An Act Regarding Kindergarten Readiness for Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0642
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: BREEN, PIERCE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §7204

Legislative Document
No. 642
S.P. 204
In Senate, February 7, 2019
An Act Regarding Kindergarten Readiness for Children Who Are 
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BREEN of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative PIERCE of Falmouth.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §7204, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2015, c. 448, §11, is 
further amended to read:
6.  Technical assistance.  May, on the request of a school administrative unit, 
provide technical assistance in the formulation of a plan or subsequent report required of 
all administrative units.  Assistance may not be designed to transfer the responsibility for 
or actual development of the plan or report; and
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §7204, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 448, §12, is 
amended to read:
7.  Out-of-state placement of a state ward.  May, when a child with a disability 
who is a state ward is placed in an out-of-state residential treatment center by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, designate the Department of Education as 
having responsibility for oversight of the child's individualized education program to 
ensure that the child receives a free, appropriate public education.; and
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §7204, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
8.  Report on language and literacy development of children who are deaf and 
hard of hearing from birth to 5 years of age.  Beginning July 31, 2020 and annually 
thereafter, shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs of:
A.  The data reported in compliance with the state performance plan required by the 
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that are specific to language and 
literacy development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth to 5 years 
of age, including children who are deaf or hard of hearing and have other disabilities, 
that demonstrate language and literacy development of children who are deaf or hard 
of hearing relative to the children's peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing; and
B.  Any language developmental milestones or parent resources used or disseminated 
by the department to parents, educators, early interventionists or therapists for use in 
tracking or assessing the expressive and receptive language acquisition of children 
from birth to 5 years of age who are deaf and hard of hearing and their development 
stages toward literacy in American Sign Language and English.
The commissioner shall post the report on the department's publicly accessible website.
Sec. 4.  Departmental task force established.  The Commissioner of Education 
shall establish a departmental task force to recommend language developmental 
milestones for children, from birth to 5 years of age, based on existing resources and 
current standards and to develop a parent resource portfolio as described in subsection 5 
to monitor and track the expressive and receptive language acquisition of children who 
are deaf and hard of hearing and their developmental stages toward literacy in American 
Sign Language and English.  The task force must be convened no later than October 1, 
2019.
1. The commissioner shall appoint members of the task force in accordance with the 
following provisions.
A. The task force must include:
(1) A majority of members who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(2) Members who are advocates and professionals within the field of education 
for children who are deaf and hard of hearing and parents of children who are 
deaf and hard of hearing; and
(3) A balance between members who personally, professionally or as parents use 
both American Sign Language and English and members who personally, 
professionally or as parents use only spoken English.
B. The task force may include:
(1) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who communicates 
using only spoken English without visual supplements;
(2) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who communicates 
using American Sign Language;
(3)  A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who communicates 
using American Sign Language and spoken English;
(4) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and who has additional 
special needs;
(5) A credentialed teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing and who 
use both American Sign Language and English;
(6) A credentialed teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing who use 
only spoken English;
(7) A credentialed teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing whose 
expertise is in curriculum development and instruction in American Sign 
Language;
(8) A credentialed teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing whose 
expertise is in curriculum development and instruction in English;
(9) A credentialed teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing whose 
expertise is in American Sign Language and English language assessment;
(10) A credentialed spoken language therapist whose expertise is in spoken 
English assessments;
(11) An expert who researches language outcomes for children who are deaf and 
hard of hearing;
(12) An advocate for the teaching and use of both American Sign Language and 
English;
(13) An advocate for the teaching and use of spoken English, with or without 
visual supplements;
(14) An early intervention specialist who oversees statewide programming for 
infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing;
(15) A pediatrician who is committed to the health and well-being of children 
who are deaf and hard of hearing;
(16) A specialist whose expertise is in the resources, curriculum and teaching of 
children who are blind and who are also deaf or hard of hearing;
(17) A licensed audiologist who specializes in pediatric and educational 
audiology;
(18) A licensed clinical social worker who specializes in working with children 
who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(19)  A representative from the Child Development Services System, established 
under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 7209; and
(20) A representative from the Maine Newborn Hearing Program established by 
Title 22, section 8821 within the Department of Health and Human Services who 
is responsible for referring children who are deaf and hard of hearing to early 
intervention services.
C.  Members are not entitled to compensation.
2. By March 1, 2020, the Department of Education shall provide to the task force the 
following information:
A. A list of language developmental milestones based on current standardized norms 
that are aligned to the department's infant, toddler and preschool guidelines;
B. Information held by the department relating to language developmental 
milestones;
C. The instrument currently used by the Department of Education to assess the 
development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law; and 
D. The state standards in English language arts education as provided under the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 6209.
3. By June 1, 2020, the task force shall recommend to the Department of Education 
language developmental milestones based on current standardized norms and aligned 
with the state instrument used to meet the requirements of federal law for the assessment 
of children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth to 5 years of age for purposes of 
developing a parent resource portfolio as described in subsection 5 for use by parents to 
monitor and track their children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and 
developmental stages toward literacy in American Sign Language and English. In 
selecting language developmental milestones, the task force shall solicit input from 
experts in the field of education for the deaf and hard of hearing.  The Department of 
Education shall post the recommendations on its publicly accessible website and shall 
solicit public comments.
4. By June 30, 2020, the Department of Education shall select the language 
developmental milestones to include in the parent resource portfolio and inform the task 
force of which language developmental milestones have been selected.
5. By November 15, 2020, the task force shall, in consultation with any governmental 
entities that oversee the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth 
to 5 years of age, develop a parent resource portfolio. The parent resource portfolio must:
A. Include the language developmental milestones selected pursuant to subsection 4;
B. Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with children who are 
deaf and hard of hearing from birth to 5 years of age who use American Sign 
Language or English, or both;
C. Present the developmental milestones in terms of typical development of all 
children;
D. Be written for clarity and ease of use for parents to monitor and track their 
children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages 
toward literacy in American Sign Language and English;
E. Be aligned to the department's existing infant, toddler and preschool guidelines, 
the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities 
pursuant to federal law and state standards in English language arts;
F. Make clear that parents have the right to select American Sign Language, English, 
or both, and the modalities for language provision, including but not limited to cued 
speech, lipreading, listening and tactile communication, for the child's language 
acquisition and developmental milestones;
G. Make clear that the parent resource portfolio is not a formal assessment of 
language and literacy development and that a parent's observation of that parent's 
child may differ from formal assessment data presented at an individual family 
service plan meeting or individual education program meeting;
H. Make clear that a parent may bring the parent resource portfolio to an individual 
family service plan meeting or individual education program meeting for purposes of 
sharing that parent's observations about that parent's child's development; and
I. Include balanced and comprehensive information about languages and 
communication modes as well as available services and programs.
6. The task force may advise the department on the content and administration of 
instruments used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to 
federal law as used to assess the language and literacy development of children who are 
deaf and hard of hearing to ensure appropriate use of those instruments and may make 
recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of progress in 
language and literacy of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Sec. 5.  Department of Education's selection of tools and assessments for 
educators, early interventionists and therapists.  The Department of Education 
shall select tools and assessments for educators, early interventionists and therapists that 
can be used to assess the language and literacy development of children who are deaf and 
hard of hearing and that, in addition to the assessment required by federal law, can be 
used by the children's individual family service plans or individual education program 
teams, as applicable, to track the progress of these children and to establish and modify 
individual family service plans or individual education programs.  These tools and 
assessments must:
1. Be in a format that shows stages of language development;
2. Be currently used by educators to track the development of expressive and 
receptive language acquisition of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their 
developmental stages toward literacy in American Sign Language and English;
3. Be drawn from existing instruments or assessments currently used to assess the 
development of all children from birth to 5 years of age; and
4. Be appropriate, both in content and administration, for use with children who are 
deaf and hard of hearing.
The selection of tools and assessments for educators, early interventionists and 
therapists may also reflect the recommendations of the task force made pursuant to 
section 4, subsection 6.
Sec. 6.  Report.  No later than December 15, 2020, the Department of Education 
shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including suggested 
legislation, for presentation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs. The report must include: 
1. The parent resource portfolio developed by the departmental task force under 
section 4, and a procedure to disseminate the parent resource portfolio to parents and 
guardians of children who are deaf and hard of hearing;
2. A procedure to disseminate to local educational agencies educator tools and 
assessments selected by the department according to section 5 for use in the development 
and modification of individual family service plans and individual education programs 
and materials and training in their use in assisting children who are deaf and hard of 
hearing to become linguistically prepared for kindergarten using American Sign 
Language or English, or both; and
3. A procedure to require, if a child who is deaf or hard of hearing does not 
demonstrate progress in expressive and receptive language skills, as measured by one of 
the educator tools or assessments selected by the department according to section 5 or by 
the instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to 
federal law, the child's individual family service plan or individual education program 
team to provide a detailed explanation of why the child is not meeting the language 
developmental milestones or progressing toward them and to recommend specific 
strategies, services and programs that should be provided to the child to assist in the 
child's success toward literacy in American Sign Language or English, or both, including 
the possibility that a child may be monolingual in American Sign Language or English.
The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education 
and cultural affairs may report out a bill to the First Regular Session of the 130th 
Legislature to implement the findings and recommendations included in the report.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Commissioner of Education, beginning July 31, 2020 and 
annually thereafter, to submit a report to the joint standing committee having jurisdiction 
over education and cultural affairs of the data specific to language and literacy 
development of children who are deaf and hard of hearing from birth to 5 years of age, 
including children who are deaf or hard of hearing and have other disabilities, that 
demonstrate the children's language and literacy development relative to their peers who 
are not deaf or hard of hearing to include any language developmental milestones or 
parent resources used or disseminated by the department for use in tracking or assessing 
the expressive and receptive language acquisition of children who are deaf or hard of 
hearing and to make this report publicly available.
This bill also directs the Commissioner of Education, no later than October 1, 2019, 
to establish a departmental task force to recommend language developmental milestones 
from existing resources and current standards and to develop a parent resource portfolio 
to monitor and track the expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental 
stages toward literacy in American Sign Language and English of children who are deaf 
and hard of hearing and sets criteria for the task force membership.  The bill also directs 
the Department of Education to select tools and assessments for educators that can be 
used to assess the language and literacy development of children who are deaf and hard 
of hearing and to report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs, by December 15, 2020, on the parent 
resource portfolio developed by the task force and a procedure to disseminate the parent 
resource portfolio to parents, a procedure to disseminate the selected tools and 
assessments to educators and a procedure for educators to use when a child is not 
progressing in expressive and receptive language skills. The report must include 
suggested legislation to implement its findings and recommendations, and the joint 
standing committing of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural 
affairs is authorized to report out legislation to the First Regular Session of the 130th 
Legislature to implement those findings and recommendations.