Connecticut HB 5557: AN ACT CONCERNING A PLAN TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUPS ON AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND NONEMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENT.

Bill Text

House Bill No. 5557 
 
Public Act No. 26-151 
 
 
AN  ACT  CONCERNING  A  PLAN  TO  REVISE  THE  DEFINITION  OF 
INTELLECTUAL   DISABILITY   AND   THE   ESTABLISHMENT   OF 
WORKING GROUPS ON AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE 
EDUCATION AND NONEMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION 
REIMBURSEMENT. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section    1.    (Effective    from    passage)    (a)    The    Commissioner    of 
Developmental Services shall produce a plan with recommendations on 
developing a standard definition of intellectual disability that originates 
before an individual attains eighteen years of age and is characterized 
by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive 
behavior, including, but not limited to, conceptual, social and practical 
skills.  Such  definition  shall  be  consistent  with  generally  accepted 
professional  standards,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  such  standards 
recognized    by    the    American    Association    on    Intellectual    and 
Developmental Disabilities. 
(b)  As  part  of  the  plan,  the  commissioner  shall  ensure  (1)  no  single 
test  score  or  single  measure  would  be  determinative  of  intellectual 
disability in any such definition; and (2) that such definition is based on 
the  totality  of  relevant  clinical,  educational  and  functional  evidence, 
including, but not limited to (A) standardized assessments when valid 
and  appropriate,  (B)  adaptive  behavior  measures,  (C)  developmental 

House Bill No. 5557 
 
Public Act No. 26-151 2 of 5 
 
history, (D) medical evidence, and (E) other reliable information. 
(c) The commissioner shall include in the plan (1) a recommendation 
for  a  timeline  for  the  transition  to  a  new  definition  of  intellectual 
disability, (2) any approvals required from the federal government, and 
(3)  estimates  of  the  one-time  costs  of  making such  transition  and  the 
recurring  costs  of  utilizing  the  new  definition  to  the  Department  of 
Developmental   Services,   other   state   agencies   and   school   districts 
impacted by the change in the definition. 
(d) Not later than July 1, 2027, the commissioner shall file a report on 
the   plan   to   provide   recommendations   on   developing   a   standard 
definition of intellectual disability, in accordance with the provisions of 
section 11-4a of the general statutes, with the joint standing committees 
of  the  General  Assembly  having  cognizance  of  matters  relating  to 
appropriations  and  the  budgets  of  state  agencies,  human  services  and 
public health. 
Sec.  2.  (NEW)  (Effective  January  1,  2027)  (a)  The  Commissioner  of 
Education   shall   establish   an   American   Sign   Language   education 
working group which shall consist of: 
(1)   (A)   One   representative   each   from   the   (i)   Departments   of 
Education  and  Aging  and  Disability  Services,  (ii)  Labor  Department, 
and  (iii)  Office  of  Higher  Education,  and  (B)  the  following  members 
appointed by the Commissioner of Education: (i) A representative of the 
Connecticut  Council  of  Language  Teachers,  (ii)  a  representative of the 
American  School  for the  Deaf,  (iii)  a  representative of  the  Connecticut 
Association of the Deaf, and (iv) at least one American Sign Language 
instructor who teaches in a public school in the state; 
(2) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 
(3) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 

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(4)   One   appointed   by   the   majority   leader   of   the   House   of 
Representatives; 
(5) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 
(6)   One   appointed   by   the   minority   leader   of   the   House   of 
Representatives; 
(7) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 
(8)  The  House  and  Senate  chairpersons  and  House  and  Senate 
ranking  members  of  the  joint  standing  committees  of  the  General 
Assembly  having  cognizance  of  matters  relating  to  education  and 
human services, or their designees; and 
(9) Two persons appointed by the Governor. 
(b)   The   working   group   shall   provide   recommendations   to   the 
Department of Education regarding the following: 
(1)  Curriculum  guidance  for  American  Sign  Language  instruction 
that  includes,  but  is  not  limited  to,  aligning  such  curriculum  with 
nationally recognized proficiency frameworks; 
(2) Teacher certification standards based on standards established by 
the  American  Sign  Language  Teachers  Association  and  the  American 
Sign Language Proficiency Interview that includes, but is not limited to, 
(A)  establishment  of  a  proficiency  benchmark,  (B)  recognition  of  an 
alternative  certification  pathway  for  native  American  Sign  Language 
users   and   interpreters,   and   (C)   recip