Virginia Hearing Loss Identification & Monitoring System; language development for certain children.

Virginia Hearing Loss Identification and MonitoringSystem; language development for children who are deaf or hard ofhearing. Expands the responsibilities of the advisory committeeof the Virginia Hearing Loss Identification and Monitoring Systemto include selecting language development milestones for educatorsand early intervention specialists for use in assessing the language and literacy development of children from birth to age five who aredeaf or hard or hearing. The bill requires the addition of at leasttwo language experts to the advisory committee. The bill also requiresthat children identified as deaf or hard of hearing in special educationprograms be evaluated yearly on the basis of the language development milestones established by the advisory committee.