An Act ensuring language readiness in deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing children entering kindergarten

This bill establishes a new section in Massachusetts law to support deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing children from birth to age six by creating a standardized framework for assessing their language development. It requires the state commission for the deaf and hard of hearing, in collaboration with public health and education departments, to select language milestones and develop a user-friendly resource for parents to track their children's progress in American Sign Language, English, or both. The legislation also mandates that these tools be aligned with existing state standards and that the departments publish annual reports on the data collected to identify and address systemic gaps in services.