Bill Text: HI SCR195 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Children with Disabilities; Sign Language; Simultaneous Communication

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-04-21 - (S) Resolution adopted in final form. [SCR195 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR195-Amended.html

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

195

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO INCORPORATE SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES DURING INSTRUCTION TO ENHANCE THE LEARNING OF CHILDREN WITH COGNITIVE AND OTHER DISABILITIES.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the Department of Education has a departmental duty under section 302A‑436, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide exceptional children, which includes students with disabilities, residing in the State with instruction, special facilities, and special services for education, therapy, and training to enable them to live normal competitive lives; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Education has studied and made recommendations in the past on ways to improve the development and learning of children with disabilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Education submitted a report to the Legislature in 2007 entitled "Educational Implications of the Special Needs of Preschool Age Children with Developmental Disabilities: Report to the 24th Legislature, 2007" that provides the following recommendations:

 

     (1)  The development of a child's communication skills should be an ongoing process that is incorporated into all activities by professionals and by the child's family during the course of the intervention and during all daily activities;

 

     (2)  A total communication program (sign language, oral communication, and visual cues) should be used to facilitate the development of expressive language;

 

     (3)  When using a total communication approach, it is important that the sign language system be one that can be used simultaneously with spoken English (or other language spoken in the home) and that the child receives speech or language therapy to support and enhance speech production and oral communication;

 

     (4)  It is important for parents and professionals to recognize that the use of sign language should not interfere with oral language development; and

 

     (5)  When sign language is included as a communication strategy, it is important that the families, caregivers, and those working with a child learn the same signs and are encouraged to use the signs and that the signs and oral vocabulary being taught have practical, functional, and cultural value to the family; and

 

     WHEREAS, numerous research studies indicate that the use of signs with speech (simultaneous communication) facilitates language development in children with Down's Syndrome and other cognitive disabilities, and the recommendations in the Department of Education's 2007 report outlined above also cite the success of using simultaneous communication; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the findings and recommendations in the Department's 2007 report, students who are disabled (aside from those who are deaf or hard of hearing) can benefit from learning sign language and having their instruction delivered in sign language or simultaneous communication as part of a total communication program; and

 

     WHEREAS, allowing qualified educational paraprofessionals in the Department of Education who can communicate in sign language to work with children who are disabled and apply the appropriate communication method with these children provides the children with a greater opportunity for learning and language development; and

 

     WHEREAS, educational paraprofessionals can receive instruction from institutions such as Kapiolani Community College, which offers courses in American Sign Language and preparation to work in K-12 settings with children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or disabled; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is urged to establish an appropriate level of sign language proficiency for individuals in the Department who provide instruction to children with disabilities that will enable those individuals to incorporate sign language and other communication strategies during instruction to enhance their students' learning; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is also urged to facilitate the professional development, training, and preparation of educational personnel, service providers, and other individuals involved with the instruction of children with disabilities, through continuing education or other means, to use the total communication method, simultaneous communication, or sign language during instruction as determined by the child's Individualized Education Plan; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, the Special Education Advisory Council, and the Hawaii Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Report Title: 

Children with Disabilities; Sign Language; Simultaneous Communication

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