HR-9195 — Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Your MoneyWorkers & JobsCorporate BenefitsTransparency & AccountabilityTargeted & Unrelated Provisions

Requires sign language or Braille for deaf and blind students — and puts state funding at risk if their schools close.

Your Money

Sign language instruction for deaf students — required unless parents say no

States would have to show that deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafdisabled students who need special education receive American Sign Language instruction. Parents can waive that for their own child.

Braille instruction for blind students — parents must agree before it is skipped

Blind and low-vision students would get Braille instruction by default. Skipping it would take a full assessment by a vision teacher plus the parent's written consent.

One-on-one helpers for deafblind students — added as a school service

Intervener services would join the related services schools must provide. An intervener is a trained aide who works one-on-one with a deafblind child on communication and access to information.

Training to live with vision loss — added as a school service

The bill adds vision rehabilitation therapy to the related services schools must consider. It teaches daily-living and adjustment skills to students who are blind or losing vision.

Braille and audio textbooks — more students would qualify for them

Books in Braille, large print, and audio go to students with print disabilities. The bill widens who qualifies to include students served under a Section 504 school accommodation plan, not only those in special education.

Protection for schools for the deaf and blind — closing one costs funding

If a state closes, merges, or consolidates a school for deaf students or blind students, that counts as cutting its special-education support. The state then fails a condition for receiving federal special-education money.

Services for students labeled something else — states must find and serve them

Many children who are deaf, blind, or deafblind are recorded under a different disability category, often multiple disabilities. States would have to find them and give them the same services as children counted in the deaf or blind categories.

Language goals for deaf and blind babies — written into family plans

Early-intervention plans for infants and toddlers would have to spell out language goals, how the child gets language access, and what instruction families receive. Separate rules cover babies who are deaf, blind, and deafblind.

Individual learning plans — not required at schools for the deaf

A school for the deaf could document how its teachers are trained instead of writing an IEP — the individual plan that sets each child's goals and services. Students who are deafdisabled would still get one.

Workers & Jobs

Teacher training grants — new priority for deaf and blind specialists

Federal personnel grants would add priorities for training teachers of deaf students, teachers of blind students, interveners, and early-intervention specialists. The bill's findings point to severe shortages in these jobs.

Licensing for school sign-language interpreters — federal training money aims at licensed staff

Federal grants for preparing educational interpreters would target people licensed by the proper licensing body. The same provision says an interpreter cannot be replaced by other staff, such as a communication facilitator.

Corporate Benefits

Everything the new center produces would belong to the federal government, but its partner organizations could reuse that material and copyright their own versions. One partner slot may be filled by a company that makes products or publishes materials for blind students.

Transparency & Accountability

State plans on deaf and blind students — due within two years

Within two years, each state would file a written addendum with the Education Department showing how deaf, blind, and deafblind students are evaluated, staffed, and taught. A state that does not file would be out of compliance.

Public counts of deaf and blind students — even under other labels

States would report how many students in each other disability category are also deaf, blind, or deafblind. For deaf students they would also report how each one gets access to sign language.

Federal checks on state compliance — findings reported to Congress

The Education Secretary would have to monitor states specifically on the new rules for identifying, evaluating, and teaching these students. Findings would go to Congress on a regular basis.

Federal guidance for parents and teachers — updated at least every five years

The department's guidance on teaching deaf students dates from 1992 and its guidance on blind students from 2000. Both would be reviewed within a year and reprinted in the Federal Register at least every five years.

Public comment on new deafblind rules — within one year

The Education Secretary would write official definitions of deafblindness and intervener services within a year. The public would get to comment before those definitions become final.

Conflict rules for the new board — no paid ties to its partners

The board's twelve or fewer members could not hold a job, contract, or other paid tie with the groups running the center. The Secretary must still consult those groups before appointing members, and they may nominate people.

Reporting on separate school settings — deaf and blind students left out

States now report how many students with disabilities are taught in separate classes, separate schools, or residential facilities. The bill would leave deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafdisabled, and deafblind students out of that count.

Open-meeting rules for the new advisory board — waived by the bill

The Federal Advisory Committee Act normally makes federal advisory boards meet in public and keep open records. The bill says it would not apply to the board advising the new Anne Sullivan Macy Center.

Targeted & Unrelated Provisions

Rules for running the new center — only a few groups could qualify

The center would be run by a partnership that must include an accrediting membership association, a national nonprofit, and a university with a ten-year teacher-prep program and a special-education doctorate. Few organizations meet those tests.

Locked-in funding for the new center — cannot be cut for four years

The bill sets no dollar amount. It says that once Congress funds the center in any year, that funding must stay level or grow for at least four more years.

More about this bill

If your child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or deafblind, school services would change. Deaf students would get instruction in American Sign Language unless their parents waive it. Blind students would get Braille instruction by default. Skipping it would take a vision teacher's assessment and the parent's written consent. Children who are deafblind could get an intervener, a trained aide who works with them one-on-one. Training to live with vision loss would join the list of school services. Books in Braille, large print, or audio would reach more students. States would have to look for students who are deaf or blind but counted under another disability label. Those students would get the same services. Each state would file a written plan with the Education Department within two years. States would also have to keep a full range of school settings open, from regular classes to specialized schools. Closing or merging a school for the deaf or the blind would count as cutting special-education support. That would put the state's federal money at risk. One part cuts the other way. A school for the deaf could skip writing individual plans for most of its students. The bill would also create the Anne Sullivan Macy Center inside the Education Department. It would fund research, teacher training, and enrichment programs for blind students. A group of outside partners would run it under a contract of at least five years. The rules for who can qualify are narrow. No dollar amount is set. The bill says funding could not drop for four years after any year Congress pays for it. The board advising the center would be exempt from the open-meeting law that covers most federal boards. The bill was introduced in June 2026 and sits in committee.

Congressional Summary

Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act This bill expands special education and related services for children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind.For example, the bill requires states to more specifically identify and evaluate children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind to better allow for the provision of appropriate services.In addition, a state's closure of a specialized school serving children who are blind or deaf shall result in a reduction of its financial support for special education and related services.The bill also authorizes support, including grants for training special education personnel, to prepare individuals to become qualified teachers and early intervention specialists for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, blind, visually impaired, or deafblind.Finally, the bill establishes within the Department of Education the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence to better support students with visual disabilities receiving special education and related services.

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in House
Action Date: 2026-06-08
Date Added: 2026-07-07
Source: Congress.gov →

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