“Speech or language impairment” is defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance [34 CFR § 300.8(c)(11)]. Summary of any public comments and feedback on the statement of scope for the proposed rule that the agency received at a preliminary public hearing and comment period held and a description of how and to what extent the agency took those comments into account and drafting the proposed rule:
The department held a preliminary public hearing and comment period on August 20, 2020, and received comments on the statement of scope for the proposed rule. A brief summary of the comment and the department’s response to those comments are as follows:
The respondent applauds the department’s desire to eliminate exclusionary factors and expand coverage relating to pupils that are speech and language impaired, advocating for functional communication skills as one such criteria. The respondent agrees that it is important to consider diverse cultural backgrounds when considering eligibility for speech and language services but argued that those considerations should not be used as a basis for exclusion from services.
Agency Response: The department agrees with the respondent’s comment and is seeking to update exclusionary factors in an effort to conduct more comprehensive evaluations that enhance the importance of functional use of communication in an educational context. The department seeks to revise the rule to better address students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and recognize that students may still be eligible for services if there is a delay or disorder in the child’s home language or dialect.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states:
Illinois: Illinois rules govern the observation and evaluation of areas of impairment generally, with specific consideration given to specific learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. Speech or language impairments are addressed as a related service only.
Iowa: Iowa does not have rules for identifying speech or language impairment as an impairment area.
Michigan: To identify a child with a speech or language impairment in Minnesota, a spontaneous language sample which demonstrates inadequate language functioning must be obtained on not less than 2 standardized assessment instruments or 2 subtests designed to determine language functioning which indicate inappropriate language functioning for the child’s age.
Minnesota: To identify a child with a speech or language impairment in Minnesota, the pupil scores 2.0 standard deviations below the mean on at least two technically adequate, norm-referenced language tests if available.Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies:
Chapter PI 11 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code contains the current rules governing the education of children with disabilities, including rules around the identification of children with speech or language impairments. Under current rule, speech or language impairment is defined as “an impairment of speech or sound production, voice, fluency, or language that significantly affects educational performance or social, emotional or vocational development.” Under the current rules, a child who meets certain criteria is excluded from qualifying as a child with speech or language impairment. Several of the disqualifying criteria are inconsistent with national guidelines and their application may prevent the provision or services to students who demonstrate language delay. Additionally, current rule emphasizes standardized measures for determining eligibility for services but is not balanced with other information that accounts for functional communication across school environments, especially for students from diverse cultural backgrounds. As such, the department proposes to update criteria relating to identifying pupils that have a speech or language impairment in order to properly address student needs. Without a rule change, the department will continue to implement ch. PI 11 as written. Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business or in preparation of economic impact report:
N/A
Anticipated costs incurred by private sector:
N/A
Effect on small business:
The proposed rules will have no significant economic impact on small businesses, as defined in s. 227.114 (1) (a), Stats. Agency contact person: (including email and telephone)
Carl Bryan
Administrative Rules Coordinator
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
(608) 266-3275
Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission:
Comments should be submitted to Carl Bryan, Department of Public Instruction, 125 S. Webster Street, P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841 or at adminrules@dpi.wi.gov. The department will publish a hearing notice in the Administrative Register which will provide information on the deadline for the submission of comments. RULE TEXT
SECTION 1. PI 11.36 (5) (a) is repealed and recreated to read:
PI 11.36 (5) (a) In this subsection:
1. “Home languages” mean the languages used by the child or the parent of the child in their natural environment, or the modes of communication that are used by the child or the parent of the child in their natural environment, and may include languages other than English, sign language, braille, or augmentative and alternative communication.
2. “Natural environment” means settings that are natural or typical for a same-aged child without a disability and may include school, home, or community.
3. “Significant discrepancy” means performance on a norm-referenced assessment that meets the cutoff score for a speech or language disorder and is significantly below age- or grade-level expectations relative to a normative sample, often reported as a percentile or standard score.
4. “Speech or language impairment” means an impairment of speech or sound production, voice, fluency, or language that adversely affects educational performance or social, emotional or vocational development.
SECTION 2. PI 11.36 (5) (am) is created to read:
(am) Assessments and other evaluation materials used to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of a child’s speech and language development shall be provided and administered in the child’s home languages. Assessments and other evaluation materials shall be in the form most likely to yield accurate information unless it is not feasible to do so, and shall describe the child’s speech and language abilities and how those abilities impact the child’s progress in the general education environment relative to the speech and language demands of the classroom and curriculum. Interpretation of assessments shall be based on the representativeness of the normative sample and the psychometric properties of the assessment.
SECTION 3. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 1. and 2. are repealed and recreated to read:
11.36 (5) (b) 1. Following consideration of the child’s age, culture, language background, and dialect, the child meets all of the following conditions for a speech sound disorder:
a. The child’s speech sound production is documented to be delayed, as evidenced through at least one observation in a natural environment.
b. The child’s speech sound production is documented to be delayed, as measured by a criterion-referenced assessment, such as a developmental scale or a phonetic inventory, or significant discrepancy in performance from typical on a norm-referenced assessment.
c. The child’s intelligibility is below the expected range and not due to influences of home languages or dialect. Intelligibility ratings as documented by school staff or caregivers indicate an impact across environments.
d. Speech sound production is less than 30% stimulable for incorrect sounds.
2. Following consideration of the child’s age, culture, language background, or dialect, the child demonstrates the characteristics of a phonological disorder, which include both of the following:
a. The child’s intelligibility is below the expected range and not due to influences of home languages or dialect. Intelligibility ratings as documented by school staff or caregivers indicate an impact across environments.
b. The child’s phonological process use is documented to be non-developmental or outside of the expected developmental range, as evidenced through at least one observation in a natural environment, and by measurement of either the presence of one or more phonological processes occurring at least 40%, significant discrepancy in performance from typical on a norm-referenced assessment, or both.
SECTION 4. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 3. is renumbered s. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 3. (intro.) and amended to read:
PI 11.36 (5) (b) 3. The child's voice is impaired in the absence of an acute, respiratory virus or infection and not due to temporary physical factors such as allergies, short term vocal abuse, or puberty. The child exhibits atypical loudness, pitch, quality or resonance for his or her age and gender.Following consideration of the child’s age, culture, language background, or dialect, the child demonstrates characteristics of a voice impairment, which include any of the following:
SECTION 5. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 3. a. to e. are created to read:
PI 11.36 (5) (b) 3. a. The child’s vocal volume, including loudness.
b. The child’s vocal pitch, including range, inflection, or appropriateness.
c. The child’s vocal quality, including breathiness, hoarseness, or harshness.
d. The child’s vocal resonance, including hypernasality.
SECTION 6. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 4. is renumbered s. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 4. (intro.) and amended to read:
PI 11.36 (5) (b) 4. The child exhibits characteristics of a fluency disorder, following consideration of the child's age, language background, culture, and dialect. The evaluation shall include a variety of measures, including case history, observation in natural environment, norm-referenced assessment or disfluency analysis, and result in evidence of atypical fluency. The presence of one or more of the following characteristics shall indicate a fluency disorder:
SECTION 7. PI 11.36 (5) (b) 4. a. and b. are created to read:
