STAND. COM. REP. NO.  97-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   H.B. No. 1780

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1780 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Executive Office on Early Learning to establish language development milestones to be used for parents to monitor and track deaf and hearing-impaired children's language acquisition and development;

     (2)  Require the Executive Office on Early Learning to select tools or assessments for educators to use for assessing language and literacy development of deaf and hearing-impaired children;

     (3)  Require the Superintendent of Education to establish an advisory committee to solicit input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones; and

     (4)  Appropriate funds to the Executive Office on Early Learning Office to establish language developmental milestones and to develop a parent resource and educator tools to monitor and track deaf and hearing-impaired children's language acquisition and development.

The Aloha State Association of the Deaf; School Community Council of the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind; Isle Interpret, LLC; and numerous concerned individuals supported this measure.  The Department of Education, Executive Office on Early Learning, Disability and Communication Access Board, and Hawaii Children's Action Network supported the intent of this measure.  Several concerned individuals commented on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1780, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1780, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Education.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

DEE MORIKAWA, Chair