AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION WORKING GROUP AND INCREASING STATE ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED AND DEAF.

House of Representatives
sHB5487 / File No. 431 1

General Assembly File No. 431
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5487

House of Representatives, April 7, 2026

The Committee on Human Services reported through REP.
GILCHREST of the 18th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on
the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP AND INCREASING STATE
ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY
IMPAIRED AND DEAF.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) ( Effective January 1, 2027 ) (a) The Department of 1
Education shall establish an American Sign Language education 2
working group which shall consist of (1) a representative from each of 3
the following: The Departments of Education and Aging and Disability 4
Services, the Labor Department, the Office of Higher Education, the 5
Connecticut Council of Language Teachers, the American School for the 6
Deaf and the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, and (2) at least one 7
American Sign Language instructor who teaches in a public school in 8
the state. 9
(b) The working group shall provide recommendations to the 10
Department of Education regarding the following: 11
(1) Curriculum guidance for American Sign Language instruction 12
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that includes, but is not limited to, aligning such curriculum with 13
nationally recognized proficiency frameworks; 14
(2) Teacher certification standards based on standards established by 15
the American Sign Language Teachers Association and the American 16
Sign Language Proficiency Interview that includes, but is not limited to, 17
(A) establishment of a proficiency benchmark, (B) recognition of an 18
alternative certification pathway for native American Sign Language 19
users and interpreters, and (C) reciprocity with American Sign 20
Language teaching certifications from other states; and 21
(3) Guidance to educator preparation programs in the state 22
concerning, but not limited to, the (A) expansion of American Sign 23
Language and interpretation education programs, (B) creation of 24
educational incentives, such as tuition support, credit enhancement or 25
alternative programs, and (C) establishment of bridge, endorsement or 26
alternative programs for native American Sign Language users and 27
certified interpreters seeking teacher certification. 28
(c) Not later than January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the 29
Department of Education shall submit a progress report, in accordance 30
with the provisions of section 11 -4a of the general statutes, to the joint 31
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 32
matters relating to education and human services concerning the work 33
of the American Sign Language education working group. 34
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 17a -812 of the general statutes is 35
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 36
2026): 37
(d) The Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services may expend 38
up to [ten] fourteen thousand dollars per fiscal year per person twenty-39
one years of age or older who is both blind or visually impaired and 40
deaf, in addition to any other expenditures for such person, for the 41
purpose of providing community inclusion services through specialized 42
public and private entities from which such person can benefit. The 43
commissioner may determine the criteria by which a person is eligible 44
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to receive specialized services and may adopt regulations necessary to 45
carry out the provisions of this subsection. For purposes of this 46
subsection, "community inclusion services" means the assistance 47
provided to persons with disabilities to enable them to connect with 48
their peers without disabilities and with the community at large. 49
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 January 1, 2027 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 17a-812(d)

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The title was changed; and in Section 1(b)(3)(B), "alternative route
programs" was changed to "alternative programs" for consistency.

HS Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Aging and Disability Services,
Dept.
GF - Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Note: GF=General Fund e
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill increases the annual per person cap for the DeafBlind grant
program administered by the Department of Aging and Disability
Services (ADS) from $10,000 to $14,000 per person. This results in a
potential cost to ADS to the extent that any individuals receive a grant
between $10,000 and $14,000. ADS spent $3,125 per person in FY 25.1
The bill also establishes a working group for American Sign
Language education, which does not result in a fiscal impact.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.

1 Grant spending was $165,660 in FY 25, disbursed to 53 recipients.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5487

AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP AND INCREASING STATE
ASSISTANCE FOR PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY
IMPAIRED AND DEAF.

SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to
establish an American Sign Language (ASL) education working group
to make recommendations to the department on the following:
1. curriculum guidance for ASL instruction, including aligning the
curriculum with nationally recognized proficiency frameworks;
2. teacher certification standards based on those of the ASL
Teachers Association and ASL Proficiency Interview, including
establishing a proficiency benchmark, recognizing an alternative
certification pathway for native ASL users and interpreters, and
reciprocity with other states’ ASL teaching certifications; and
3. guidance to Connecticut educator preparation programs on (a)
expanding ASL and interpretation education programs ; (b)
creating educational incentives , such as tuition support, credit
enhancement, or alternative programs; and (c) establishing
bridge, endorsement, or alternative programs for native ASL
users and certified interpreters seeking teacher certification.
Under the bill, the working group members include (1) at least one
Connecticut ASL public school instructor and (2) one representative
each from SDE, the Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS),
the Department of Labor, Office of Higher Education , Connecticut
Council of Language Teachers , American School for the Deaf , and
Connecticut Association of the Deaf.
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Additionally, the bill increases, from $10,000 to $14,000, the amount
ADS may spend each fiscal year on community inclusion services for
people ages 21 and older who are both blind or visually impaired and
deaf.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2027, for the working group provision
and July 1, 2026, for the ADS community inclusion services provision.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Human Services Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 23 Nay 0 (03/19/2026)