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HR 9196

Helen Keller Education Act

119th Congress Introduced by April McClain Delaney and 3 co-sponsors

The bill creates a federal framework to identify, evaluate, and provide deafblind-specific services and personnel, ensuring language access and targeted supports for deafblind stud

Introduced in House
0
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Bill Summary · HR 9196

Helen Keller Education Act (H.R. 9196) – Summary

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes a federal framework to promote and ensure the delivery of high-quality special education and related services specifically for children and youth who are deafblind.
  • Aims to improve identification, evaluation, instruction, and supports so deafblind students can access language, communication, academic content, social-emotional development, and everyday learning.

Key provisions and changes

Title I: General Provisions

  • Identifying and serving deafblind children (Sec. 101)
    • Requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate children who are deafblind, even if they are classified under another disability category.
    • When evaluating, states must provide special education and related services appropriate for deafblindness, without prejudice to other classifications.
  • Data collection and reporting (Sec. 101)
    • Adds reporting on the share of deafblind students who are classified under disability categories other than deafblind.
  • Definitions and services (Sec. 102)
    • Expands related services to include intervener services for deafblind students.
  • State plans (Sec. 103)
    • Introduces an “Addendum C” to state plans focusing on deafblind children, due within two years after enactment.
    • Addendum must cover: specialized evaluations by qualified professionals, availability of trained personnel (including teachers of the deafblind and interveners), and ensuring deafblind students receive appropriate instruction and related services (not limited to Section 504 accommodations).
    • Addendum must outline how the state addresses language/communication development, peer/teacher interactions in the child’s preferred mode, and consultation with deafblind-education experts and organizations.
  • Evaluations (Sec. 104)
    • Requires deafblind-specific language and communication assessments, including expressive, receptive, and pragmatic skills.
    • Qualified personnel in deafblindness must be actively involved in assessments.
  • Consideration of special factors (Sec. 105)
    • When evaluating deafblind children, require that language and communication needs (including tactile sign language, tactile/visual adaptations, and symbol systems) are addressed in addition to other evaluation factors.
  • Technical assistance for parents and educators (Sec. 106)
    • The Secretary must develop policy guidance for deafblind education within one year of enactment, with updates at least every five years.
  • Conforming regulations (Sec. 107)
    • The Secretary must publish regulations defining “deafblindness” and “intervener services” within one year.

Title II: Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers who are Deafblind

  • Content of plan (Sec. 201)
    • Adds a deafblind-specific item to early intervention plans: ongoing language/communication assessments, goals aligned to the child’s cognitive abilities, language access, direct communication opportunities with peers and professionals, and family support to implement the child’s language/communication mode.

Title III: National Activities to Improve Education for Children with Disabilities

  • Personnel development (Sec. 301)
    • Expands programmatic emphasis to prepare qualified teachers of deafblind children and early intervention specialists.
    • Creates provisions for training qualified interveners as individualized supports for deafblind students in both school settings and early intervention/preschool programs.

Who and what is affected

  • Students: Individuals who are deafblind (concomitant hearing and vision impairments), including those with additional disabilities.
  • States and public agencies: State education agencies and the federal Department of the Interior (for data reporting) must adopt added procedures, addenda, and evaluations to ensure deafblind-specific services.
  • Educators and service providers: Teachers of the deafblind, interveners, and other professionals must be trained and available to deliver specialized evaluations and instruction.
  • Families: Increased guidance and policy support for parents and caregivers.
  • Data systems: Expanded data collection to capture the rate of deafblind students within other disability classifications.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Addendum C to State Plans: Due within 2 years of enactment; outlines evaluation, staffing, and service delivery for deafblind students.
  • Policy guidance on deafblind education: Develop within 1 year, updated at least every 5 years.
  • Regulations defining key terms (deafblindness, intervener services): Promulgated within 1 year after enactment, following notice-and-comment rulemaking.
  • Overall aim: Align evaluations and services with the needs of deafblind students, ensuring language development, communication access, and direct instructional opportunities are central to eligibility, planning, and service delivery.

Potential impact

  • Increases emphasis on deafblind-specific evaluation and instruction.
  • Requires states to locate and serve deafblind children even when classified under other categories.
  • Expands and codifies the role of interveners and specialized personnel in deafblind education.
  • Improves language and communication outcomes by mandating assessments and targeted supports in the child’s preferred communication mode.
  • Provides national standards and guidance to support families and educators, and strengthens ongoing professional development in deafblind education.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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