Alaska House re-passes bill to guarantee education rights for deaf children

image from: alaskabeacon.com

Alaska children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing would be guaranteed a local education under a proposal passed unanimously by the Alaska House of Representatives on Monday.

The House passed a different version of House Bill 39, by Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, during the 33rd Alaska State Legislature, but that bill never received a Senate vote and died at the end of that Legislature.

Allard reintroduced the measure last year, at the start of the 34th Alaska State Legislature. Speaking on Monday, she called for its adoption, noting that other states have acted on this topic.

“When I first started this bill, we had 17 states that had passed the Children’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bill of Rights. Today we have 20. I’d like to make us the 21st,” she said.

If enacted, HB 39 would require local school districts to provide “comprehensive, neutral, and unbiased information” and resources for the parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Those students would not be required to attend a centralized, statewide boarding school for the deaf, though some residential services may still be required.

(READ MORE - alaskabeacon.com)