This bill, known as the Helen Keller Education Act, aims to improve special education services for children and youth who are deafblind by addressing gaps in how these students are identified, evaluated, and served within the education system. The legislation modifies the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure that deafblind children receive appropriate services regardless of how states classify their disabilities, and it adds intervener services as an eligible related service to help deafblind students communicate and access information. States must submit written plans to the federal government within two years describing how they will meet the unique language, communication, and academic needs of deafblind children, ensure they have qualified personnel including deafblind teachers and interveners, and provide opportunities for direct communication with peers and staff. The bill also requires federal agencies to develop policy guidance within one year and publish regulations defining deafblindness and intervener services, while establishing new programs to train teachers of deafblind children, interveners, and early intervention specialists who will work with infants and toddlers through school-age children who are deafblind.
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