Committee releases bill to codify early language access program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children

The Senate Health Committee released an amended bill to codify and expand a language instruction program for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafblind children. The measure establishes the Early Language Access Program within the Department of Health, to be implemented in conjunction with the Department of Education and the Marie H. Kasenbach School for the Deaf.

Committee amendments broaden the program from the original proposal: services for children up to age 3 will be delivered through the Department of Health’s early-intervention program to the extent permissible under federal and state law; the interprofessional team may include American Sign Language (ASL) deaf language associates, licensed speech-language pathologists, licensed audiologists, certified teachers for the visually impaired, certified teachers of the deaf, licensed occupational therapists, and licensed social workers. The amendments also allow a range of communication approaches (ASL, spoken language with auditory support, multimodal approaches), add case management, audiological evaluations, access to hearing technologies such as cochlear implants and bone-anchored devices, and supplementation by licensed audiologists for hearing-technology maintenance.

Christopher Sullivan, chair of Leadership and Excellence in Education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, testified in support and described prior budget funding and the need to codify funding to ensure program continuity. JC Lang (represented in testimony by counsel JC Lance of Porzio Governmental Affairs for the New Jersey Speech-Language and Hearing Association) supported the amendments as expanding access and services beyond a single service model.

Committee members said the bill builds on earlier appropriations and addresses a gap in early language acquisition services; the committee voted to release Senate Bill 3764 and its companion Assembly provisions as amended. The bill record cites previous budget actions and a 2019 law that had funded language-acquisition services but did not fully codify the funding stream. The amended bill includes a provision that cost-sharing may apply to some services but otherwise requires the program to be free where applicable.

The committee released the bill as amended; sponsors and witnesses said the change to the Department of Health will allow coordination with existing early-intervention services for children from birth to age 3.