Galgiani Legislation Supporting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children Signed by Governor Brown
October 12, 2015 - SACRAMENTO— Governor Brown has signed Senate Bill 210 authored by Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton). The bill passed through the Legislature with bipartisan support. Senate Bill 210, which is co-sponsored by the California Association of the Deaf and the California Coalition of Options Schools, requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to select benchmarks for tracking the progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in language and literacy development.
“Current statistics show that many children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing arrive at Kindergarten with severe language delays and in many cases, language deprivation,” said Senator Galgiani. “These children begin Kindergarten without the necessary language skills to acquire the knowledge and academic capabilities, which will allow them to be successful in school and life.”
“SB 210 will go a long way in helping children in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and I hope Governor Brown stands with us and signs this legislation,” Galgiani concluded.
“SB 210 will change the landscape of Deaf education in California,” claimed Julie Rems-Smario, President of the California Association of the Deaf. “The parents will be empowered with knowledge on an ongoing basis on whether their deaf child is acquiring a language during the first five years of the child’s life. This will help children so they can be Kindergarten ready for proficiency in American Sign Language and English. With Governor Brown’s signing of SB 210, the deaf child’s language acquisition has been put on the educational map. Today, the excuse for language deprivation has ended.”
"Governor Brown’s signing of SB 210 leads the way for deaf education in the country,” said Laura Turner of Children's Choice for Hearing and Talking (CCHAT) also a Member of the California Coalition of Option Schools (CCOS) and Center for Early Intervention on Deafness (CEID).
“SB 210 provides safeguards to help ensure children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are progressing on a developmental path commensurate with their peers. Beginning from birth, SB 210 will help children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing develop the necessary language skills to be successful in school and in life while using their method of communication.”
Source: Senator Cathleen Galgiani
Related Documents:
SB 210 PR.pdf 
