HJ0084 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0084 LRB093 22114 RXD 50763 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Current medical, scientific, and academic evidence clearly demonstrate that listening and speaking communication skills and literacy in the English language provide deaf and hard of hearing children with the best opportunity to: (1) achieve a high quality of life and maximum contribution to society with a corresponding reduction in total cost to society, (2) participate in the spoken language communication of their families, their schools, their communities and society at large, (3) participate in the mainstream classroom setting, and (4) progress in the general education curriculum with a minimum of support; and

WHEREAS, There are a large number of public entities involved with the services of Hearing Screening for Newborns, Early Intervention, and public deaf education, and it is very difficult for all the public entities to communicate with one another and more difficult for parents to navigate through the system; and

WHEREAS, Both the early intervention system and public education system should provide a choice of communication options to deaf and hard of hearing children; and

WHEREAS, Both the early intervention system and the public education system should be non-biased and well-informed when sharing information with children and their families on the available options; and

WHEREAS, Communication options in Illinois should include sign language options, auditory options, auditory-oral and auditory-verbal, and the Cued Speech option; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Joint Task Force on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Options consisting of 8 members appointed as follows: 2 members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, 2 members of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, 2 members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 2 members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and be it further

RESOLVED, That all members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the chairperson of the Task Force shall be selected by the members from among its membership and shall meet at the call of the chairperson; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force can appoint members as it sees fit to serve as representatives of the deaf and hard of hearing population of Illinois or the Illinois education system for the deaf and hard of hearing; and be it further

RESOLVED, That it is the duty of the Task Force to undertake a comprehensive and thorough review of education and services available to the deaf and hard of hearing in Illinois with the intent of making recommendations that would ensure that: (1) one public entity, which represents and supports all of the communication and service options for the deaf and hard of hearing, from birth until the age of 3, would be responsible for the entire Hearing Screening for Newborns and the Early Intervention system in the State, (2) the public education system, beginning at the age of 3, would be responsible to represent and support all of the communication and service options for the deaf and hard of hearing in the State, (3) a comprehensive and official State document would be developed to describe what services are provided, the procedures, and who is responsible, and (4) all groups would be non-biased and consistent in the information they provide to parents and families of the deaf and hard of hearing; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force may request assistance from any entity necessary or useful for the performance of its duties; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a report with its recommendations to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2005.