, modified, or delivered to meet the 

15 unique language and communication, academic, 

16 and related learning needs of children who are 

17 deafblind; 

18 ‘‘(B) there is sufficient availability of per19 sonnel, including teachers of the deafblind and 

20 interveners, within the State qualified to pro21 vide the evaluation, instruction, and services de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) to all children 

23 within the State requiring such instruction; and 

24 ‘‘(C) all children who are deafblind within 

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1 lated services, whether or not such children 

2 have other disabilities, receive such instruction 

3 and are not being served solely in accordance 

4 with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

5 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794). 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In preparing the addendum 

7 described in paragraph (1), the State shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) specifically address how the State 

9 meets the needs of children who are deafblind 

10 to support ongoing progress in language devel11 opment and in the child’s preferred mode of 

12 communication, and including the provision of 

13 school-related opportunities for direct commu14 nications with peers and professional personnel 

15 in the child’s preferred mode of communication 

16 and opportunities for direct instruction in (but 

17 not limited to) concept development, functional 

18 skills for academic success, self-determination 

19 and advocacy, social-emotional skills, visual and 

20 auditory sensory efficiency skills, orientation 

21 and mobility, assistive technology proficiency, 

22 independent living skills, age-appropriate career 

23 education, and support for the student through 

24 family education; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) consult with individuals and organiza2 tions with expertise in the education of children 

3 who are deafblind, including parents, con4 sumers, advocacy organizations, national and 

5 State organizations focused on deafblindness, 

6 and others the State may identify.’’. 

7 SEC. 304. EVALUATIONS. 

8 Section 614(b) (20 U.S.C. 1414(b)), as amended by 

9 sections 103(a) and 203 of this Act, is further amended 

10 by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(9) CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAFBLIND.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the as13 sessments prescribed in paragraph (3)(B), chil14 dren who are deafblind (including children who 

15 may have additional disabilities) shall be evalu16 ated on language and communication pro17 ficiency levels, including expressive, receptive, 

18 and pragmatic skills, and ability to access grade 

19 level content in the child’s preferred mode of 

20 communication, including non-symbolic and 

21 symbolic communication and tactile sign lan22 guage. Qualified personnel trained in 

23 deafblindness, who communicate in the child’s 

24 preferred mode of communication, shall be ac25 tively involved in assessments and evaluations. 


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1 The requirements included in paragraphs 

2 (7)(A) and (8)(A) shall also apply to children 

3 who are deafblind. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF EVALUATIONS.—The 

5 evaluations described in subparagraph (A) shall, 

6 at a minimum, include evaluations assessing the 

7 need for services and supports to assist children 

8 who are deafblind in developing and maintain9 ing language and communication skills in their 

10 preferred mode of communication, including 

11 non-symbolic and symbolic communication and 

12 tactile sign language. Other areas of evaluation 

13 for children who are deafblind shall include 

14 those found in paragraphs (7)(B) and (8)(B).’’. 

15 SEC. 305. CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FACTORS. 

16 Section 614(d)(3)(B), as amended by section 105 of 

17 this Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3)(B)) is further amended— 

18 (1) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (2) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); 

20 and 

21 (3) by inserting after clause (iv) the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) in the case of a child who is 

23 deafblind, provide for the child’s language 

24 and communication needs, including tactile 

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1 tions to sign and fingerspelling, and object 

2 and tangible symbol systems. The require3 ments included in clauses (iii) and (iv) 

4 shall also apply to children who are 

5 deafblind; and’’. 

6 SEC. 306. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENTS AND EDU7 CATORS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE 

8 DEAFBLIND. 

9 Section 616 (20 U.S.C. 1416), as amended by sec10 tions 108 and 205 of this Act, is further amended by add11 ing at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(l) DEVELOPING POLICY GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS

13 AND EDUCATORS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAFBLIND.— 

14 The Secretary shall ensure that not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of the enactment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne 

16 Sullivan Macy Act, policy guidance concerning the provi17 sion of special education and related services to children 

18 who are deafblind is developed (and periodically thereafter 

19 but not less than once every 5 years, updated) with par20 ticular attention to explanation of relevant amendments 

21 to this Act or to its implementing regulations and is pub22 lished in the Federal Register.’’. 

23 SEC. 307. CONFORMING REGULATIONS. 

24 Section 617 (20 U.S.C. 1417) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact2 ment of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act, 

3 the Secretary shall, after notice and comment, publish reg4 ulations that provide definitions for ‘deafblindness’ and 

5 ‘intervener services’.’’. 

6 Subtitle B—Improving the Effec7 tiveness of Early Intervention 

8 for Infants and Toddlers Who 

9 Are Deafblind and Their Fami10 lies 

11 SEC. 311. CONTENT OF PLAN. 

12 Section 636(d)(9) (20 U.S.C. 1436(d)), as amended 

13 by sections 113 and 209 of this Act, is further amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) in the case of an infant or toddler who is 

16 deafblind, a statement of the ongoing language and 

17 communication assessment that will be provided to 

18 the child, language and communication development 

19 goals commensurate with the child’s cognitive abili20 ties, the language and communication access that 

21 will be provided, including ongoing opportunities for 

22 direct language learning and communication access 

23 to peers, early intervention service providers, and 

24 other professional personnel trained in the child’s 

25 preferred mode of communication, and the support 


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1 and instruction that will be provided to families to 

2 learn and support the child’s language and commu3 nication mode and the child’s full range of needs.’’. 

4 Subtitle C—National Activities To 

5 Improve the Education of Chil6 dren With Disabilities 

7 SEC. 321. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERV8 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DIS9 ABILITIES; ENSURING SUFFICIENT TEACH10 ERS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAFBLIND, 

11 INTERVENERS, AND EARLY INTERVENTION 

12 SPECIALISTS. 

13 Section 662(c)(2) (20 U.S.C. 1462(c)(2)), as amend14 ed by section 121(b) of this Act, is further amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (G) and 

16 (H) (as redesignated by section 121(b)(1) of this 

17 Act) as subparagraphs (I) and (J), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) (as in19 serted by section 121(b)(2) of this Act) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(G) Preparing personnel to be qualified 

22 teachers of children who are deafblind and early 

23 intervention specialists, to assist children who 

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1 dren who are deafblind in early intervention 

2 and preschool programs, to develop communica3 tion and literacy skills, to be able to access, or4 ganize and utilize information about the envi5 ronment, and to acquire concepts essential for 

6 learning. 

7 ‘‘(H) Preparing personnel to be qualified 

8 interveners as individualized supports to assist 

9 children who are deafblind in school and school10 related activities, and infants and toddlers and 

11 preschool children who are deafblind in early 

12 intervention and preschool programs.’’. 

Æ 


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