Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act
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This bill would expand special education services and personnel training for students who are deaf, blind, or deafblind.
What it does
This bill proposes to expand special education and related services for children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind. It would require states to implement more specific identification and evaluation processes for these students and would reduce federal financial support for states that close specialized schools serving these populations. Additionally, the legislation would authorize grants for training specialized personnel and establish the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence within the Department of Education.
Who is affected
This bill affects children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind by expanding their access to specialized education and evaluation services. State education agencies and specialized schools are impacted by new reporting requirements and potential funding reductions related to school closures. Additionally, the bill affects the Department of Education through the establishment of a new national center and provides support for individuals training to become qualified teachers or early intervention specialists in these fields.
Key provisions
- Enhanced identification and evaluation requirements. The bill requires states to implement more specific identification and evaluation procedures for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, deafblind, or deafdisabled to ensure the delivery of appropriate services.
- Financial penalties for closing specialized schools. States that close specialized schools serving students who are blind or deaf will face a reduction in federal financial support for special education and related services.
- Personnel training and development grants. The legislation authorizes grants to train special education personnel, aiming to increase the number of qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for students with hearing and visual disabilities.
- Establishment of the Anne Sullivan Macy Center. The bill creates the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence within the Department of Education to improve support for students with visual disabilities.
Fiscal impact
Not applicable: No CBO cost estimate available
Effective dates
Not applicable: Official Summary does not address effective dates
Relationship to existing law
The bill expands existing special education and related services for children and youth with hearing and visual disabilities, including by modifying state requirements for identifying and evaluating students and adjusting state financial support rules regarding the closure of specialized schools. It also authorizes grants for training special education personnel and establishes a new center within the Department of Education to support students with visual disabilities.
Stated purpose
The bill aims to expand and improve special education and related services for children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, deafblind, or deafdisabled. It seeks to achieve this by enhancing student identification and evaluation, supporting the training of specialized personnel, and establishing a national center focused on visual disability and educational excellence.