TN SB2357

Creates the Tennessee Council for Research of Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing Children, a 17-member body attached to the Department of Health for administrative purposes

Council members appointed by the governor, speaker of the senate, and speaker of the house must include individuals who are deaf/deaf-blind/hard of hearing, parents of affected children, early intervention professionals, and experts in linguistics, audiology, and family advocacy

Requires the council to identify all deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of hearing children from birth to age 10 in Tennessee, including demographic data (race, sex, zip code), and recommend assessment tools for language development in both ASL and English

Council must recommend designs for a data tracking system to monitor language milestone acquisition, protocols for reporting assessment results to parents and the state, and a parent resource guide in multimedia formats

All appointments must be made by August 31, 2026, first meeting held by September 15, 2026, and final report submitted by July 1, 2029, at which point the council terminates and the statutory provisions are repealed