Iowa lawmakers approve support for hearing-impaired children

DES MOINES — Legislation to provide new resources for deaf and hard-of-hearing children was approved by the Iowa House on Wednesday and is on its way to the governor.

House File 604, sometimes referred to as the LEAD-K — Language, Equality, Acquisition for Deaf Kids — is the result of more than a decade of work by lawmakers, educators and the families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

LEAD-K is a nationwide initiative to raise awareness of deaf or hard-of-hearing children’s experiences in language learning.

It works on school readiness, ensuring deaf children have access to both American Sign Language and English.

Iowa will be the 19th state to adopt LEAD-K.

Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, said when he first began meeting with members of the deaf community, they would hire an interpreter to help them communicate with legislators.

“Imagine being a parent from a family with a deaf child, not being able to communicate, no language acquisition of their birth … not knowing what to do, how to communicate with their own child,” he said.

The state Department of Education in 2018 reported 2,800 Iowans under age 21 were deaf or hard of hearing. Many deaf children may be the only one with hearing issues in their class or school, facing barriers to learning and often experiencing loneliness.

The House bill calls for the development of language milestones for each age, from birth through age 8, in American Sign Language, English and other languages, as well as milestone assessments.

It requires the education department to develop resources for parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing children. It calls for the creation of a family mentoring program that would pair families with a deaf or hard-of-hearing child with an adult mentor to provide support.

The bill calls for establishing a stakeholder group to advise the education department.

Although the Legislative Services Agency projected the costs of implementing HF 604 to be nearly $200,000 the first year, the bill did not include funding.

“This bill will address the deaf and hard of hearing children and their readiness to learn,” said Rep. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, a special-education teacher.

The bill was approved 96-0 by the Iowa House in 2021, 48-0 by the Senate with an amendment, and the amended bill, 97-0, by the House on Wednesday.

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