MINUTES OF THE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Sixty-eighth Session April 24, 1995 The Committee on Education was called to order at 3:30 p.m., on Monday, April 24, 1995, Chairman Wendell P. Williams presiding in Room 330 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada. Exhibit A is the Agenda. Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. William Z. (Bill) Harrington, Chairman Mr. Wendell P. Williams, Chairman Mrs. Gene Wines Segerblom, Vice Chairman Ms. Patricia A. Tripple, Vice Chairman Mr. Thomas Batten Mr. Max Bennett Mrs. Deanna Braunlin Mrs. Vonne Chowning Mrs. Marcia de Braga Mr. Mark Manendo Mr. P.M. Roy Neighbors Ms. Jeannine Stroth GUEST LEGISLATORS PRESENT: Mr. Larry Spitler, Assembly District 41 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: H. Pepper Sturm, Chief Principal Research Analyst OTHERS PRESENT: Sandra Workman, Community College of Southern Nevada Ronald I. Malcolm, Nevada Association for the Deaf Kim Ryan, Interpreter for the Deaf Chris Donohue Betty Manning, Interpreter and Sign Language Instructor Mary Mallison, American Sign Language as a Second Language Diana Callahan, Deaf Community Doug Byington, Nevada Association of School Administrators Carmelo Sciandra, Deaf Community Henry Etchemendy, Nevada Association of School Boards Davina Daviton Eric Cooper, Washoe County Sheriff's Office Robert Dickens, University of Nevada - Reno The hearing was opened on Assembly Bill 366. ASSEMBLY BILL 366 - Requires establishment of course of study in American Sign Language. Ms. Betty Manning acted as an interpreter for those present. Assemblyman Larry Spitler, Assembly District 41, explained a proposed amendment had been distributed to the committee (Exhibit C) which literally guts the original A.B. 366 and provides a different bill in its entirety. The changes save approximately $7,000,000. In 1985 and 1987 the Legislature enacted legislation implementing a surcharge on telephone access lines to fund the Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD). An interim committee established during the 1991 session has worked to prepare the current recommendations before the committee. Funding has been included in the Governor's budget for the committee Mr. Spitler discussed. Mr. Spitler explained the amended A.B. 366 has no fiscal note and is not a mandate. He addressed concerns raised by an editorial in the Reno Gazette Journal. He explained American Sign Language (ASL) is accepted for foreign language credit by such prestigious schools as the Universities of Texas, New York, California, Boston, Georgetown, Brown, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ASL is recognized as a language and is taught for foreign language credit in more than thirty states. The educational, scientific and cultural organization of the United Nations recognized "the signed languages of the world are fully developed, autonomous, natural languages with inherent grammars and art forms which must be afforded the same status as other linguistic systems." ASL is widely recognized throughout America to fulfill the purposes of a foreign language requirement in education, allowing the student to learn to understand language as a structured system, provide the student entree into another culture and expose the student to a new and different mode of aesthetic expression. ASL is currently used by more than half a million Americans, being the third most widely used non-English language in the United States, following Spanish and Italian. An estimated eighteen hundred deaf Nevadans use ASL as their first language. Teaching of ASL provides significant benefits to the general population as well as deaf individuals. Such course work will increase the number of teachers, professionals and business owners able to effectively communicate with the population of deaf children and adults for whom they provide a service. It adds to the financial planning, home buying and other purchasing selection opportunities for deaf Nevadans. It improves a cross-cultural understanding and interaction between hearing and nonhearing citizens. It increases the number of available, qualified interpreters and teachers of deaf studies programs in Nevada. It provides an opportunity for hearing students to learn a recognized minority language and culture which they can use to communicate with other citizens in their own state. Mr. Spitler introduced Mr. Ron Malcolm, Director of the Sensory Deficit Programs, Clark County School District and President of the Nevada Association of the Deaf, Chris Donohue, President, Interwest Mortgage, and President, Nevada Hearing Impaired Parent's Action Council, Diana Callahan, institute instructor of ASL at Western Nevada Community College, Sandy Workman, professor, foreign language department, Clark County Community College, Maureen Riciutti, Director, Deaf Telecommunications Center, and Miss Davina Daviton. Mr. Spitler, referring to (Exhibit C), stated the one mandate area included in the bill, which included no cost, was Section 2, Number 1, involving course work policy and procedures. Referring to Page 2, Number 2, Mr. Spitler reiterated the bill is not a mandate. He suggested inserting "although not required as school that offers...", just to be sure no school is required to offer this. On Page 3, Section 4, referring to the university system which amends Chapter 395 N.R.S., states "the Board of Regents may approve a uniform course of study and develop policy and procedures on the teaching of American Sign Language in the University and Community College System of Nevada". Section 5 involves a committee formed in 1993. The language in this section allows the continuation of the committee. It has a broad cross section of representation. Mr. Spitler provided a copy of a feasibility study regarding ASL (Exhibit D) stating it had been completed by parents, deaf community representatives, deaf children and many others. The funding mechanism for this committee is built into the state budget. The funding involved provides travel money and signers for the meetings. Assemblyman Chowning commended those involved for their efforts in promoting education for all students. She asked how those currently fluent in ASL were educated. Mr. Spitler indicated the State Education Department decided teaching policies. Many of those who sign are self taught. Mr. Spitler submitted a letter to the record from Ms. Grace Crosley regarding learning sign language (Exhibit E). Mrs. Chowning inquired if a benefit of the bill would be that sign language instruction would be standardized. She stated it made good economic sense because if people can be educated, through any type of language, they are offered many more opportunities in life. Mr. Spitler agreed. Assemblyman Bennett commended Mr. Spitler for the legislation. He asked if Mr. Spitler had figures regarding the ages of students K-12 who use sign language. Mr. Spitler stated the figures were not broken down by grade levels. He offered to obtain the information. Chairman Harrington inquired again regarding the course being a mandate. Mr. Spitler stated it was not a mandate. Mr. Ron Malcolm, Coordinator for Deaf and Blind Children, Clark County School District and President, Nevada Association for the Deaf, testified in favor of A.B. 366. He stated it would be to the benefit of those he represented in the community to have the language they have struggled so long and hard to learn to be recognized by the community. There are twenty one million deaf people in the United States; those in Nevada are a small portion of the entire number. Mr. Malcolm explained his disability and how invaluable an interpreter is to him personally and professionally. He described the difficulties of children with hearing impairments in public schools resulting from a lack of interpreters. He discussed how the children have the same basic rights as hearing children and how they can be competitive academically. He noted the deaf and hard of hearing disabled group has the highest percentage of high school and college graduates. They have a tendency to get stuck because they cannot get through the barrier of their language skills. He asked Nevada to allow a language that is spoken by twenty one million people in the country to be recognized. He requested Nevada not be the fiftieth state to do so. Mr. Malcolm requested certification standards insured. He discussed the task force and its importance. He offered the help of the deaf community and himself to work with the Board of Education, the Commission on the Standards of Education and other entities to assist in the implementation of the program. Mr. Bennett asked if every word said by a speaker is signed by an interpreter. Mr. Malcolm explained deaf children have to know English, signed English, manually coded English, ASL, finger spelling and other systems. Ms. Sandra Workman, Deaf Studies Professor, Community College of Southern Nevada, testified a program for interpreters exists in the state of Nevada. The Board of Regents recently approved an Associate of Applied Science for interpreters. The college recognizes ASL as a foreign language, even though a foreign language credit is not given. Ms. Workman established what a language is, describing it as having its own grammatical order, its own syntactic structure, its own culture, art, and literature. ASL has these things. Not knowing a language is what makes it a foreign language to the learner. Assemblyman Batten and Mr. Malcolm discussed lip reading. Ms. Kim Ryan, certified interpreter, testified in favor of A.B. 366. She stated it would allow many more deaf people to have the services she provides. Without passage of the bill, citizens do not have a way of obtaining needed skills to work at a professional level. This would allow more people the opportunity to get into the profession. She reminded the committee how deaf people daily go without services. The national shortage for interpreters is at a critical level. She gave circumstances under which deaf people are confused or ill informed due to communication difficulties, such as doctor visits. Assemblyman Segerblom asked if Ms. Ryan received her interpreter education at a Nevada university. Ms. Ryan stated she received her training in Wisconsin. Mr. Chris Donohue, ASL Task Force member, and member of the Hearing Impaired Program Parent's Advisory Committee, Clark County, and parent of a deaf child, testified in support of A.B. 366. He noted how many deaf children are being educated in a hearing environment due to inclusion programs. Often the children are isolated due to having no form of communication with their peers other than an adult interpreter. He described how his daughter's interpreter performs story telling duties in the school library and how interested the hearing students are in the signing process. The hearing children would benefit from the opportunity to learn ASL as well as the hearing impaired and deaf children. A distinct need has developed for trained professionals. Mr. Donohue discussed how problems arise when interpreters are absent. He explained how difficult it is to send your child to school or to an environment where there is no effective communication. Mr. Donohue discussed the difficulty obtaining teachers for the deaf. A study was performed by the Clark County School District recently which identified teachers of the deaf as the top five most difficult positions to fill nationwide. If A.B. 366 is passed, the hope is Nevada will be able to "grow its own pool" of interpreters and students who wish to teach the deaf. He noted how ludicrous it is for colleges to require two years of foreign language for deaf students. Deaf students must learn many different languages before they even reach college level. In 1988 President Bush appointed a committee to study the education of deaf children. Their primary suggestion was to identify and establish ASL as a foreign language to assist in those educational needs. Ms. Davina Daviton spoke in favor of A.B. 366. Ms. Daviton explained her parents are deaf. She told the committee how interested her fellow students are in learning sign language and encouraged the committee to support the bill. Her testimony is (Exhibit F). Mrs. Chowning asked how the parents of deaf children learned sign language. Mr. Donohue explained his education began when his daughter was identified as being deaf at age one. Community college courses were taken and are continually being taken. He noted his daughter's signing skills have outstripped his own and it is a struggle to keep up with her. Ms. Daviton explained her first language was sign language as a small child. Her second language was English. There was no testimony in opposition to A.B. 366. ASSEMBLYMAN HARRINGTON MOVED TO AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 366. ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS AND MANY OTHERS SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION TO AMEND AND DO PASS WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. A letter from Maureen Ricciuti was submitted to the record (Exhibit G) as well as a video (Exhibit H). An article regarding sign language flourishing in Rochester, New York, was submitted to the record (Exhibit I). The hearing was opened on Assembly Bill 443. ASSEMBLY BILL 443 - Requires local governments to pay fees for classes taken at University and Community College System of Nevada by dependent children of police officers or firemen killed in line of duty. Chairman Williams, Assembly District 6, sponsor of A.B. 443, explained he would like to suggest possible amendments to the bill. The bill would require local governments having jurisdictions over police and fire departments to pay the expenses for children of policemen and firemen who lose their lives in the line of duty. Expressing his understanding of committee members' concerns over unfunded mandates, Mr. Williams stated his belief that police and firemen serve all citizens and put their lives on the line on a daily basis. The number one high risk profession is firemen. He felt it to be a small thank you to these professionals and their families for their diligence. Mr. Williams suggested changing language in Section 1, Subsection 1, to remove the obligation from local government and place it at state level. This change is suggested because smaller municipalities may find it to be a financial burden, much more so than in the larger counties. Dr. Harrington stated he felt the bill was excellent with the proposed change. He asked if Mr. Williams would consider including the State Highway Patrol and volunteer firemen. Mr. Williams agreed including the State Highway Patrol but was uncertain about the volunteer firemen. Assemblyman Neighbors, referring to the summary and Line 5 of Section 1, Subsection 1, noted the summary says "children" and Line 5 says "a dependent child". He asked if all children of officers and firemen would be included. Mr. Williams answered affirmatively and noted the two areas would be brought into agreement. Assemblyman de Braga commented on adding volunteers. She said if volunteer firemen were to be added, volunteer sheriff's reserves and others would have to be added as well. This might make the bill too broad to work. Mr. Williams stated he felt it was appropriate to leave it with salaried fire department employees and police department employees. Assemblyman Tripple asked if the firemen and policemen were eligible for social security, noting social security would give dependents some advantages. Mr. Williams stated he did not think so. Mrs. Chowning asked if this program had been in place in Nevada prior to this time. Mr. Williams stated it had not. Fortunately, men and women do not lose their lives very often. In the western United States in 1994 the number of those losing their lives was under ten. There is currently no mechanism in place to educate the dependents of those people. Mr. Williams explained there is an organization in southern Nevada known as Blue Coats. Blue Coats assists families in this situation with scholarships. Mrs. Chowning stated she did not care if other states did this. She felt Nevada should implement the program. She asked if other states have the program. Mr. Williams stated only one state he knew of had a similar statute and felt Nevada should set the precedent. Mr. Eric Cooper, Washoe County Sheriff's Department and the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, commended Assemblyman Williams for the introduction of the legislation. Mr. Cooper explained the Blue Coats, Inc. A group of public spirited citizens contribute money to the fund which provides support for the families of those who lost their lives in the line of duty. Unfortunately, it cannot be guaranteed the fund will be there forever, or the organization will remain in effect forever. No other organizations of this kind exist in the state. Blue Coats provides for the local Las Vegas area. The bill would provide support for families statewide. Dr. Harrington asked if Mr. Cooper was aware of any volunteer firemen or policemen who had died in the line of duty. Mr. Cooper stated he did not recall any reserve police officers or deputies who had died. He had no idea about firemen but noted a tremendous number of volunteer firemen were on duty in the state. Mr. Andy Anderson, Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs and Las Vegas Police Protective Association, commended Mr. Williams for introduction of A.B. 443. He felt it is a positive piece of legislation and those he represented strongly endorse it. Mr. Anderson explained police officers generally do not fall under social security in this state, having their own Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). Mr. Stan Olsen, Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas, Nevada, spoke in favor of A.B. 443. He described the bill as offering comfort to the minds of young police officers who work daily in an increasingly violent society. Mrs. Chowning asked how many officers have been killed in the line of duty. Mr. Olsen stated he thought in the last twenty years approximately eight officers had lost their lives. He offered to obtain the exact number. Mr. Williams stated he would like to explore the possibility of an appropriation. If an officer or fireman had young children, by the time they hit college age, the appropriation would generate enough interest to pay the expenses. He stated he wished to draft additional language to bring before the committee. Mrs. Tripple, referring to Section 2, Line 2, noted local government would be changed to state government. She asked what would be paid for beyond tuition. Mr. Williams stated his intention to pay tuition and books, but not dormitory fees and other expenses. He will ask this be specified in the language. Mr. Robert Dickens, University of Nevada - Reno spoke in favor of A.B. 443. He stated he felt the subject of the bill should be included in employee benefit negotiations between management and rank and file. The university supports the legislation as long as the items Assemblyman Williams noted are addressed in an amendment, including a fiscal note. Mr. Dickens offered his assistance to Mr. Williams on fine tuning language on tuition, registration, student fees, books and other items. There was no testimony against A.B. 443. The hearing on A.B. 443 was closed. The subcommittee on Assembly Bill 340 reported to the Education Committee. ASSEMBLY BILL 340 - Authorizes certain private schools to obtain payments from county school districts for educating certain pupils. Assemblyman Braunlin notified the committee the subcommittee could not come to any agreement. It was decided to bring the bill and proposed amendments to the committee without recommendation. Mr. Batten stated he felt enough testimony had been heard on A.B. 340. ASSEMBLYMAN BATTEN MOVED TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE A.B. 340. ASSEMBLYMAN NEIGHBORS SECONDED THE MOTION. Mr. Harrington asked if the committee wished to review the potential amendments. Mr. Batten stated since the subcommittee was unable to reach a consensus, he felt committee members were ready to vote. Mrs. Chowning expressed her support for the motion. She also noted her respect for her colleague and stated she would be in favor of allowing the amendments to be presented. Mrs. de Braga commended Dr. Harrington for all his work on A.B. 340. Mr. Manendo inquired if all committee members had seen the amendments and if Dr. Harrington had anything else to present to the committee. Dr. Harrington offered to bring the amendments to the next meeting. Four members of the committee indicated they had not seen the amendments presented to the subcommittee. A discussion ensued between committee members regarding their feelings about the proposed amendments, the possibility of an interim study committee on the subject and their feelings on the motion. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE A.B. 340. THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION WERE ASSEMBLYMEN BATTEN, BRAUNLIN, CHOWNING, DE BRAGA, MANENDO, NEIGHBORS, SEGERBLOM, TRIPPLE, HARRINGTON AND WILLIAMS. THOSE OPPOSED WERE ASSEMBLYMEN BENNETT AND STROTH. THE MOTION PASSED. The subcommittee on Assembly Bill 197 reported back to the full committee. ASSEMBLY BILL 197- Makes various changes to provisions governing program for accountability of school districts. A subcommittee report was distributed to the full committee (Exhibit J). The recommendation of the subcommittee was to amend and do pass A.B. 197. The proposed amendments are contained in (Exhibit J). Mr. Bennett explained each proposed amendment. Mr. Bennett explained statewide, standardized testing would remain at grades 4, 8 and 11. Tests at other grade levels are tests other than agreed upon standardized tests. Comparison of these is like comparing apples and oranges. ASSEMBLYMAN BENNETT MOVED AMEND AND DO PASS A.B. 197. ASSEMBLYMAN SEGERBLOM SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Mr. Bennett was assigned A.B. 197 on the floor. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 5:12. p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Barbara Prudic, Committee Secretary APPROVED BY: Assemblyman William Z. Harrington, Chairman Assemblyman Wendell P. Williams, Chairman Assembly Committee on Education April 24, 1995 Page