1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K) Act".
2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) "ASL" , American sign language as defined in section 209.285 ;
(2) "Credentialed teacher" , a certificated teacher with a special education endorsement in deaf or hard-of-hearing education;
(3) "Department" , the department of elementary and secondary education;
(4) "English" , the English language including, but not limited to, spoken English, written English, and English with the use of visual supplements;
(5) "IEP" , individualized education program;
(6) "IFSP" , individualized family service plan;
(7) "Language" , communication including, but not limited to, ASL and English;
(8) "Language developmental milestones" , milestones of language development aligned with the existing state instrument used to meet the requirements of federal law for the assessment of children from birth to five years of age;
(9) "Parent" , a parent, legal guardian, or other person having charge, custody, or control of the student.
3. The department shall select language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms as provided in subsection 6 of this section to develop a resource for use by parents to monitor and track expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward ASL and English literacy of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Such parent resource shall:
(1) Include the language developmental milestones selected under the process specified in subsection 6 of this section;
(2) Be appropriate for use, in both content and administration, with children who are deaf or hard of hearing and who use ASL, English, or both;
(3) Present the language developmental milestones in terms of typical development of all children by age range;
(4) Be written for clarity and ease of use by parents;
(5) Be aligned with the department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines; the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities under federal law; and state standards in English language arts;
(6) Make clear that parents have the right to select ASL, English, or both for a child's language acquisition and developmental milestones;
(7) Make clear that the parent resource is not a formal assessment of language and literacy development and that a parent's observations of a child may differ from formal assessment data presented at an IEP or IFSP meeting;
(8) Make clear that parents may bring the parent resource to an IEP or IFSP meeting for purposes of sharing observations about a child's development;
(9) Include fair, balanced, and comprehensive information about language and communication modes and about available services and programs; and
(10) Include informational resources from Missouri hospitals, as such term is defined in section 197.020 , audiologists, otolaryngologists, and pediatricians.
4. The department shall select existing tools or assessments for educators that can be used to assess the language and literacy development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Such tools or assessments selected under this subsection:
(1) Shall be:
(a) In a format that shows stages of language development;
(b) Selected for use by educators to track the development of expressive and receptive language acquisition and developmental stages toward English literacy of children who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(c) Selected from existing instruments or assessments used to assess the development of all children from birth to five years of age; and
(d) Appropriate, in both content and administration, for use with children who are deaf or hard of hearing; and
(2) May:
(a) In addition to the assessment required by federal law, be used by the child's IEP or IFSP team, as applicable, to track the progress of the child who is deaf or hard of hearing and to establish or modify the child's IEP or IFSP; and
(b) Reflect the recommendations of the advisory committee established in this section.
5. (1) The department shall:
(a) Disseminate the parent resource developed under subsection 3 of this section to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing;
(b) Under federal law, disseminate the educator tools and assessments selected under subsection 4 of this section to local educational agencies for use in the development and modification of an IEP or IFSP; and
(c) Provide materials and training on the use of the parent resource to assist children who are deaf or hard of hearing in becoming linguistically ready for kindergarten using ASL, English, or both.
(2) 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 under subsection 4 of this section or by the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities under federal law, the child's IEP or IFSP team shall, as part of the process required by federal law, explain in detail the reasons the child is not progressing toward or meeting the language developmental milestones and shall recommend specific strategies, services, and programs that will be provided to assist with the child's success toward English literacy.
6. (1) Before March 1, 2024, the department shall provide the advisory committee established in this section with a list of existing language developmental milestones from existing standardized norms with any relevant information held by the department regarding those language developmental milestones for possible inclusion in the parent resource developed under subsection 3 of this section. The language developmental milestones shall be aligned to the department's existing infant, toddler, and preschool guidelines; the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities under federal law; and the state standards in English language arts.
(2) Before June 1, 2024, the advisory committee shall recommend language developmental milestones for selection under subsection 3 of this section.
(3) Before July 1, 2024, the department shall inform the advisory committee of which language developmental milestones the department selected.
7. (1) The commissioner of education shall, in consultation with the Missouri commission for the deaf and hard of hearing, establish an ad hoc advisory committee to solicit input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hard of hearing that are equivalent to milestones for children who are not deaf or hard of hearing for inclusion in the parent resource developed under subsection 3 of this section. The advisory committee may make recommendations on the selection and administration of the educator tools or assessments selected under subsection 4 of this section. The advisory committee may make recommendations on materials that are unbiased and comprehensive to add to the parent resource.
(2) The majority of the advisory committee's members shall be individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The advisory committee shall consist of parents, advocates, and professionals from the field of education for the deaf and hard of hearing and shall have a balance of members who personally, professionally, or parentally use ASL and English and members who personally, professionally, or parentally use only spoken English. The advisory committee shall consist of the following members:
(a) A credentialed teacher of the deaf who provides direct instruction in ASL;
(b) A credentialed teacher of the deaf who provides direct instruction in listening and spoken language;
(c) A credentialed teacher of the deaf who has expertise in curriculum development and instruction in ASL and English;
(d) A credentialed teacher of the deaf who has expertise in assessing language development both in ASL and English;
(e) A speech-language pathologist who has experience working with children from birth to five years of age who are deaf or hard of hearing and use listening and spoken language;
(f) A speech-language pathologist who has experience working with children from birth to five years of age who are deaf or hard of hearing and use ASL;
(g) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses ASL;
(h) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing who uses listening and spoken language;
(i) A deaf or deaf-blind member of the community who uses ASL as the primary means of communication; or
(j) A deaf or deaf-blind member of the community who uses spoken language as the primary means of communication; and
(k) Seven members of the committee shall be ex officio members and shall be:
a. The executive director of the Missouri commission for the deaf and hard of hearing, or the director's designee;
b. The superintendent or assistant superintendent of the Missouri School for the Deaf, or the superintendent's designee;
c. A representative of the Missouri Association of the Deaf;
d. The person designated by the department of health and senior services to manage the Missouri newborn hearing screening program;
e. A coordinator of the first steps early intervention program administered by the department, or such coordinator's designee;
f. The person designated by the department of elementary and secondary education's office of childhood to manage Missouri's early care & education connections; and
g. A representative of the department of elementary and secondary education's vocational rehabilitation program who works with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
(3) The advisory committee may advise the department or the department's contractor on the content and administration of the existing instrument used to assess the development of children with disabilities under federal law, as used to assess the language and literacy development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing to ensure the appropriate use of such instrument with such children, and may make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of progress in language and literacy of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
8. For the 2024-25 school year and all subsequent school years, the department shall produce an annual report that is specific to language and literacy development of children who are deaf or hard of hearing including, but not limited to, children who are deaf or hard of hearing and have other disabilities, from birth to five years of age relative to peers who are not deaf or hard of hearing. The report shall use existing data reported in compliance with the federally required state performance plan on pupils with disabilities. The department shall make the report available on the department's website before August first of each school year.
9. All activities of the department in implementing this section shall be consistent with federal law regarding the education of children with disabilities and federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information.
10. For the purposes of developing and using language as described in paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of subsection 4 of this section, for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing the following modes of communication may be used as a means for acquiring language:
(1) ASL services;
(2) Spoken language services;
(3) Dual-language services;
(4) Cued speech;
(5) Tactile sign as defined in section 209.285 ; and
(6) Any combination of subdivisions (1) to (5) of this subsection.
11. This section shall apply only to activities of the department relating to children from birth to five years of age.
12. Implementation of this section shall be subject to appropriations for purposes of this section.