Often, children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, blind, or who have low vision face barriers to obtain the same education that their peers receive. Many of these children are not provided with full access to language and specialized instruction that meets their academic, language, and social-emotional needs. These barriers arise from many issues including a lack of qualified instructors, lack of accessible resources, and the undercount of children who require these services.
The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act, S.4676 and H.R.9195, will help remove these barriers. First, it will take steps to ensure that all children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, blind, or who have low vision are identified and served properly. Second, it will help strengthen the legal requirements regarding state plans to guarantee students receive specialized instruction from qualified personnel and take action to ensure the states’ compliance. In addition, the bill will establish a national collaborative resource to focus on evidence-based practices within learning. Finally, the bill will assist in providing parents and educators with up-to-date policy resources from the Department of Education. These actions will help to remove the current barriers faced by children within the education system due to the standardized implementation of requirements and instruction, as well as provide the resources needed to families and educators to support their child.