Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act
Sponsored By: Senator Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced
Summary
This bill would amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure language‑appropriate education and services for deaf, deafblind, deafdisabled, and visually impaired children. It focuses on earlier identification, stronger primary‑language evaluations including American Sign Language, specialized personnel, accessible materials, and a national center for visual disability research.
Show full summary
- Families and children: Requires evaluations in a child’s primary language including ASL where appropriate, adds ongoing language assessments in infant and toddler plans, expands IEP content to include projected service start dates and direct‑language access, and protects access to specialized placements for low‑incidence needs.
- Schools and personnel: Requires State plan addenda within two years describing how States will ensure qualified personnel and services, raises personnel qualifications and interpreter protections, allows State school for the deaf representation on IEP teams at parent or agency discretion, and permits documented teacher training to satisfy certain placement documentation.
- Research, centers, and accountability: Creates the Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual Disability and Educational Excellence, boosts coordinated research and policy guidance updated at least every five years, strengthens federal monitoring, and requires new data reporting carve‑outs and funding transparency. The Center would have funding stability for at least four years and up to 15 percent carryover.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Stronger IEPs and evaluations
If enacted, schools would have to use stronger, research-based evaluations for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, deafblind, or visually impaired. Evaluations would test language in the child's primary mode, including American Sign Language, and for blind students include learning media and vision tests. IEPs would have projected start dates and specify how often, where, and how long services will happen. The Department would publish guidance within one year and update it at least every five years.
More training and a new center
If enacted, the Department would create the Anne Sullivan Macy Center to support students who are blind or visually impaired and to fund research, training, and direct instruction. The Secretary would contract with a consortium for no less than five years, and appropriations must be kept at the same level or higher for at least four years with up to 15% carryover. The bill would expand federal training money to prepare teachers, interveners, early intervention specialists, and licensed educational interpreters. It would also add vision rehabilitation therapy and intervener services to IDEA's related services list, and require those services be provided by qualified personnel.
New deafblind and low vision definitions
If enacted, the bill would add official statutory definitions for "deafblind" and "deafdisabled" and add "low vision" to the child-with-a-disability definition. The Department would publish formal rules after public comment, not later than one year after enactment, including definitions for deafblindness and intervener services.
State plan addenda and school protections
If enacted, States would have to file IDEA plan addenda within two years explaining how they will evaluate and teach children who are blind, deaf, or deafblind and how they will staff those programs. The addenda must show use of qualified personnel and say whether ASL will be provided unless parents expressly waive it. The bill would also treat closing, consolidating, or merging State specialized schools for blind or deaf children as a cut in State financial support that could trigger federal enforcement.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
MA • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
WV • R
Sponsored 6/3/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov