Revises provisions governing programs for children who are blind, visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing. (BDR 38-77)

AN ACT relating to persons with disabilities; authorizing the establishment of a program to negotiate discounts and rebates for hearing devices and related costs for children who are deaf or hard of hearing; requiring the establishment of a program to provide hearing aids at no charge to certain children who reside in low-income households; providing for the establishment of criteria for evaluating the development of language and literacy skills by certain young children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired or both deaf and blind; requiring the Department of Education to develop a resource for parents or guardians to measure the development of such skills by such children; requiring a team developing certain plans and programs for such children to use the established criteria to measure the development of such skills by such children; requiring the Department to publish an annual report concerning the development of such skills by such children; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.