Great news!  HCS HB 181 as amended was read a third time
and passed the Missouri Senate on 5/8/07 by a vote of 34-0. 
HSC HB 181 had earlier passed the Missouri House by a vote
of 146-13, so now it is awaiting the Governor’s signature. 
Assuming that Governor Blunt signs the bill (and we have no
indication that he won’t) it will become law on August 28^th.  
If signed into law the bill will require that beginning
January 1, 2008 manufacturers and publishers of electronic
video instructional materials (CD, DVD, videotape, film, etc)
offered for adoption or sale in Missouri must supply those
materials with either open or closed captions, or the
manufacturers and publishers will be liable to purchasers
for three times the cost of adding captions.  And, if signed into
law, Missouri would be the first state in the country to adopt
such a law.  As schools replace their stock of old video
instructional materials, this will mean that all videos purchased
by Missouri schools will have captions and the educational
experience of deaf and hard of hearing students will be improved. 
The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will
keep you informed regarding the status of this bill.