1. A. Name. The name shall be the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the “board of commissioners”.

2. B. The role and function of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf board of commissioners are as follows:

   1. 1. to support the work of the commission by making recommendations to the commission regarding its programs, policies, procedures, regulations, rules and criteria on behalf of d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing communities and their families;
   2. 2. to advocate for the general welfare, needs, and rights of d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals in this state through education, advising, informing, and promoting relevant laws, policies, and practices which support the eradication of barriers and discrimination affecting individuals who are d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing; and

   3. 3. to create standing committees, ad hoc committees, or task forces as needed to assist in carrying out the above objectives.

      1. a. The duties of all such committees shall be to identify, inform, and/or research needs, actions, policies, or laws relevant to the constituent group of the commission, unless otherwise defined by the board of commissioners.
      2. b. Committees may include current board of commissioner members and/or nonmembers. Composition of committees shall be a maximum of nine individuals and should generally reflect state-wide representation, if possible.
      3. c. Terms of membership for committees shall be at the discretion of the board of commissioners and identified at the time of creation.
      4. d. A person may be eligible for appointment to the committee if their position, knowledge, or experience qualifies them to represent the concerns, needs, and recommendations of the Deaf, DeafBlind, hard of hearing community and/or the sign language interpreter workforce in Louisiana. The board of commissioners may specify additional qualification requirements.
      5. e. The executive director may participate at the discretion of the chair in the deliberations of all committees as a nonvoting member, with the exception of the Executive Director Evaluation Committee.

3. C. The following standing committee shall be overseen by the board of commissioners.

   1. 1. Executive Committee. The composition of the executive committee shall be comprised of the elected officers of the board of commissioners (chair, vice-chair, and secretary).

   2. 2. The purpose of the executive committee shall be to:

      1. a. Establish the agenda for public meetings of the board of commissioners with the support of the executive director.
      2. b. Respond to urgent matters that preclude the entire board of commissioners assembling. Decisions made by the executive committee must be ratified by the board of commissioners at its next meeting.

      3. c. Participate in hiring process of the executive director for the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf Program make the following recommendations to the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, as prescribed by law:

         1. i. qualifications, job duties and responsibilities, and salary of the executive director position.
         2. ii. participate in interviews to fill the executive director position; recommend candidate.
         3. iii. inform strategic goals for the executive director.

         4. iv. inform performance review of the executive director bi-annually. The process for review shall be as follows:

            1. (a). review initial goals;
            2. (b). gather input from the board of commissioners on the executive director’s performance;
            3. (c). receive executive director’s self-evaluation
            4. (d). combine input and draft a summary of the findings;
            5. (e). meet with executive director to review findings
            6. (f). submit final report to board of commissioners for review;
            7. (g). submit final report to secretary.

Authority Note

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated pursuant to the authority in R.S. 46:2352(B).

Historical Note

HISTORICAL NOTE: Promulgated by the Department of Social Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services, Commission for the Deaf, LR 13:94 (February 1987), amended LR 17:388 (April 1991), LR 21:589 (June 1995), amended by the Department of Health, Office of Public Health, LR 49:1398 (August 2023), amended by the Department of Health, Office of Public Health, LR 51:1347 (September 2025).