H.R. 9195

Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act

Sponsor: Morgan McGarvey

30 cosponsors
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Official summary

Written by the Congressional Research Service.

Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act

This bill expands special education and related services for children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind.

For example, the bill requires states to more specifically identify and evaluate children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind to better allow for the provision of appropriate services.

In addition, a state's closure of a specialized school serving children who are blind or deaf shall result in a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services.

The bill also authorizes support, including grants for training special education personnel, to prepare individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind.

Finally, the bill establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities receiving special education and related services.

Text of the bill

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I IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE DEAF, HARD OF HEARING, OR DEAFDISABLED

A General Provisions

B Improving the Effectiveness of Early Intervention for Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Deafdisabled Infants and Toddlers and Their Families

C National Activities To Improve Education of Children With Disabilities

II IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED

A General Provisions

B Specialized Early Childhood Intervention Services to Infants and Toddlers Who are Blind or Visually Impaired

Sec. 209. Content of plan

Section 636(d)(9) (20 U.S.C. 1436(d)), as amended by section 113 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

Text this section adds to the law

(B) in the case of an infant or toddler who is blind or visually impaired, a statement of the ongoing developmental and educational assessment that will be provided to the child, early intervention service providers specializing in blindness or visual impairment (including ocular or brain-based visual impairment), instruction in Braille (inclusive of a range of instructional strategies, including pre-literacy tactual exposure to Braille code reading and writing), orientation and mobility (provided and exercised in a variety of environments both within and outside the home), socialization, sensory efficiency, exposure to assistive technologies (including low vision devices as determined appropriate), self-determination, recreation and fitness, and age-appropriate transitional services, and the support and instruction that will be provided to families to learn and support the child’s acquisition, retention and age-appropriate mastery of the instruction and services provided to such child; and

C Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence

III IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO ARE DEAFBLIND

A General Provisions

B Improving the Effectiveness of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers who are Deafblind and Their Families

C National Activities To Improve the Education of Children with Disabilities