Program Standards and Teaching Performance Expectations for the

DRAFT 12/28/2022 1

Program Standards and Teaching Performance Expectations for the Preliminary

Education Specialist Credential: Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Program Standard 7: Effective Literacy Instruction for Deaf

Students

The credential program’s coursework and supervised field experiences prepare candidates to

provide effective literacy instruction for deaf students, birth through age 22, who are

multilingual and/or bimodal, using American Sign Language (ASL) or English supported by

listening and spoken language (LSL) teaching strategies. Coursework and supervised field

experiences encompass the study of effective means of teaching literacy across all disciplines

2,3

based on California’s State Board of Education (SBE)-adopted English Language Arts (ELA) and

Literacy Standards, English Language Development (ELD) Standards, Infant/Toddler Learning

and Development Foundations, and Preschool Learning Foundations in accordance with the

California Department of Education’s (CDE) Position Statement on language access. The

program helps candidates understand that for the ASL/English signing community, the ASL

Content Standards are used alongside the ELA/Literacy and ELD Standards to support literacy

development. Program coursework and supervised field experiences are aligned with the

current, SBE-adopted English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework,

including the crosscutting themes of Foundational Skills, Meaning Making, Language

Development, Effective Expression, and Content Knowledge, as well as the California

Infant/Toddler Curriculum Framework and California Preschool Curriculum Framework. The

program emphasizes the relationships among the five themes, including the importance of the

foundational skills to student learning across all themes and how progress in the other themes

also supports progress in the foundational skills. Through the integration of literacy coursework

and supervised clinical practice, candidates learn that student instruction in each of the themes

is essential and should occur concurrently (rather than sequentially), with emphasis based on

grade-level standards. Candidates also learn that for multilingual and English learner students,

concurrent instruction in each of the themes through integrated and designated ELD is critical.

Grounded in Universal Design for Learning and asset-based pedagogies,

the program supports

the development of candidates’ knowledge, skills, and abilities expressed in the Teaching

The term deaf is used in an all-inclusive manner, to include students who may identify as Deaf, deaf, deafblind,

deaf disabled, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and hearing impaired (NAD, 2018).

Literacy comprises reading, writing, signing/speaking, and listening;/viewing these processes are closely

intertwined and should be understood to include oral (spoken and/or signed), written, visual, and multimodal

communication. The themes of the ELA/ELD Framework (Foundational Skills, Meaning Making, Language

Development, Effective Expression, and Content Knowledge) crosscut the four strands of the ELA/literacy

standards (Reading [Literature, Informational Text, Foundational Skills], Writing, Speaking and Listening, and

Language) and the three parts of the ELD standards (Interacting in Meaningful Ways [Communicative Modes],

Learning About How English Works [Language Processes], and Using Foundational Literacy Skills). In practice, these

themes, strands, and parts are overlapping and should be integrated among themselves and across all disciplines.

For deaf students, the terms listening and speaking should be interpreted to include viewing a visual language

and signing based on the language of instruction and the deaf student’s native language skills.

Asset-based pedagogies view the diversity that students bring to the classroom, including culture, language,

disability, socio-economic status, immigration status, and sexuality as characteristics that add value and strength

to classrooms and communities.

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Performance Expectations to provide effective literacy instruction that is organized,

comprehensive, systematic, evidence based, culturally and linguistically sustaining, and

responsive to students’ age and prior language and literacy development. Candidates also learn

to provide literacy instruction that is responsive to students’ linguistic, cognitive, and social

strengths. Candidates learn the power of language (whether spoken, signed, written, or

symbolic) to understand and transform the world and to create socially just learning

environments. The program emphasizes the crucial role of language in successful literacy

development. Accordingly, candidates learn the critical importance of access to language from

ages zero to five—whether through ASL, spoken language, or both—and early intervention to

ensure and support such access. They understand that deaf students using spoken language

must have clear access across the speech spectrum in order to develop appropriate listening

and spoken language skills that support literacy development. The program builds candidates’

understanding that high-quality literacy instruction integrates all strands of the ELA/literacy

standards, all parts of the ELD standards, and other disciplinary standards to develop students’

capacities as effective and critical readers, writers, listeners, and speakers.

The study of high-quality literacy instruction in the program also incorporates the following

elements of the California Comprehensive State Literacy Plan:

a) Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as principles of augmentative and

alternative communication (AAC), including books and other instructional materials,

technologies, and practices that are asset-based and culturally and linguistically responsive,

affirming, and sustaining

b) Multi-Tiered System of Support, including best first instruction; targeted, supplemental

instruction for students whose literacy skills are not progressing as expected toward grade-

level standards; and intensive intervention for individuals who have not benefited from

supplemental support

c) Instruction that is responsive to individual students’ age, language and literacy

development, communication needs, and literacy goals; that engages families and

communities as educational partners; and that is reflective of social and emotional learning

and trauma-informed practices

d) Incorporation of the California Dyslexia Guidelines

e) Integrated and designated ELD

f) Knowledge of how to promote multiliteracy in both English-medium and multilingual

programs

g) Assessment for various purposes, including formative, progress monitoring, and summative

literacy assessment; screening to determine students’ literacy profiles, including English

Culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and funds of

knowledge are all instructional approaches that affirm students’ cultural lives—both family and community—and

incorporate this knowledge into the classroom and collectively deem students’ lived experiences as assets. These

practices affirm the diversity that students bring to the classroom, including culture, language, disability, socio-

economic status, immigration status, sexual orientation, and gender identity as characteristics that add value and

strength to classrooms and communities. They include instructional approaches that leverage the cultural and

linguistic experiences of students to make learning more relevant and effective.

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learner typologies and for signers, ASL receptive and expressive language comprehension,

and to identify potential difficulties in reading and writing, including risk for dyslexia; and

diagnostic assessment in response to referrals for additional assessment and intensive

intervention

Consistent with the ELA/ELD Framework, candidates learn instructional practices, through

coursework and supervised field experiences, that are active, motivating, and engaging and to

provide literacy instruction that is appropriate for the range of learners’ ages and

development—infant, toddler, prekindergarten, early and middle childhood, and adolescent.

Candidates learn that effective practices begin with building on students’ cultural and linguistic

assets, including home languages and dialects, backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge,

including family and community, in all instruction. The program makes clear the importance of

collaborating with other educators to provide literacy instruction. Candidates also learn that

instructional practices vary according to students’ learning profiles and goals, age, English

language proficiency, and assessed strengths and needs and include, as appropriate, direct

instruction, collaborative learning, and inquiry-based learning. The program also addresses

community-based instruction for students with disabilities, as well as the expanded core

curriculum for students who identify as deafblind. Candidates learn to create environments

that promote students’ autonomy in learning, including providing choices in reading and other

literacy-related activities, as well as the value of guided self-assessment and goal setting for

student independence, motivation, and learning. Candidates also learn ways to collaborate and

partner with families and communities ensuring that families are welcomed, informed, heard,

and included in literacy development opportunities.

According to the Programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Guidelines for Quality

Standards, the program prepares candidates to provide literacy instruction within the

classroom and in group and individual one-on-one settings. Candidates are encouraged to work

with ASL specialists, speech-language pathologists, or specialists in LSL teaching methodologies

to conduct assessments of students’ language and cognitive development in response to their

receptive and expressive abilities. The program teaches candidates that in classrooms with ASL

as the language of instruction, students learn to map out fingerspelling with letters; accurate

sign-to-word representation through conceptual meaning making strategies and chaining (sign,

point to word, fingerspell) or sandwiching (sign-fingerspell-sign; sign-point to English word-

sign); and develop visualization of text reading through clear use of space, use of facial

expression, and correct ASL choice of sign to represent concepts within context. Candidates

learn to embed translanguaging techniques to enhance literacy and language connections in

lesson plans and remind students of the language distinctions between ASL and English.

Candidates are prepared to use visual prompts and visualization to assist with identification,

contextualization, and expansion prior to literacy practices. The program helps candidates

understand the impact of first and second language acquisition in literacy development.

Candidates also learn the importance of directly teaching concepts that are typically learned

incidentally as well as providing experiential and hands-on learning opportunities. They learn to

assess and provide direct instruction to support students’ literacy learning, particularly in the

areas of compensatory or functional academic skills, use of assistive auditory technologies (e.g.,

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hearing aids, cochlear implants, classroom amplification), other educational technology, and

visual learning skills using graphs, images and tables.

In addition, the program teaches candidates about the impact of deafblindness on literacy

learning and receptive and expressive communication. Candidates learn tactile and other

instructional approaches to teach literacy to students who are deafblind. They also learn about

communicating with students who are deadblind via tactile American Sign Language, pro-tactile

American Sign Language, and haptics and to collaborate with specialists and interveners for

hearing assessments and to directly support students’ literacy learning.

7a. Foundational Skills

The Education Specialist Deaf and Hard of Hearing credential program offers coursework and

supervised field experiences that include evidence-based means of teaching the foundational

skills to all students as part of a comprehensive literacy program, with special emphasis in

transitional kindergarten through grade three. The program builds candidates’ understanding of

the role that early intervention plays in building the vocabulary and, as applicable, phonological

awareness skills needed for successful literacy development. Foundational skills include print

concepts, including letters of the alphabet and for children using ASL, letter to handshape

mapping; phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness, for children with sufficient

hearing to benefit from auditory learning; phonics for children who benefit from auditory

learning and/or use a visual representation that exemplifies the spoken language (Cued

Speech), spelling, and word recognition; decoding and encoding; morphological awareness; and

text reading fluency, including accuracy, prosody (expression), and rate (an indicator of

automaticity). Candidates learn that the ability to fingerspell and to read fingerspelling is the

bridge between ASL and English, and they learn to teach beginning decoding using chaining

(various combinations of fingerspelling and signing a word and connecting the word to its

printed form). Through the program, candidates learn that effective instruction in foundational

reading skills is structured and organized as well as direct, systematic, and explicit.

The program ensures that candidates understand that instruction in phonological awareness

and phonics for children for children who benefit from auditory learning and LSL teaching

techniques, includes phonemic awareness; letter-sound, spelling-sound, and sound-symbol

correspondences; spelling patterns; and practice in connected, decodable text. Additionally, the

program ensures that candidates understand that for children who use ASL, instruction includes

letter-handshape correspondences and spelling patterns in English as well as practice in

connected, decodable text. Candidates learn that instruction in foundational skills, particularly

text reading fluency, also emphasizes spelling and applicable syllable patterns, semantics,

morphology, and syntax. Candidates learn the importance of presenting the language

differences between ASL and English side by side to visually display word meaning, syntax, and

discourse. As a result, candidates learn the connections among the foundational skills,

language, and cognitive skills that support students as they learn to read and write increasingly

complex disciplinary texts with comprehension and effective expression. Candidates also learn

See also the Resource Guide to Foundational Skills of the California Common Core State Standards for English

Language Arts.

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that for students who benefit from auditory learning and LSL teaching techniques, decoding is

taught through mapping of spellings to their pronunciation, while encoding requires mapping of

phonemes to their spellings, and emphasizes teaching both in ways that reflect their reciprocal

relationship while also emphasizing vocabulary development. Accordingly, the program teaches

candidates to provide explicit instruction for young children in letter formation, through

printing, keyboarding, or other assistive technology as needed, in conjunction with applicable

foundational skills and to help children apply their encoding skills in comprehensive writing

instruction.

The program also includes evidence-based means of teaching foundational skills to multilingual

and English learner students while they are simultaneously developing oral/written English

language proficiency, and in some cases literacy skills in an additional language.

Candidates

also learn that some deaf children may still be developing their first language—either spoken

English or ASL. The program teaches candidates to plan foundational skills instruction based on

students’ previous literacy experiences in their home languages and to differentiate instruction

using guidance from the ELA/ELD Framework, including knowledge of cross-language transfer

between the home languages and English.

The program teaches candidates that effective instruction in foundational skills employs early

intervention strategies informed by ongoing measures of student progress and diagnostic

techniques and includes tiered supports in inclusive settings

for students with reading, writing,

or other literacy difficulties and disabilities, including students with complex communication

needs or at risk for or with dyslexia. The program builds candidates’ understanding of the

impact of language exposure and acquisition in ASL and/or English on the literacy development

of deaf children and their understanding of how to determine if reading and writing difficulties

are related to a possible lack of early language development or another disability, such as

dyslexia. Candidates learn to monitor students’ progress based on their knowledge of critical

milestones of foundational skill development and to adjust and differentiate instruction for

students whose skills are not progressing as expected toward grade-level standards. Candidates

also learn how to collaborate with students’ families and guardians as well as with teachers,

specialists, school psychologists, other professionals, and administrators from the school or

district to conduct comprehensive literacy assessments in coordination with assessment teams;

develop Individualized Education Plans for eligible students, including students at risk for and

with dyslexia; support classroom teachers as they plan and provide supplemental instruction;

and provide accommodations through direct supplemental support and/or intensive

intervention as appropriate. The program provides supervised, guided practice in clinical

settings that allow candidates to provide initial, supplemental, or intensive intervention

instruction in foundational skills., particularly at beginning levels.

7b. Meaning Making

Coursework and supervised field experiences emphasize meaning making as the central

purpose for interacting with and interpreting texts, composing texts, engaging in research,

See updated Bilingual Authorization Program Standards and new Bilingual Teaching Performance Expectations.

See the CDE/WestEd 2021 publication, California’s Progress Toward Achieving ONE SYSTEM: Reforming Education

to Serve All Students.

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participating in discussions, signing/speaking with others, and viewing/listening to, and giving

presentations. Candidates learn how ASL is used to relay receptive and expressive language

when engaging with English text. Candidates also learn that for students who benefit from

auditory learning the importance and appropriate use of technology to provide optimal access

to spoken language and of building their knowledge of the listening technology students use

and its functioning within a variety of educational settings. Candidates are taught to use

assistive technology and/or AAC devices as appropriate for deaf students. The program

addresses literal and inferential comprehension with all students at all grades and in all

disciplines; it highlights the impact of incidental learning on comprehension and the need to

make connections with and expand students’ prior knowledge and experiences. In addition, the

program addresses the importance of attending to and recognizing others’ perspectives (theory

of mind) through nuances in text descriptions. The program also teaches the importance of

attending to a range of higher-order cognitive skills at all grades appropriate to students’

development, such as reasoning, inferencing, perspective taking, transfer/generalization, and

critical reading, writing, listening, and speaking across disciplines. The program ensures that

candidates understand that among the contributors to meaning making are language, including

vocabulary and grammatical and discourse-level understandings; content knowledge;

motivation and engagement; comprehension monitoring; and in the case of reading and

writing, the ability to recognize and produce printed words and use the alphabetic code to

express ideas automatically and efficiently with understanding. Candidates learn to emphasize

these skills in both ASL and English as appropriate.

The program highlights the importance of providing students opportunities to interact with a

range of print and digital, high-quality literary and informational texts that are developmentally

appropriate, fully inclusive, culturally and linguistically relevant, and affirming as

listeners/viewers, readers, signers/speakers, and writers and to share their understandings,

insights, and responses in collaboration with others. Through coursework and supervised field

experiences, candidates learn to engage students in reading, listening, speaking, writing, and

viewing closely (i.e., with close and thoughtful attention) to draw evidence from texts, ask and

answer questions, and support analysis, reflection, and research. Candidates also learn to

promote deep and sustained reading of increasingly complex texts and to plan instruction,

including intentional scaffolding and integration of students’ assets, based on an analysis of the

text complexity of instructional materials and the integration of meaning making with other

themes.

7c. Language Development

Coursework and supervised field experiences emphasize language development as the

cornerstone of literacy, learning, and relationship building and as a social process and meaning

making system. Candidates learn that it is with and through language that students learn, think,

and express information, ideas, perspectives, and questions—whether signed, spoken, written,

or symbolic. The program presents ways to create environments and frame interactions that

foster oral (signed or spoken) and written language development for all students, including

discipline-specific academic language. Candidates learn to engage with deaf students using eye

gaze, turn taking through shoulder shifting, tapping/waving to get attention, and facial

expressions to delineate the structure of ASL (e.g., questions, topicalization, declarative

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statements). Candidates learn to use AAC devices, alternative learning media (e.g., braille,

digital) to support those with additional motor challenges. For children who benefit from

auditory learning, candidates learn to implement a variety of LSL strategies (e.g., listening

sandwich, use of realia) in a quiet environment that supports listening. All programs focus on

instruction that values and leverages students’ existing linguistic repertories, including home

languages and dialects, and that accepts and encourages translanguaging. The program

promotes multilingualism and addresses multiliteracy in both English-medium and multilingual

programs.

The program addresses the importance of developing students’ language, including their

knowledge of how language works and the impact of students’ disabilities on their language

development. Candidates learn to maximize a language-rich environment through role

modeling, videotaped resources, expansion, contextualization, labeling and clarification to

support students’ oral (signed and or spoken) and written language development, including

vocabulary knowledge and use. The program highlights effective teaching of vocabulary both

indirectly (through rich and varied language experiences, including multisensory learning;

frequent independent reading; and word play/word consciousness) and directly (through the

explicit teaching of general academic and discipline-specific terms and of independent word

learning strategies, including morphology and etymology). The program also attends to

grammatical and discourse-level understandings of language. Candidates learn that

grammatical structures (e.g., syntax) and vocabulary interact to form text types or genres that

vary according to purpose, intended audience, context, situation, and discipline. For children

who use ASL, candidates learn to address grammar and discourse in both ASL and English,

highlighting features unique to each language. The program addresses ways to facilitate

students’ learning of complex sentence and text structures and emphasizes that students

enrich their language as they read, write, sign/speak, and view/listen; interact with one

another; learn about language; create diverse oral (signed and/or spoken), print, digital, and

multimodal texts; and engage with rich content across disciplines. Candidates learn to plan

instruction based on the analysis of instructional materials and tasks; the assessment (formal

and informal) of students’ signing/speaking, writing, or other communications; understanding

of students’ English language proficiency and literacy-related disabilities; and the integration of

language development with other themes.

7d. Effective Expression

Coursework and supervised field experiences address effective oral (signed and/or spoken) and

written expression, including how students learn to effectively express themselves as activity

and discussion partners, presenters, and writers and to use digital media and visual displays to

enhance their expression in a manner that is appropriate for their age and development.

Candidates learn how to engage students in a range of interactions and collaborative

conversations and to prioritize extended conversations with diverse partners on grade-level

topics and texts and to facilitate best practices in holding conversations with peer signers and

students who use AAC devices, or other communication strategies. For children who benefit

from auditory learning, candidates become aware of the classroom and personal hearing

technology needed to facilitate communication during classroom conversations, and they learn

to scaffold and use other LSL strategies that auditorily enhance and support grade-level

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discussions between students who are deaf and their hearing peers. Candidates learn to help

students identify effective expression in what they read, listen to view, and attend as they

examine the words, signs, images, and organizational structures of written, oral (signed and/or

spoken), or visual texts, including the nonverbal and social interactions depicted or implied in

the texts. Through the program, candidates learn to teach students to discuss, present (by

signing and/or speaking), and write in ways that include multiple means of expression and that

are appropriate to their age and development so that their meanings are conveyed clearly,

logically, powerfully, and, when appropriate and desired, poetically. Candidates also learn how

to help students communicate in ways appropriate for their purpose, audience, context, and

task and gain command over the conventions of written and spoken English (along with other

languages in multilingual programs) as they create print and digital texts. The program focuses

on candidate instruction and supervised support that values and leverages students’ existing

languages and dialects, including translanguaging as appropriate, and that promotes effective

expression in languages other than English in both English-medium and multilingual programs.

Through coursework and supervised field experiences, candidates learn to engage students in

writing for varied purposes and to prioritize daily writing, including informal writing, to support

learning and reflection across disciplines. They also learn to teach students to plan, develop,

provide feedback to peers, revise using peer and teacher feedback, edit, and produce their own

writing and oral (signed and/or spoken) presentations in increasingly sophisticated genres,

drawing on the modes of opinion/argumentation, information, and narration. Candidates learn

the importance of supporting students to use keyboarding, assistive technology, and other

learning media, as appropriate, and the value of developing spelling and handwriting fluency in

the writing process. Candidates also learn to provide explicit instruction in letter formation,

through printing, keyboarding, or using AAC and other assistive technology as needed, and

related language conventions, such as capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, in conjunction

with applicable decoding skills. In addition, candidates learn to engage students in self- and

peer-assessment using a range of tools and to allocate sufficient time for creation, reflection,

and revision. The program teaches candidates to plan instruction based on the analysis of

instructional materials and tasks; the assessment (formal and informal) of students’

signing/speaking, writing, or other communications; and the integration of effective expression

with other themes.

7e. Content Knowledge

Coursework and supervised field experiences address content knowledge, which includes

literary, cultural, and discipline-specific knowledge, as a powerful contributor to the

comprehension of texts and sources of information and ideas. The program highlights the

integration of literacy across disciplines and the reciprocal relationships among the

development of academic language(s), literacy, and content knowledge. For students who use

ASL, candidates learn the importance of the clarity and conceptual accuracy of signs that reflect

authentic content vocabulary and knowledge. Additionally, the program promotes the

collaboration of educators across disciplines to plan and implement instruction that maximizes

students’ development of literacy skills and content knowledge. The program also teaches

candidates to understand that while building content knowledge enhances literacy

development, it also serves to motivate many students, particularly when the content

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relevance is clear, reflects and values students’ diverse experiences and cultures, and is

responsive to their interests.

The program emphasizes the importance of full access to content instruction—including

through signed, printed, digital, and symbolic texts and other learning media, discussions,

experimentation, and hands-on explorations—for all students. The program teaches candidates

to provide the supports needed based on students’ language proficiency levels or learning

differences and addresses inclusive practices, including access to incidental learning

experiences, multisensory instruction, and co-teaching models. Deaf role models and experts in

content knowledge in deaf communities are encouraged to be involved in discussing

conceptualized signs for instruction and to bridge school and community partnerships. The

program helps candidates build students’ understandings of disciplinary literacy—the ways in

which disciplines use language and literacy to engage with content and communicate as

members of discourse communities (e.g., historians, scientists). The program addresses the role

of content knowledge as students navigate increasingly complex literary and informational

texts, research questions of interest, evaluate the credibility of sources, and share knowledge

as writers and signers/speakers in ways that are appropriate to students’ age and development.

The program also teaches the importance of wide and independent reading in knowledge

building and literacy development. In addition, the program provides multiple opportunities for

candidates to learn how to promote digital literacy and the use of accessible educational and

assistive technology, including the ability to find, evaluate, use, share, analyze, create, and

communicate digital resources safely and responsibly, and to foster digital citizenship.

The

program teaches candidates to plan instruction based on the analysis of instructional materials,

tasks, and student progress as well as the integration of content knowledge with other themes.

7f. Literacy Instruction for Students with Disabilities

Coursework and supervised field experiences provide candidates an understanding of ways

literacy instruction can be optimized for deaf students and, if present, how additional

disabilities may impact instruction as well. The program addresses the impact of language

deprivation and cognitive and motor challenges that deaf students may experience. The

program also addresses the impact of other disabilities, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, autism,

speech-language challenges—whether spoken or signed, varied cognitive abilities, executive

function disorder, and visual impairments. The program addresses how candidates can

appropriately adapt, differentiate, and accommodate instruction to provide access to the

curriculum for all students. The program teaches candidates to understand that a student’s

membership in a particular disability category represents a label for a qualifying condition and

that the specific effects of a student’s disability and the range of educational needs within each

category vary widely. Candidates learn that services should be based on individual need and not

a qualifying condition. The program ensures that candidates understand Multi-Tiered System of

Support and the value of providing initial, supplemental, and intensive instruction in inclusive

settings, including co-teaching and the use of instructional support personnel, such as

classroom assistants, interpreters/interveners, AAC facilitators, and specialists for activities

such as support during center rotations, working with students on individual goals, and

See California Digital Learning Integration and Standards Guidance for additional information.

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facilitating whole group activities to allow candidates to work with students on individual goals.

The program addresses the importance of data-based decision making to plan intensive

intervention that is responsive to students’ age and development, including (as appropriate)

continued emphasis on early literacy skills to permit access to literacy and content across all

disciplines.

Additionally, the program helps candidates understand how to collaborate with families and

guardians, multidisciplinary teams (including, but not limited to, general education teachers,

reading/language arts specialists, ASL specialists, speech-language pathologists, school

psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, interpreters/interveners, and

teachers and specialists of students who have visual impairments and identify as deaf or hard of

hearing), and others to offer additional assessment

and instructional support. The program

also teaches candidates to provide appropriate adaptations (accommodations and

modifications) and assistive technology that ensure equitable access to the curriculum for deaf

students and those with additional disabilities, including strategies such as fingerspelling

decoding, pre-braille skills, pro-tactile/tactile ASL, acoustic highlighting, and/or hearing

technology, as appropriate. The program addresses the importance of facilitating and

supporting students’ self-advocacy skills and opportunities for self-determination based on

their individual needs to ensure access to appropriate adaptations (accommodations,

modifications, and when necessary, compensatory strategies). The program also teaches

candidates to understand the distinction between the characteristics of emerging

bi/multilingualism and learning disabilities. Candidates learn to collaborate with language

development specialists to select appropriate assessments, review multiple factors when

determining special education eligibility, and use assessment accommodations to ensure that

multilingual and EL students are neither over- nor under-identified with disabilities and to

provide needed and appropriate interventions.

In addition to understanding the impacts of deafness on literacy development, the program

incorporates the California Dyslexia Guidelines

through literacy coursework and (when

possible) supervised field experiences that include the definition of dyslexia and its

characteristics; screening and diagnostic assessment to determine literacy profiles and the risk

for dyslexia and other potential reading and writing difficulties or disabilities; and effective

approaches for teaching and adapting/differentiating instruction for students at risk for and

with dyslexia and other literacy-related disabilities. Candidates learn to distinguish between the

impacts of using ASL or spoken English on literacy development and possible concurrence of

dyslexia and to plan instruction accordingly. Candidates learn that guiding principles for

educating students at risk for and with dyslexia and other literacy-related disabilities are

anchored in valid assessment and instructional practices that are evidence based and that

incorporate structured literacy (i.e., instruction that is comprehensive, systematic, explicit,

See , Domain 5: Assessing Student Learning, for Mild to Moderate Support Needs and Extensive Support

Needs for additional information.

See the CDE 2019 publication, California Practitioners Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities for

additional information.

See California Education Code 44259(b)(4)

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cumulative, and multimodal and that includes phonology, orthography, phonics, morphology,

syntax, and semantics) along with other cognitive and perceptual supports.

7g. Integrated and Designated English Language Development

Coursework and supervised field experiences emphasize that ELD should be integrated into ELA

and all other content instruction and build on students’ cultural and linguistic assets, including

their home languages and dialects. The program also emphasizes that comprehensive ELD

includes both integrated and designated ELD and is part of Tier 1 instruction. Candidates learn

how integrated and designated ELD are related, building into and from one another, and how

designated ELD should be taught in connection with (rather than isolated from) content areas

and topics. Through coursework and supervised field experiences, candidates learn to provide

integrated ELD in which English learner students are taught to use and understand English to

access and make meaning of academic content throughout the school day and across

disciplines. Candidates learn to use the ELA/literacy standards (or other content standards) and

ELD standards in tandem

to plan instruction that advances English learner students’ academic

and language development, strengthening students’ abilities to use academic English as they

simultaneously learn content. The program teaches candidates to design instruction that is

appropriate for English learner students’ literacy profiles, levels of English language proficiency,

and prior educational experiences. Candidates also learn to design instruction that develops

students’ abilities to use English purposefully, interact in meaningful ways, and understand how

English works. To the extent possible, the program provides supervised field experiences for

candidates that include English learner students and recently reclassified English learner

students.

Through the program, candidates learn that designated ELD is a part of the regular school day

in which English learner students are taught English language skills critical for engaging in

grade-level content learning. Candidates learn that designated ELD instruction is tailored to

students’ proficiency on the English language development continuum, based on the ELD

standards. Candidates also learn to use the ELD standards as the focus of instruction in ways

that support content area instruction, building into and from specific topics of study. Through

the program, candidates learn the importance of coordinating with classroom teachers and

other specialists and supporting classroom instruction so that English learner students with

disabilities receive comprehensive ELD instruction.

7h. Literacy Teaching Performance Expectations and Supervised Clinical Practice

The program teaches all elements of the Literacy Teaching Performance Expectations and

provides instruction, practice, and informal feedback and self-assessment focused on the

knowledge, skills, and abilities required by any required local and/or state literacy performance

assessments. Supervised, guided practice in clinical settings

provides opportunities for

candidates to apply what they have learned and to gain feedback on how to improve and/or

develop their practice to meet the learning needs of their students.

See California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 11300(a, c).

See Preliminary Education Specialist Credential Program Standards, Standard 2: Preparing Candidates to Master

the Teaching Performance Expectations and Standard 3: Clinical Practice, for additional information.

DRAFT 12/28/2022 Literacy Standard & TPEs – Education Specialist: DHH 12

TPE Domain 7: Effective Literacy Instruction for Deaf Students

7.1 Plan and implement evidence-based literacy

1,2

instruction grounded in an understanding

of applicable literacy-related academic standards (California Common Core State

Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and

Technical Subjects, California English Language Development Standards, California

Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations, California Preschool Learning

Foundations, and, as applicable, the ASL Content Standards); the themes of the California

English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework (Foundational Skills,

Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Content Knowledge)

and their integration; and the California Infant/Toddler Curriculum Framework and

California Preschool Curriculum Framework.

7.2 Plan and implement evidence-based literacy instruction grounded in an understanding of

Universal Design for Learning; California’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (Tier 1–Best first

instruction, Tier 2–Targeted, supplemental instruction, and Tier 3–Intensive intervention);

and the California Dyslexia Guidelines, including the definition and characteristics of

dyslexia and structured literacy (i.e., instruction for students at risk for and with dyslexia

that is comprehensive, systematic, explicit, cumulative, and multimodal and that includes

phonology, orthography, phonics, morphology, syntax, and semantics).

7.3 Incorporate asset-based pedagogies,

inclusive approaches (as appropriate based on

students’ use of ASL and/or English), and culturally and linguistically affirming and

sustaining practices in literacy instruction, recognizing and incorporating the diversity of

students’ cultures, languages (both signed and spoken), dialects, communication needs,

Literacy comprises reading, writing, speaking, and listening; these processes are closely intertwined and should

be understood to include oral, written, multimodal, and visual communication. The themes of the ELA/ELD

Framework (Foundational Skills, Meaning Making, Language Development, Effective Expression, and Content

Knowledge) crosscut the four strands of the ELA/literacy standards (Reading [Literature, Informational Text,

Foundational Skills], Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) and the three parts of the ELD standards

(Interacting in Meaningful Ways [Communicative Modes], Learning About How English Works [Language

Processes], and Using Foundational Literacy Skills). In practice, these themes, strands, and parts are overlapping

and should be integrated among themselves and across all disciplines.

For deaf students, the terms listening and speaking should be interpreted to include viewing a visual language

and signing, based on the language of instruction and the deaf student’s native language skills.

Asset-based pedagogies view the diversity that students bring to the classroom, including culture, language,

disability, socio-economic status, immigration status, and sexuality as characteristics that add value and strength

to classrooms and communities. Culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining

pedagogy, and funds of knowledge are all approaches that affirm students’ cultural lives—both family and

community—and incorporate this knowledge into the classroom and collectively deem students’ lived experiences

as assets. These practices affirm the diversity that students bring to the classroom and include instructional

approaches that leverage the cultural and linguistic experiences of students to make learning more relevant and

effective.

DRAFT 12/28/2022 Literacy Standard & TPEs – Education Specialist: DHH 13

and home communities. Promote students’ literacy development in languages other than

English in multilingual (dual language and bilingual education) programs.

7.4 Provide literacy instruction for all deaf students that considers the use of AAC and other

appropriate assistive technology, and that is active, motivating, and engaging; responsive

to students’ age, language and literacy development, communication needs, and literacy

goals; reflective of family engagement, social and emotional learning, and trauma-

informed practices; and based on students’ assessed learning strengths and needs,

analysis of instructional materials and tasks, and identified academic standards.

7.5 Foundational Skills.

Develop students’ skills in print concepts, including letters of the

alphabet and, for children using ASL, fingerspelling/letter to handshape mapping;

phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness for children with sufficient

hearing to benefit from auditory learning; phonics for children who benefit from auditory

learning and/or use a visual representation that exemplifies the spoken language (Cued

Speech), spelling, and word recognition, including letter to handshape and/or letter-

sound, spelling-sound, and sound-symbol correspondences; decoding and encoding;

morphological awareness; and text reading fluency, including accuracy (i.e., sign concept) ,

prosody (verbal expression and/or through facial expressions and movement in ASL), and

rate (as an indicator of automaticity), through instruction that is structured and organized

as well as direct, systematic, and explicit and that includes practice in connected,

decodable text. Provide instruction in text reading fluency that emphasizes spelling and

applicable syllable patterns, semantics, morphology, and syntax. Advance students’

progress in the elements of foundational skills, language, and cognitive skills that support

them as they read and write increasingly complex disciplinary texts with comprehension

and effective expression.

7.6 Meaning Making. Engage students in meaning making by building on prior knowledge and

using complex literary and informational texts (print, digital, and

spoken/signed/tactile/symbolic), questioning, and discussion to develop students’ literal

and inferential comprehension, including the higher-order cognitive skills of reasoning,

perspective taking, and critical reading, writing, listening/viewing, and signing/speaking

across the disciplines. Engage students in reading, listening/viewing, signing/speaking,

writing, and viewing closely to draw evidence from texts, ask and answer questions, and

support analysis, reflection, and research.

7.7 Language Development. Promote students’ language development by attending to

vocabulary knowledge and use, grammatical structures (e.g., syntax), and discourse-level

understandings as students read, listen, speak, sign, or communicate symbolically or

tactilely, and write with comprehension and effective expression. Create environments

that foster students’ language development, including discipline-specific academic

See updated Bilingual Authorization Program Standards and new Bilingual Teaching Performance Expectations for

program standards and Teaching Performance Expectations specific to multilingual programs.

See also the Resource Guide to the Foundational Skills of the California Common Core State Standards for English

Language Arts and Literacy for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

DRAFT 12/28/2022 Literacy Standard & TPEs – Education Specialist: DHH 14

language. Enhance language development by engaging students in the creation of diverse

print, digital, and multimedia texts. Conduct instruction that leverages students’ existing

linguistic repertoires, including home languages and dialects, and that accepts and

encourages translanguaging.

7.8 Effective Expression. Develop students’ effective expression as they write, discuss,

present, and use language conventions. Engage students in a range of frequent formal and

informal collaborative discussions, including extended conversations, and writing for

varied purposes, audiences, and contexts. Teach students to plan, develop, provide

feedback to peers, revise using peer and teacher feedback, edit, and produce their own

writing and presentations in various genres, drawing on the modes of opinion/

argumentation, information, and narration. Develop students’ use of keyboarding,

technology, and multimedia, as appropriate, and fluency in spelling, handwriting, and

other language conventions to support writing and presentations. Teach young children

letter formation/printing and related language conventions, such as capitalization and

punctuation, in conjunction with applicable decoding skills.

7.9 Content Knowledge. Promote students’ content knowledge by engaging students in

literacy instruction, in all pertinent content areas, that integrates reading, writing,

listening/viewing, and signing/speaking or communicating symbolically or tactilely in

discipline-specific ways, including through printed and digital texts and multimedia,

discussions, experimentation, hands-on explorations, and wide and independent reading.

Teach students to navigate increasingly complex literary and informational texts relevant

to the discipline, research questions of interest, and convey knowledge in a variety of

ways. Promote digital literacy and the use of educational technology, including the ability

to find, evaluate, use, share, analyze, create, and communicate digital resources safely and

responsibly, and foster digital citizenship.

7.10 Monitor students’ progress in literacy development using formative assessment practices,

ongoing progress monitoring, and diagnostic techniques that inform instructional decision

making.

Understand how to use screening and diagnostic assessments to determine

students’ literacy profiles; identify potential reading and writing difficulties, including

students’ risk for dyslexia, communication needs, and other literacy-related disabilities;

and determine students’ strengths and needs for literacy instruction related to any

currently identified disabilities. Understand how to appropriately assess and interpret

results for English learner students.

Collaborate with families and guardians as well as

with teachers, specialists, other professionals, and administrators from the school or

district to facilitate comprehensive assessment for disabilities in English and ASL and as

appropriate in ASL and any other the home language; plan and provide Tier 2

See California Digital Learning Integration and Standards Guidance for additional information.

See Preliminary Education Specialist Credential Teaching Performance Expectations, Domain 5: Assessing Student

Learning, for Education Specialist Deaf and Hard of Hearing for additional information.

See California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities for additional information.

DRAFT 12/28/2022 Literacy Standard & TPEs – Education Specialist: DHH 15

supplemental instruction in inclusive settings; and formulate and implement individualized

intervention for students who need Tier 3 intensive support.

7.11 Provide instruction in English language development (ELD) for deaf students identified

as English learner students based on an understanding of comprehensive ELD, which

includes both integrated and designated ELD and is part of Tier 1 instruction. Understand

how integrated and designated ELD are related and how designated ELD is taught in

connection with (rather than isolated from) content areas and topics. Use ELA/literacy

standards (or other content standards) and ELD standards in tandem to plan instruction that

attends to students’ literacy profiles, levels of English language proficiency, and prior

educational experiences. Provide ELD instruction that builds on students’ cultural and

linguistic assets and develops students’ abilities to use English purposefully, interact in

meaningful ways, and understand how English works across the disciplines.

7.12 Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (e.g., families and guardians, general education

teachers, speech-language pathologists, specialists in ASL, specialists in the use of LSL

teaching techniques, school psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists,

educational audiologists, AAC facilitators, VI teachers and specialists) when determining

eligibility for special education services, interpreting assessment results, and planning

necessary adaptations (accommodations and modifications) for deaf students who may

have a secondary disability, such as dyslexia or another disability that impacts literacy

development.

7.13 Collaborate with classroom teachers, school literacy and language specialists, school

administrators, and other service providers (e.g., speech-language pathologists, physical

therapists, occupational therapists, instructional assistants, interpreters/interveners, AAC

facilitators) to provide day-to-day supplemental instruction and/or intensive intervention

in literacy within a classroom or non-classroom environment (e.g., in-class support, co-

teaching, inclusion, self-contained special education classrooms, small-group instruction

specialized settings), including early and/or functional literacy, as appropriate, that

ensures access to grade-level literacy instruction that aligns with state-adopted standards,

incorporates the California Dyslexia Guidelines, and addresses individual IEP goals.

7.14 Utilize assistive technology (e.g., AAC; classroom and personal hearing technology;

keyboarding; multimedia;) and multiple means of communication (e.g., tactile and pro-

tactile American Sign Language) as needed to support the teaching of literacy that

integrates reading, writing, listening, and speaking or communicating symbolically or

tactilely in discipline-specific ways.