ASSEMBLY HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION No. 139

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 18, 2026

      The Assembly Health Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Joint Resolution No. 139.

      As amended by the committee, this resolution designates the month of September as “Deaf Awareness Month” in New Jersey.

      There are approximately 850,000 New Jersey residents with varying degrees of hearing loss ranging from mild to profound, including individuals who are born deaf and people who encounter late-stage hearing loss.  New Jersey is also home to many world-class institutions and programs for people who are deaf, including the Union Street School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Hackensack, the Bruce Street School for the Deaf in Newark, and the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton.

      There are many misconceptions about being deaf and the challenges people who are deaf face in their everyday lives, which can only be dispelled through greater public education and awareness.  Furthermore, much work remains to be done to promote the rights of people who are deaf throughout the world, including access to education, access to information and services, and the prevalence of sign language.

      Governments around the world have designated September as “Deaf Awareness Month,” in order to commemorate the first World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, which took place in September 1951. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments remove the “Deaf Awareness Week” designation.