52-2-904. (Temporary) Language development advisory committee. (1) There is a language development advisory committee consisting of at least 10 but no more than 15 volunteers selected collaboratively by the director of the department and the superintendent of public instruction from among names submitted by statewide associations representing deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

(2) The advisory committee must include, to the extent possible:

(a) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and uses both American sign language and English;

(b) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

(c) a parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and has one or more co-occurring disabilities;

(d) a representative of the Montana school for the deaf and blind who provides outreach and is fluent in both American sign language and English;

(e) a representative of the department;

(f) a representative of the office of public instruction;

(g) a speech-language pathologist;

(h) a pediatric audiologist; and

(i) at least four members from among the following:

(i) an expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children who use American sign language and English;

(ii) a credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in curriculum and instruction in American sign language and English;

(iii) a credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in curriculum and instruction in spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

(iv) an advocate from a statewide association that represents the deaf who advocates for teaching using both American sign language and English;

(v) an early intervention specialist who works with deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using both American sign language and English;

(vi) a credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in American sign language and English language assessments;

(vii) a representative from a parent training information center;

(viii) a representative from an association of interpreters who provide services to support the communication needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in educational settings; or

(ix) a psychologist with expertise in assessing deaf and hard-of-hearing children who is fluent in American sign language and English.

(3) In selecting members, the director of the department and the superintendent shall ensure that:

(a) at least two and up to six of the members are deaf or hard of hearing, with preference given, when appointing members with equal credentials, to deaf and hard-of-hearing members in order to include the greatest number of deaf and hard-of-hearing members possible; and

(b) the membership is balanced among people who personally, professionally, or parentally use the dual languages of American sign language and English and members who personally, professionally, or parentally use only spoken English.

(4) The committee shall:

(a) advise the department and the office of public instruction on the selection of language developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hard of hearing that are equivalent to milestones for children who are not deaf or hard of hearing, for inclusion in the parent resource developed pursuant to 52-2-903;

(b) make recommendations on the selection and administration of provider or educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to 52-2-901;

(c) advise the department or the office of public instruction on how the content and administration of the existing instruments used to assess the development of children with disabilities correlate to assessing the language development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children to ensure the appropriate use of the instrument with deaf and hard-of-hearing children;

(d) make recommendations on unbiased and comprehensive materials to add to the parent resource; and

(e) make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of the progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in language development.

(5) The committee shall meet by means of videoconference only at least four times a year.

(6) Committee members are not entitled to compensation for their services other than any compensation provided by their employers.

(7) The committee is attached to the department for administrative purposes. The department shall provide staff support to the committee. (Terminates June 30, 2025--sec. 8, Ch. 521, L. 2023.)