HB 530 -- AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

SPONSOR:  Moore

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Higher
Education by a vote of 9 to 0.

This bill treats American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign
language for the granting of academic credit at public schools
and public higher education institutions.  Students may receive
academic credit for demonstrating proficiency or completing a
course with a passing grade.  The credit may be used to satisfy
the foreign language or language arts requirements, including
entrance requirements of public higher education institutions.
Nothing in the bill prohibits a department of a higher education
institution from establishing specific language requirements for
its majors that cannot be met by ASL, nor does the bill prohibit
the offering of noncredit courses in ASL.  The Missouri
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Missouri
American Sign Language Teachers Association, upon request, will
assist in the development and teaching of the courses.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2006, FY 2007, and
FY 2008.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will help overcome
barriers not only for the deaf and hard of hearing, but also for
hearing persons.  Hearing parents of deaf children, people who
lose their hearing or their ability to speak later in life, and
emergency personnel will benefit from the additional number of
people who will be encouraged to learn ASL or to complete the
training to be an interpreter.

Testifying for the bill were Representatives Moore and Page;
Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Kim Davis;
St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley; LEAD Institute;
Antonina Wilson; Missouri American Sign Language Teachers
Association; William Bixby Sheldon; Jeff Blasek; Barbara
Garrison; Shauna Morgan; Paul Blicharz; Karin Sack; Rene Powell;
and Michael Boyd.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Becky DeNeve, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:19 pm