SUPPORT Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education (HB 1367)- an unbiased Center to serve ALL families
ON TO THE SENATE!!! On Jan. 31, 2012, HB 1367 was PASSED by the House with 61 voting in favor and 36 against. On Feb. 16, the Senate Appropriations Committee heard public testimony on HB 1367.
The Appropriations Committee is scheduled to reconvene THIS Thursday, February 23rd at approximately 9:00 am in committee room 431. There is no need to make special arrangements to attend this committee hearing, as they will not be accepting public comments. This will be a meeting held in public. If you don't attend, you will be able to watch the proceeding via the internet- click here (select Senate Room 431 from the drop-down menu).
A committee vote is expected at Thursday's hearing. If HB 1367 passes out of committee, it will move to the entire Senate for approval. If approved by the entire Senate, Governor Daniels would be asked to sign HB 1367 into law.
What can you do now to help?
Important Links:
Traveling to the State House?
URGENT!!! HB 1367 WILL BE VOTED ON BY THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE (Thursday, 2/23 at 9am)
- CALL and EMAIL your PERSONAL Senator. Make sure you tell your Senator that you live in their district and that you SUPPORT HB 1367. Do not be shy about telling them your personal experience with ISD/Outreach.
- Parents please use the subject line: PARENTS IN SUPPORT OF HB 1367.
- Note: The bill will still be referred to as HB 1367, because it originated in the House.
- HB 1367 has now been assigned to the Appropriations Committee in the Senate
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- (R) Phil Boots: 317-234-9054 Mwasky@iga.in.gov
- (D) John Broden: 317-232-9849 bstinson@iga.in.gov
- (R) Ed Charbonneanu: 317-232-9494 Afoxwort@iga.in.gov
- (R) Brandt Hershman: 317-232-9840 Ahendrix@iga.in.gov
- (D) Lindel Hume: 317-232-9523 bhannon@iga.in.gov
- (R) Luke Kenley: 317-232-9453 Shasch@iga.in.gov
- (R) Connie Lawson: 317-232-9414 Jshirrel@iga.in.gov
- (R) Patricia Miller: 317-232-9489 Lmoss@iga.in.gov
- (R) Ryan Mishler: 317232-9447 Gschroed@iga.in.gov
- (D) Earline Rogers: 317-232-9491 abeamon@iga.in.gov
- (D) Karen Tallian: 317-232-9847 ajones@iga.in.gov
- (R) Brent Waltz: 317-234-9426 hholt@iga.in.gov
- (R) Thomas Wyss: 317-232-9807 Mgordin@iga.in.gov
- (R) David Long: 317-232-9416 Tmann@iga.in.gov
- please BCC our coalition at hoosiers4education@gmail.com
- Please email all 50 Senators to tell them you SUPPORT HB 1367. See below for sample letter and cut and paste addresses.
For internet based email providers (cut and paste the following list in the BCC line):
s1@in.gov, s2@in.gov, s3@in.gov, s4@in.gov, s5@in.gov, s6@in.gov, s7@in.gov, s8@in.gov, s9@in.gov, s10@in.gov, s11@in.gov, s12@in.gov, s13@in.gov, s14@in.gov, s15@in.gov, s16@in.gov, s17@in.gov, s18@in.gov, s19@in.gov, s20@in.gov, s21@in.gov, s22@in.gov, s23@in.gov, s24@in.gov, s25@in.gov, s26@in.gov, s27@in.gov, s28@in.gov, s29@in.gov, s30@in.gov, s31@in.gov, s32@in.gov, s33@in.gov, s34@in.gov, s35@in.gov, s36@in.gov, s37@in.gov, s38@in.gov, s39@in.gov, s40@in.gov, s41@in.gov, s42@in.gov, s43@in.gov, s44@in.gov, s45@in.gov, s46@in.gov, s47@in.gov, s48@in.gov, s49@in.gov, s50@in.gov
For Outlook users which require semicolon separations (cut and paste the following list in the BCC line):
s1@in.gov; s2@in.gov; s3@in.gov; s4@in.gov; s5@in.gov; s6@in.gov; s7@in.gov; s8@in.gov; s9@in.gov; s10@in.gov; s11@in.gov; s12@in.gov; s13@in.gov; s14@in.gov; s15@in.gov; s16@in.gov; s17@in.gov; s18@in.gov; s19@in.gov; s20@in.gov; s21@in.gov; s22@in.gov; s23@in.gov; s24@in.gov; s25@in.gov; s26@in.gov; s27@in.gov; s28@in.gov; s29@in.gov; s30@in.gov; s31@in.gov; s32@in.gov; s33@in.gov; s34@in.gov; s35@in.gov; s36@in.gov; s37@in.gov; s38@in.gov; s39@in.gov; s40@in.gov; s41@in.gov; s42@in.gov; s43@in.gov; s44@in.gov; s45@in.gov; s46@in.gov; s47@in.gov; s48@in.gov; s49@in.gov; s50@in.gov
SAMPLE LETTER (Change font color to black so it will show up in email editor.)
Please personalize this email, and check your contact info below.
Dear Senator __________,
I am writing to encourage your SUPPORT for HB 1367.
{INSERT YOUR PERSONAL STORY. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH ISD/OUTREACH. OUR REPRESENTATIVES NEED TO KNOW WHY ISD/OUTREACH IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ALL FAMILIES.}
IMPORTANT FACTS:
- 95% of deaf and hard of hearing babies are born to HEARING parents.
- 80-90% of parents choose a Listening and Spoken Language as their communication option.
- Newborn babies can wear hearing aids, and profoundly deaf babies can get a cochlear implant at age one.
- 99% of all profoundly deaf children are candidates for a cochlear implant, a device which allows them to listen, speak, and thrive in the hearing community
Indiana's status quo concerning deaf and hard of hearing education is NOT working effectively for 80% of all Hoosier families. Of course, 100% of parents deserve to receive unbiased, comprehensive information about communication options, so they can make an informed decision about what is best for their family. HB 1367 will help ALL children who are deaf or hard of hearing, not just some of them. ALL parents deserve to have their communication choice(s) respected. Likewise, a family's use (or non-use) of hearing technology should be respected and supported through appropriate services. Under the current system, Hoosier parents do NOT have equal access to all communication options or information about hearing technology. Outreach services for the entire state should not be associated with one school and ONE philosophy.
HB 1367 is NOT adding an agency, but rather, it is moving one. Unlike ISD/Outreach, which promotes ASL as the language for thinking, the new Center would be unbiased toward any particular mode of communication. It would serve ALL deaf and hard of hearing families regardless of the communication methods chosen.
HB 1367 includes tracking and monitoring of children who are deaf and hard of hearing as they are identified and enrolled in appropriate services. These activities will prevent children from falling through the cracks. As a result, the State of Indiana will spend less money in intervention down the road.
HB 1367 offers the opportunity to align our state with the best practices in early intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. I will be very disappointed if we do not take advantage of this opportunity to make our Indiana system work for all children who need it.
Every 48 hours a baby in Indiana is born with a hearing loss. We can't wait. We must make this change NOW!
For our children’s future, please SUPPORT HB 1367.
Sincerely,
Do you want to get more involved? Contact us at info@hearindiana.org.
