I would like to get the word out to as many families and professionals as possible regarding the Texas Senate Bill 354 and the action items you can take to let your voice be heard.

ACTION #1

READ my latest post regarding Senate Bill 354 to familiarize yourself with the issues surrounding this legislation.

ACTION #2

FORWARD this post to other families and professionals that are affected by hearing differences and the language outcomes that are in question.

ACTION #3

SIGN UP to receive updates regarding SB354. This link will take you to the page where you can sign up to track SB 354. Once you sign up, you will receive an email asking you to verify it. This will activate your account. Once activated, sign in, search for SB354 and in the upper right hand corner of the page that comes up is an option to “Add to Alert List.” Click on this. You will have the option to chose what type of notifications you will receive. I suggest leaving the default option “Any category” and selecting OK.

ACTION #4

REACH OUT to the Senate committee members and ask them to reject OR amend the bill to address the following concerns:

• Bias and over representation
• By requiring both English and ASL, the Bill appears to favor ASL
• Committee composition appears to be biased towards ASL based on:
• Seven of the (13) members must be deaf or hard of hearing.
• ALL members must be fluent in ASL. (Why?)
• ALL members must possess subject matter expertise and experience. (This requirement may preclude parents from participating as members of the Committee.)
• There is inadequate representation of listening and spoken language.
• There is inadequate parent representation
• Identification, assessment and assistance of children who are not making satisfactory progress is already addressed under IDEA
• Most norm-referenced language assessments require a minimum of six months between test administrations for results to be valid
• The bill requires the assessment team to explain in detail to the advisory committee the reasons why a child is not making satisfactory progress (in both ASL and English) and make recommendations to the advisory committee regarding specific strategies, services and programs for remediation. The phrase “in both ASL and English” implies that ALL children must use ASL.ALSO, this requirement does not include parents in the decision.

Handwritten letters and face-to-face meetings to elected officials are most effective. Emails work as well. Check out ONE MOTHER’S example letter to get you started. Her letter adamantly opposes the bill.  You may have another perspective. Whichever way you choose to reach out, let your elected officials know where you stand!

1. Reach out to the SENATE
2. Reach out to the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ACTION #5

GET INVOLVED with some of the organizations that are working to make sure that, if this legislation gets passed, it is balanced and unbiased in its wording and intent.

1. Alexander Graham Bell Association for Deaf and Hard of Hearing – Contact Gayla Guignard
2. Texas Hands and Voices – contact Kellie Berger (936)-463-TXHV (8948)
3. Oral Option Schools in Texas
   1. Sunshine Cottage
   2. Center for Hearing and Speech
   3. Hearing School of the Southwest

There may be other ways to get involved. Check with your child’s teachers, therapists, audiologists, school administrators. Talk with other parents. Encourage each other to TAKE ACTION NOW on this bill by letting your voice be heard on this pivotal piece of legislation affecting those with hearing differences and their communication choices.

About the Author

Carrie Norman

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Carrie is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Certified Auditory-Verbal Educator. Her experience spans infancy through high school in both clinical and educational settings.