SB141 Alabama 2018 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jim McClendon

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2018

Title

Education, State Dept. of Education and Alabama Dept. of Rehabilitation Services, to consult with Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind to select language developmental milestones and monitor and track progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children

Summary

SB 141 would create a coordinated state effort to monitor and support language development for deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through age five by developing milestones, resources for parents, educator tools, and an advisory committee.

What This Bill Does

It requires the Department of Education and the Department of Rehabilitation Services, with input from the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, to select language development milestones from existing norms and create a parent resource to help monitor a child’s language progress toward English literacy. It also establishes an advisory committee to guide milestone selection and tool choices, and requires dissemination of educator tools and training for use in IFSP/IEP planning. The bill mandates annual reports comparing language outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children to peers, and states that the act should not favor any particular language or mode of communication and must protect student privacy.

Who It Affects

• Deaf and hard-of-hearing children aged birth to five years, whose language development will be tracked using milestones and observed through parent resources and educator tools.
• Parents/guardians and educators (including IFSP/IEP teams) who will use the parent resource and educator assessments to monitor progress, plan services, and discuss language development.

Key Provisions

• State agencies must jointly select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms to create a parent resource for monitoring expressive and receptive language in deaf and hard-of-hearing children aged birth through five.
• An advisory committee, with diverse membership and defined appointment processes, will guide milestone selection and the selection/administration of educator tools and assessments.
• Educator tools or assessments must show stages of language development, be appropriate for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and be drawn from instruments used for children birth to five; these tools may be used alongside federal assessments in IFSP/IEP planning.
• A parent resource must explain milestones, be appropriate for ASL and English users, be clear that it is not a formal assessment, and be usable in IFSP/IEP meetings.
• The departments must disseminate the parent resource to families and disseminate educator tools to local educational agencies, with training to support kindergarten readiness in ASL and English.
• If a child does not show progress, IFSP/IEP teams must explain why and recommend specific strategies, services, and programs to help the child toward English literacy.
• Milestones list due to the advisory committee by March 1, 2019; the departments must inform the advisory committee of milestones selected by June 30, 2019.
• The act requires annual joint reports on language and literacy outcomes for birth-5 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, available on agency websites and shared with legislative chairs.
• Activities must comply with federal privacy laws and apply only to children birth through five, without preference for any language or modality.
• The act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Education