Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Ways and Means hears bill to track language acquisition for deaf and hard-of-hearing children
Summary
Delegates and advocates urged a favorable report on HB 879, which would create an MSDE-run language acquisition tracking program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children up to age 9, require routine assessments, establish a state coordinator and advisory council, and allow parental written opt-out.
ANNAPOLIS — Lawmakers and advocates told the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 25 that Maryland should establish a statewide program to measure whether deaf and hard-of-hearing children are learning language on schedule.
Delegate Heather Bagnell, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 879 would create a language-acquisition tracking program within the Maryland State Department of Education that assesses participants from enrollment through age 9 and allows parents to choose the communication modality. “Language deprivation in early child development is a leading cause of delays,” Bagnell said, adding the bill sets an assessment schedule of every six months from birth through age 5 and annually thereafter to age 9. She described two sponsor…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
