Ariz. Admin. Code § 9-13-101

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 26, June 28, 2024

Section R9-13-101 - [Effective until 7/7/2024] Definitions

In this Article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Accredited" means that an educational institution is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as providing standards necessary to meet acceptable levels of quality for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice.

2. "Administrator" means the principal or person having general daily control and oversight of a school or that person's designee.

3. "Assistive listening device" has the same meaning as "assistive listening device or system" in A.R.S. § 36-1901.

4. "Audiological equipment" means an instrument used to help determine the presence, type, or degree of hearing loss, such as:

a. A pure tone audiometer,

b. A tympanometer, or

c. An otoacoustic emissions device.

5. "Audiological evaluation" means:

a. Examination of an individual's ears;

b. Assessment of the functioning of the individual's middle ear;

c. Testing of the individual's ability to perceive sounds using audiological equipment; and

d. Analysis by a specialist of the results obtained from the activities described in subsections (a) through (c) to determine if the individual has a hearing loss and, if so, the type and degree of the individual hearing loss.

6. "Audiologist" means an individual licensed under A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 17.

7. "Audiometer" means an electronic device that administers sounds of varying pitches and intensities to assess an individual's ability to hear the sounds.

8. "Auditory canal" means the tubular passage between the cartilaginous portion of the ear that projects from an individual's head and the outer surface of the ear drum.

9. "Auditory nerve" means the filament of neurological tissue that:

a. Connects the cochlea and the brain, and

b. Transmits impulses related to hearing.

10. "Calendar day" means each day, that:

a. Is not the day of the act, event, or default from which a designated period of time begins to run; and

b. Includes the last day of the period unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, statewide furlough day, or legal holiday, in which case the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, statewide furlough day, or legal holiday.

11. "Calibrate" means to measure the response of an instrument against a standard and adjust the instrument until the response falls within specified values according to the equipment's manufacturer specifications and by an authorized manufacturer's dealer, if recommended by the manufacturer.

12. "Certificate of completion" means a document issued to an individual who has completed the requirements in:

a.R9-13-108 to perform hearing screening for students according to this Article; or

b.R9-13-111 or R9-13-112 to provide training to individuals who perform hearing screenings.

13. "Cochlea" means a coiled tube in the inner ear that converts sounds into neural messages.

14. "Cochlear implant" means a device that is surgically inserted into the cochlea to electrically stimulate the auditory nerve.

15. "Continuing education" means a course that provides instruction and training that is designed to develop or improve a trainer or screener's professional competence.

16. "Continuing education unit" means 50 to 60 minutes of continuous course work.

17. "Course" means a workshop, seminar, lecture, conference, or other learning program activities approved by the Department.

18. "daPa" means deka Pascal, a standard measure of air pressure.

19. "dB HL" means decibel hearing level, a measurement used to compare the intensity at which an individual hears sound at a particular frequency to a standard.

20. "dB SPL" means sound pressure level measured in units of decibels.

21. "Deaf" has the same meaning as in A.R.S. § 36-1941.

22. "Diagnosis" means a determination of whether a student is deaf or hard of hearing that is:

a. Made by specialist; and

b. Based on an audiological evaluation of the student.

23. "Documentation" means a method used to report information on paper, electronic, photographic, or other permanent form.

24. "Eardrum" means the tympanic membrane in the ear that vibrates in response to sound.

25. "Earphone" means the part of an audiometer that is worn over an individual's ear.

26. "Electroacoustic analysis" means the evaluation by an audiologist of the functioning of a hearing aid or an assistive listening device using specialized electronic equipment.

27. "Eustachian tube" means a passage in an individual's head that:

a. Connects the middle ear and the throat, and

b. Equalizes pressure on both sides of the eardrum.

28. "Follow-up" means an action that serves to verify the effectiveness of a previous hearing screening that resulted in treatment.

29. "Frequency" means the number of cycles per second of a sound wave, expressed in Hz and corresponding to the pitch of sound.

30. "Hard of hearing" has the same meaning as in A.R.S. § 36-1941.

31. "Hearing aid" has the same meaning as in A.R.S. § 36-1901.

32. "Hearing loss" means the difference, expressed in decibels, between the hearing threshold of an individual and a standard reference hearing threshold.

33. "Hearing screening" means:

a. The same as "hearing screening evaluation" in A.R.S. § 36-899, and

b. Is performed by an individual who meets the requirements specified in R9-13-108 for the purpose of identifying students who may need further evaluation; or

c. An audiological evaluation provided by a specialist.

34. "Hearing screening population" means the students who are expected to have a hearing screening during a school year.

35. "Hearing threshold" means the faintest sound an individual hears at each frequency at which the individual is tested.

36. "Hz" means Hertz, a unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second.

37. "Immittance" means the mobility of the parts of the middle ear during the transmission of sound vibrations through the middle ear.

38. "Immediate family member" means an individual related by birth, marriage, or adoption.

39. "Inner ear" means the part of the ear, including the semicircular canals, cochlea, and auditory nerve, that converts sound into neural messages that are sent through the auditory nerve to the brain.

40. "Intensity" means the strength of a sound wave, resulting in the perception of sound volume as expressed in decibels or decibels hearing level dB HL.

41. "KHz" means a unit of frequency equal to one thousand cycles per second or one thousand hertz.

42. "Middle ear" means the part of the ear that conducts sound to the inner ear, consisting of:

a. The eardrum;

b. The three small bones called the malleus, incus, and stapes; and

c. The space containing the eardrum and the three small bones.

43. "ml" means a volume measurement unit.

44. "mmho" or "millimho" means a unit of electric conductance.

45. "Notification" means a method used to inform or announce information on paper, electronic, photographic, or other permanent form.

46. "Other amplification device" means a hearing product used to amplify sounds, but may not address other components of hearing loss, such as distortion.

47. "Otitis media" means inflammation of the middle ear.

48. "Otoacoustic emissions device" or "OAE device" means an instrument used to determine the status of an individual's cochlear function by:

a. Presenting sounds into the auditory canal with a sound generator, and

b. Detecting, with one or more microphones, low-intensity echoes in the auditory canal that are produced by normally functioning cochlea in response to sounds.

49. "Outer ear" means the part of the ear that projects from an individual's head and the auditory canal.

50. "Parent" means a:

a. Natural or adoptive mother or father,

b. Legal guardian appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

c. Custodian as defined in A.R.S. § 8-201.

51. "Pass" means a recordable response detected by a hearing screener or audiological equipment consistent with established criteria for hearing screening requirements.

52. "Person" has the meaning in A.R.S. § 41-1001.

53. "Preschool" means the instruction preceding kindergarten provided to individuals three to five year old through a school.

54. "Probe" means the part of a tympanometer or an OAE that is inserted into an individual's auditory canal during a hearing screening.

55. "Pure tone hearing screening" means a type of hearing screening using single frequency sounds that is performed using a pure tone audiometer or a device that includes the functions of both an audiometer and a tympanometer.

56. "School" means:

a. A school as defined in A.R.S. § 15-101,

b. An accommodation school as defined in A.R.S. § 15-101,

c. A charter school as defined in A.R.S. § 15-101, or

d. A private school as defined in A.R.S. § 15-101.

57. "School day" means any day in which students attend an educational institution for instructional purposes.

58. "School year" means the period from July 1 through June 30.

59. "Screener" means an individual qualified to perform a hearing screening specified in R9-13-108.

60. "Semicircular canal" means the loop-shaped tubular parts of the inner ear that contain portions of the sensory organs of balance.

61. "Sound wave" means the repeating cycles of high pressure and low pressure that are made by a vibrating object.

62. "Special education" has the same meaning as in A.R.S. § 15-761.

63. "Specialist" means an audiologist or a doctor of medicine licensed according to A.R.S. Title 32, Chapters 13 or 17 who specializes in the ear, nose, and throat.

64. "Student" means an individual enrolled in a school.

65. "Supervision" means a screener is in the room observing and providing direction while an individual provides hearing screening to students specified in R9-13-108(M).

66. "Trainer" means an individual, who:

a. Has a current certificate of completion, and

b. Provides classroom instruction and assessment of competency in using audiological equipment specified in R9-13-108.

67. "Tympanogram" means a graphic display of the mobility of the middle ear in response to an acoustic stimulus as a function of air pressure in the auditory canal.

68. "Tympanometer" means a device used to determine the status of an individual's middle ear by:

a. Presenting sound into the auditory canal with a sound generator;

b. Varying the air pressures in the auditory canal via an air pump to control the movement of the tympanic membrane; and

c. Detecting, with a microphone, variations in sound pressure level as acoustic energy passes into the individual's middle ear.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R9-13-101

Adopted effective February 18, 1986 (Supp. 86-1). Amended effective October 15, 1993 (Supp. 93-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 8 A.A.R. 3307, effective July 16, 2002 (Supp. 02-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 25 A.A.R. 1827, effective 7/2/2019.