2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 52. Family Services › Chapter 2. Children's Services › Part 9. Early Intervention Services › 52-2-903. Parent resource on language developmental milestones -- criteria -- distribution -- timeline for development

52-2-903. Parent resource on language developmental milestones -- criteria -- distribution -- timeline for development.
(1) The department and the office of public instruction shall collaborate to select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms to develop a resource for parents to use in monitoring the expressive and receptive language acquisition of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
(2) The parent resource must:
(a) include the language developmental milestones developed in accordance with subsection (4);
(b) be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through 8 years of age who use American sign language, English, or both;
(c) present the language developmental milestones in terms of the typical development of all children by age range;
(d) be written for clarity and ease of use by parents;
(e) be aligned with:
(i) the department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines;
(ii) the existing instruments used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law; and
(iii) the state standards in English language arts;
(f) make clear that a parent has the right to select a spoken language, a signed language, or both, as the language to be used for the child's language acquisition and developmental milestones;
(g) make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language development and that a parent's observations of a child may differ from formal assessment data presented at a meeting to discuss an individualized family service plan or individualized education program;
(h) make clear that a parent may bring the parent resource to an individualized family service plan or individualized education program meeting to share the parent's observations about the child's development; and
(i) include fair, balanced, and comprehensive information about languages, communication modes, and available services and programs.
(3) The department and the office of public instruction shall disseminate the parent resource on their websites.
(4) (a) (i) On or before March 1, 2024, the department and the office of public instruction shall provide the language development advisory committee provided for in 52-2-904 with a list of existing language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms. Each agency shall provide any relevant information it holds regarding the language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource.
(ii) The language developmental milestones must be aligned with the agencies' existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines, the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities pursuant to federal law, and the state standards in English language arts.
(b) On or before June 1, 2024, the advisory committee shall recommend language developmental milestones to be selected for the parent resource.
(c) On or before June 30, 2024, the department and the office of public instruction shall inform the advisory committee of language developmental milestones selected for inclusion in the parent resource.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 521, L. 2023.