SPONSOR:

Rep. Longhurst & Sen. Sokola

Reps. Ennis, Hall-Long, Johnson, Keeley, Lavelle, McWilliams, Plant, Schooley, Spence, Ulbrich, Viola, Williams; Sen. Amick

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

143rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 48

CREATING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY LICENSED SPEECH/LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS IN DELAWARE AND TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING THE SHORTFALL OF STATE LICENSED SPEECH/LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS.

WHEREAS, the State of Delaware requires speech/language pathologists, in order to be licensed, to have a Master's degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university with major emphasis in speech language pathology, audiology, communication disorder or speech/language and hearing science; and

WHEREAS, no college or university in the State of Delaware currently offers such a Master's program for speech/language pathologists; and

WHEREAS, speech/language pathologists in the State of Delaware, in turn must attend Master's programs in our surrounding States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, often find competitive jobs in our surrounding states and do not return to the State of Delaware; and

WHEREAS, the State of Delaware's public school systems is currently facing a severe shortage of licensed speech/language pathologists; and

WHEREAS, the number of private licensed speech/language pathologists in Delaware has not been able to keep up with the growing demand and need for licensed speech/language pathologists;

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 143^rd General Assembly, the Senate concurring therein, that a Task Force be created to examine issues surrounding the shortage of licensed speech /language pathologists in the State of Delaware consisting of the following members:

1. Two members of the House Education Committee, one each appointed by the House Majority and House Minority Leaders;

2. Two members of the Senate Education Committee, one each appointed by the Senate Majority and Senate Minority Leaders;

3. The Delaware Secretary of Education or her designee;

4. A representative of the Early Childhood and Exceptional Children's WINK Group in the Department of Education;

5. One representative from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services;

6. One representative from Easter Seals;

7. A representative from A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children;

8. Provost Dan Rich from the University of Delaware or his designee;

9. A representative from Delaware State University's Department of Education;

10. The State Speech/Language Pathologist;

11. A member of the business community appointed by the State Chamber of Commerce;

12. A member of the Delaware Speech and Hearing Association's Executive Council;

13. A member of the Governor's Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens;

14. The Director of Family and Workplace Connection or her designee; and

15. The parent of a child in Delaware with developmental and learning needs.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Task Force shall be appointed jointly by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Task Force shall develop recommendations for improving the shortage of licensed speech/language pathologists in the State of Delaware, including the identification of revenue sources for implementation of an accredited Master's program at a college and/or university in the State of Delaware.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE Task Force shall submit its findings to the Speaker of the House, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Governor by June 1, 2006.