2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 52. Family Services › Chapter 2. Children's Services › Part 9. Early Intervention Services › 52-2-901. Evaluation and assessment of language development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children -- exception -- report

52-2-901. Evaluation and assessment of language development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children -- exception -- report.
(1) In providing early intervention services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families pursuant to Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1431, et seq., the department and the office of public instruction shall provide a list of tools for qualified personnel and educators to use in evaluating and assessing the language development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The tools must be selected from the list submitted by the language development advisory committee pursuant to 52-2-904.
(2) A tool:
(a) must be in a format that shows the stages of language development for American sign language or English;
(b) must be used by qualified personnel and educators to track the development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children's expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward effective communication;
(c) must be selected from existing instruments or assessments used to assess the development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through 8 years of age; and
(d) must be appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (8), the tools must be used, as part of the assessment required by federal law, by a child's individualized family service plan or individualized education program, as applicable, to track the child's progress and to establish or modify the child's individualized family service plan or individualized education program.
(4) Each child's language development must be assessed:
(a) every 6 months from birth until the child reaches 3 years of age; and
(b) annually from 3 years of age until the child reaches 9 years of age.
(5) If a deaf or hard-of-hearing child does not progress through established benchmarks in expressive and receptive language skills as measured by one of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to this section or by the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities, the child's individualized family service plan or individualized education program team must:
(a) explain in detail the reasons the child is not meeting the language developmental milestones or progressing towards them; and
(b) recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that may be provided to assist the child's success in effective communication.
(6) (a) The department shall provide the list of tools selected pursuant to this part to providers of early intervention services to track the language development of the deaf and hard-of-hearing children to whom the provider is providing services.
(b) The office of public instruction shall provide a list of tools to educators or providers of school-based services to track the language development of a deaf or hard-of-hearing child receiving services.
(7) (a) The department and the office of public instruction shall each prepare an annual report, using existing data that is reported in compliance with federal requirements for children receiving Part B and Part C services, regarding language development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through 8 years of age relative to their peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing.
(b) The report must include, as applicable to each agency:
(i) the total number of children receiving Part B and Part C services;
(ii) the total number of children assessed for language development;
(iii) the languages in which children were assessed and the number of children assessed in each language;
(iv) the number of children who were and were not within age-appropriate development ranges based on their chronological age;
(v) information on how the ratings included in the report were developed;
(vi) for each assessment conducted, the tool that was used for the assessment; and
(vii) the number of assessment proctors whose qualifications as established by the producer of the assessment tool were verified by both the parent or guardian and the department or the office of public instruction.
(c) Each agency shall make its report available on its website along with the name and contact information of the person who prepared the report.
(8) A parent pursuing an indigenous language for a child may opt out of the evaluation and assessment required under this part.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 214, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 521, L. 2023.