13-33B-9. Advisory committee membership and duties. The superintendent of the State School for the Deaf shall establish an advisory committee for purposes of soliciting input from experts on the selection of language developmental milestones for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing that are equivalent to experts for children who are not deaf or hard-of-hearing, for inclusion in the parent resource pursuant to §§ 13-33B-5 and 13-33B-7. The advisory committee may also make recommendations on the selection and administration of the educator tools or assessments selected pursuant to § 13-33B-6. The advisory committee shall consist of at least nine but no more than fifteen volunteers, at least four of whom shall be deaf or hard-of-hearing, and all of whom shall practice within the fields of education or services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The advisory committee shall include:

(1) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing who uses both ASL and English;

(2) A parent of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing who uses only spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

(3) A parent of a child who is Deaf-Plus;

(4) A representative from the State School for the Deaf outreach who is fluent in both ASL and English;

(5) A representative from the Department of Education; and

(6) At least four members which may be any of the following:

(a) An expert who researches language outcomes for deaf and hard-of-hearing children using ASL and English;

(b) A credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in curriculum and instruction in ASL and English;

(c) A credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in curriculum and instruction in spoken English, with or without visual supplements;

(d) An advocate from a South Dakota association that represents the deaf who advocates for teaching using both ASL and English;

(e) An early intervention specialist who works with deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers using both ASL and English;

(f) A credentialed teacher of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with expertise in ASL and English language assessments;

(g) A representative from a parent training information center in South Dakota;

(h) A representative from an organization that provides communication services for the deaf;

(i) A psychologist with expertise in assessing deaf and hard-of-hearing children who is fluent in ASL and English;

(j) A speech language pathologist; or

(k) A pediatric audiologist.

The advisory committee may also advise the department on the content and administration of the instruments used to assess deaf and hard-of-hearing children's language and literacy development to ensure the appropriate use of the instruments with deaf or hard-of-hearing children. The committee may make recommendations regarding future research to improve the measurement of progress of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in language and literacy.

Source: SL 2018, ch 100, § 6.