HB 317
NC Session Law 2013-119 House Bill 317 was enacted in June 2013 to improve educational outcomes for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Section 1 of the law states: The State Board of Education shall do at least all of the following to improve the educational outcomes for North Carolina children who are deaf or hard of hearing:
(1) Develop assessment procedures and protocols to measure, at least annually or more frequently if specified in a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), the acquisition of language skills necessary for literacy using linguistically and culturally appropriate assessment tools. The results of these assessments shall be used to determine whether further support and services, if any, are needed for a child.
(2) Require an IEP team to use the Communication Plan Worksheet for a Student Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing to document (i) the team's consideration of the language and communication needs of the individual child as the IEP is developed, reviewed, or revised, (ii) data to be used in the placement decisions made for that child, and (iii) the team's review, at least annually, of the child's placement and language and communication needs.
(3) Ensure that personnel who are highly qualified in the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing are available to meet the unique needs of each child, including interactions in the child's language and communication modality to meet academic and social goals.
(4) Develop and implement strategies to ensure that parents of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing know they are entitled to request that the child's IEP team consider placement of their child in a residential setting and, if such a request is made, that a representative from one of the two North Carolina residential/day program schools for the deaf shall be a member of the IEP team.
Section 2 of the law requires NC DPI to maintain a statewide data tracking system to ensure literacy achievement for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Sensory Support and Assistive Technology Section has developed a database and, annually, Local Education Agencies (LEA) are required to report on the students in their LEA eligible for special education and related services under the category of Hearing Impaired or Deaf.
The full components of the law can be found in the document below.
HB 317 Links to an external site.
