THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

148

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO establish reasonable standards and performance assessments, and to provide for professional development fOr persons employed in the Hawaii public schools as educational interpreters, educators, and paraprofessionals who work with students in need of augmentative and alternative communication.

 

 


     WHEREAS, a student with disabilities may require augmentative and alternative communication, including sign language, especially when speech is not an effective mode of communication for the student; and

 

     WHEREAS, many people assume that sign language is only for the hearing impaired community, yet other populations benefit from sign language including those with autism, Down Syndrome, developmental apraxia of speech, cochlear implants, and oral‑motor weakness; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that interpreting services in Hawaii public schools for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or for hearing students when speech is extremely difficult to understand, would benefit from improvements; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that educational interpreters not only must interpret the spoken word but also must convey concepts and facilitate the student's understanding of the educational material; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that among the many factors that influence student success, there is a correlation between the academic achievements of deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and hearing students who require sign language, and the competency of their interpreters; and

 

     WHEREAS, the absence of state standards for evaluating educational interpreters, educators, and paraprofessionals who teach students with disabilities in need of augmentative and alternative communication, including sign language, allows for inconsistencies in the delivery of educational information to students who are in need of these services; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education, in coordination with the Special Education Advisory Council and the University of Hawaii, is urged to establish reasonable standards and performance assessments, and to provide for professional development for persons employed in the Hawaii public schools as educational interpreters, educators, and paraprofessionals who work with students in need of augmentative and alternative communication, including hearing students with disabilities who benefit from the simultaneous usage of sign language and the spoken word; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation in compliance with the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law 108-446, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, President of the University of Hawaii, Special Education Advisory Council, Chairperson of the Charter School Review Panel, and Executive Director of the Charter School Administrative Office.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

DOE; Standards and Performance Assessments; Augmentative and Alternative Communication