VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
worked for passage of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy bill in the
House of Representatives since 2015 and in the Senate since 2017. The Cogswell-
Macy Act (CMA) is a bicameral, bipartisan bill in the current congress that focuses
on strengthening IDEA to ensure that students who are deafblind (Title III); blind,
visually impaired (Title II); and deaf, hard of hearing (Title I) receive the best
education possible. See Senate bill 813 and House bill 1959.
Title III of the Cogswell-Macy Act (2021-2022) focuses solely on the needs
of students who are deafblind. Included in this section is language that states:
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (8) Children who are
deaf-blind should receive one-to-one services from interveners, who have
training and specialized skills in deaf-blindness. Interveners play a critical
role in the provision of a Free and Appropriate Education, because they
provide access to the information these children need in order to learn and
develop concepts, to facilitate their communication development and
interactions in their preferred mode of communication, and to promote their
social and emotional well-being.
Recognizing intervener services as related services under IDEA will facilitate
national awareness of the critical need for intervener services, support systems
change at state and local levels, and result in significant and life-changing benefits
for children and youth who are deafblind and their families.
