It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "Education" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

{ADD 16-25.4-1. Short title. -- This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island American Sign Language Instruction Act of 1996". ADD}

{ADD 16-25.4-2. Legislative purposes. -- ADD} {ADD The legislature hereby declares that:

(1) The recognition of the unique social, cultural, and linguistic heritage of a community is crucial to the respect and well-being of that community;

(2) It is crucial that children of every community receive strong language base;

(3) Over the last twenty (20) years, a significant and growing body of scientific inquiry of American Sign Language (ASL) has been undertaken with the result that ASL is a valid, formal, and natural language, the use of which is vital to the preservation of the culture and heritage of the deaf community;

(4) While the majority of members of the deaf and hard of hearing community use American Sign Language as a primary means of communication, other members of the community employ a variety of means of communication including oral-aural communication and other manually coded systems;

(5) The study and learning of American Sign Language contributes to a greater understanding of the social and cultural aspects of deafness and to the breakdown of communication barriers that have existed between hearing and deaf people and thus to the advancement of the state's expressed policy to encourage and enable deaf people, as well as other disabled people, to participate fully in the economic, political and social life of the state.

Wherefore, the general assembly recognizes that American Sign Language is a fully developed, autonomous, natural language with distinct grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and cultural heritage which is used by hearing, deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States, and hereby determines that American Sign Language shall be accorded equal status with other linguistic systems in the state's public and higher education systems. ADD}

{ADD 16-25.4-3. Development of educational curriculum. -- ADD} {ADD The department of education, in consultation with the state's school districts, two (2) consumer members of the state's deaf community to be appointed by the Rhode Island Association of the Deaf, two (2) members of the Rhode Island Association of the Deaf or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, two (2) members of the Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, two (2) members of the American Sign Language Teachers' Association or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, one (1) person with expertise in linguistics or language to be appointed by the State Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education and one (1) person with expertise in linguistics or language to be appointed by the Board of Governors for Higher Education shall develop the educational curriculum, adopt teacher qualification standards and implement policies and procedures for the teaching of American Sign Language in the state's public elementary and secondary education system. In order to effectively communicate pursuant to this section, the state's Department of Education shall incur all fees relating to sign language interpreters. ADD}

{ADD 16-25.4-4. Development of qualifications for instructors. -- ADD} {ADD The state board of governors for higher education, in consultation with the state's public institutions of higher education, two (2) consumer members of the state's deaf community to be appointed by the Rhode Island Association of the Deaf, two (2) members of the Rhode Island Association of the Deaf or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, two (2) members of the Rhode Island Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, two (2) members of the American Sign Language Teachers' Association or their designee to be appointed by the presiding officer, one (1) person with expertise in linguistics or language to be appointed by the State Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education and one (1) person with expertise in linguistics or language to be appointed by the Board of Governors for Higher Education shall adopt teacher qualification standards and develop and implement policies and procedures for offering instruction in American Sign Language in the state's system of higher education. In order to effectively communicate pursuant to this section, the state's Board of Governors shall incur all fees relating to sign language interpreters. ADD}

{ADD 16-25.4-5. Educational credits. -- ADD} {ADD (a) A public elementary and secondary student may count credit for satisfactorily completing a course in American Sign Language towards the fulfillment of a foreign language requirement in the public education system under rules made by the State Board of Education.

(b) If a course in American Sign Language is offered by a state university, college or community college, it shall be accepted as a foreign language credit. Successful completion of any American Sign Language course in the common schools shall satisfy the foreign language entrance requirements for a state institution of higher education. ADD}

{ADD 16-25.4-6. Severability. -- ADD} {ADD Nothing in this section shall be construed to infringe upon the ability of a state university, college or community college to establish degree requirements including foreign language requirements. If any provisions of this chapter or of any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this chapter, rule, regulation, or order, and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby. The invalidity of any section or sections or parts of any section or sections of this chapter shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this chapter and it is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that this chapter would have been enacted if the invalid parts had not been included therein. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.