2019 -- H 5426

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LC001153

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - SCREENING AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH

DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS

     

     Introduced By: Representative Robert J. Quattrocchi

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2019

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     (by request)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended

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by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 67.2

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SCREENING AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA AND RELATED

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DISORDERS

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     16-67.2-1. Legislative findings.

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     (1) Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin,

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characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and

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decoding abilities that typically result from a deficient in the phonological component of

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language, and often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of

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effective classroom instruction, with secondary consequences which include problems with

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reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary

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and background knowledge.

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     (2) Twenty percent (20%) of school-aged children in the United States are dyslexic.

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     (3) Somewhere between twenty-five percent (25%) and forty percent (40%) of children

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with dyslexia also have ADHD and conversely, approximately thirty-five percent (35%) of

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children with ADHD also have dyslexia.

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     (4) Approximately eighty-percent (80%) of children placed in special education for

 

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learning disabilities are dyslexic.

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     (5) Dyslexia does not reflect an overall defect in language, but a localized weakness

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within the phonologic module of the brain, where sounds of language are put together to form

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words or break words down into sounds.

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     (6) Most children identified as having characteristics of dyslexia and related disorders can

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be remediated successfully by explicit, systematic, multisensory instruction in phonics and

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morphology.

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     (7) The cost of screening and treating dyslexia or a related disorder early is significantly

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less than the cost of intensive remediation in the later school years for a child with dyslexia or a

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related disorder.

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     (8) People with dyslexia are often more creative and have average to above average

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intelligence.

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     (9) When intervention is delayed, it takes four (4) times as long to intervene in fourth

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grade as it does in late kindergarten because of brain development and because of the increase in

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content for students to learn as they grow older.

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     (10) Approximately eighty percent (80%) of prison populations are functionally illiterate.

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     (11) Approximately forty-eight percent (48%) of prison populations are dyslexic.

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     (12) The fee to cover the average cost of incarceration for federal inmates in fiscal year

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2015 was thirty-one thousand nine hundred seventy-seven dollars and sixty-five cents

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($31,977.65) or eighty-seven dollars and sixty-one cents ($87.61) per day. The average annual

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cost to confine an inmate in a residential re-entry center for fiscal year 2015 was twenty-six

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thousand eighty-two dollars and ninety cents ($26,082.90) or seventy-one dollars and forty-six

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cents ($71.46) per day.

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     16-67.2-2. Screening for dyslexia and related disorders.

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     (a) In addition to the provisions set forth in chapter 67 of this title, commencing in school

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calendar year 2020-2021, all students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12)

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including English for speakers of other languages students, enrolling in Rhode Island's public

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schools, shall be screened using the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)

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for the identification of characteristics that are associated with risk factors for dyslexia, and the

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related disorders of dyscalculia and dysgraphia, and yearly thereafter, to monitor progress. For

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school calendar years after 2020-2021, all students entering kindergarten, and all students who

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have not been tested must be tested.

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     (b) The screening of students shall be performed with fidelity and include without

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limitation:

 

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     (1) Phonological and phonemic awareness;

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     (2) Sound symbol recognition;

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     (3) Alphabet knowledge;

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     (4) Decoding skills;

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     (5) Rapid naming skills;

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     (6) Encoding skills; and

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     (7) Morphology, and/or structured word inquiry.

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     (c) If the screening shows a student is at risk, then said student shall receive immediate

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intervention using the phonics-based method called Orton-Gillingham.

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     (d) The parent, or legal guardian of any student who is identified as having characteristics

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that are associated with the risk factors for dyslexia, or related disorders of dyscalculia, or

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dysgraphia shall be notified, and provided with all evaluation information and findings, in

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addition to yearly evaluative results, based on individual written intervention and support plans

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developed with the student's parents or legal guardian.

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     (e) A parent or legal guardian of any student who is identified as having characteristics

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that are associated with risk factors for dyslexia, or the related disorders of dyscalculia, or

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dysgraphia has the right to submit the results of an independent neuropsychological evaluation by

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a licensed pediatric neuropsychologist highly trained in dyslexia, and/or the related disorders of

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dyscalculia and dysgraphia, which recommendations shall be implemented by the school district.

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     (f) A parent, or legal guardian, who submits an independent evaluation shall assume all

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fiscal responsibility for said independent evaluation, unless the parent, or guardian is receiving

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state assistance, in which case the state of Rhode Island shall assume fiscal responsibility through

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the parent, or legal guardian's state supported health insurance.

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     (g) Until such time that all kindergarten through grade eight (K-8) teachers have been

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Orton-Gillingham certified, the school district must provide dyslexia therapy by individuals who

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possess a level I certification in Orton-Gillingham.

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     16-67.2-3. Teacher certification.

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     (a) A certification shall be defined as having completed the Orton-Gillingham Classroom

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Educator Program as defined by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.

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     (b) No later than September 1, 2021, all kindergarten teachers must be certified. No later

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than September 1, 2022, all first grade teachers must be certified. No later than September 1,

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2023, all second grade teachers must be certified. No later than September 1, 2024, all third grade

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teachers must be certified. No later than September 1, 2025, all fourth grade teachers must be

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certified. No later than September 1, 2026, all fifth grade teachers must be certified. No later than

 

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September 1, 2027, all sixth grade teachers must be certified.

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     (c) No later than September 1, 2021, any reading specialist, speech/language pathologist,

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or any other person who will be addressing a child's literacy needs must be certified.

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     16-67.2-4. Teacher professional development and training.

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     No later than September 1, 2021, each school district shall develop and make available a

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program to ensure all teachers and school administrators have access to materials to support

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professional awareness of best practices on:

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     (1) Recognition of the characteristics of dyslexia, related disorders, dyscalculia and

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dysgraphia; and

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     (2) Evidence-based interventions and accommodations for dyslexia, related disorders,

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dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

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     16-67.2-5. Dyslexia professional awareness.

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     (a) No later than the 2020-2021 school year, the department of education shall ensure that

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each teacher receives professional awareness on:

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     (1) The characteristics of dyslexia; and

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     (2) The evidence-based interventions and accommodations for dyslexia.

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     (b) Professional awareness shall be provided in conjunction with the Academy of Orton-

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Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.

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     16-67.2-6. Dyslexia resource guide.

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     No later than September 1, 2021, all school districts shall develop and publish on their

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respective school website a reading support resource guide to be used by parents as a resource.

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The school districts shall solicit the advice of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and

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Educators in the development of the guide.

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     16-67.2-7. Funding for professional development.

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     (a) In addition to the provisions set forth in ยง 16-67-4, each school district

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board/committee shall provide funding for the professional development of their teachers in order

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that their teachers can complete the Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator Program and shall

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direct expenditures from other funding sources to continuously strengthen the system in order to

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increase student achievement and support instructional staff in enhancing rigor and relevance in

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the classroom.

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     (b) A school district must coordinate its professional development program with a Rhode

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Island college system institution or university, especially in preparing and educating personnel on

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an on-going basis.

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     16-67.2-8. Department of education responsibilities.

 

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     (a) The department of education shall disseminate, using web-based technology research

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based best practice methods by which the state and district school boards/committees shall

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evaluate and improve the professional development system. The best practices must include data

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that indicate the progress of all students. The department shall report annually to the state board

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of education and the general assembly any school district that, in the determination of the

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department, has failed to provide an adequate professional development system. This report must

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include the results of the department's investigation and of any intervention provided.

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     (b) The department shall also disseminate, using web-based technology, professional

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development in the use of integrated digital instruction at schools that include middle grades. The

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professional development must provide training and materials that districts can use to provide

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instructional personnel with the necessary knowledge, skills, and strategies to effectively blend

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digital instruction into subject-matter curricula. The professional development must emphasize

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online learning and research techniques, reading instruction, the use of digital devices to

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supplement the delivery of curricular content to students, and digital device management and

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security.

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     (c) The department shall also establish a position within the department of education for a

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reading specialist certified by Orton-Gillingham at a classroom educator level, as defined by the

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Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, to assist school districts.

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     16-67.2-9. Dyslexia and related disorder education in teacher preparation programs.

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     No later than the 2021-2022 school year, the department of education shall collaborate

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with the commissioner of higher education to require that all teacher education programs offered

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at state-supported institutions of higher education require:

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     (1) Dyslexia professional awareness of the characteristics of dyslexia;

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     (2) Evidence-based interventions and accommodations for dyslexia; and

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     (3) Completion of an Orton-Gillingham classroom educator program as defined by the

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Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.

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     16-67.2-10. Dyscalculia.

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     No later than September 1, 2021, any student identified as having dyslexia shall be

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assumed to also have a diagnosis of dyscalculia and instructed in Singapore Math.

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     16-67.2-11. Research committee.

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     (a) No later than January 1, 2020, the general assembly shall form a study commission

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consisting of five (5) members appointed by the governor comprising of two (2) parents of a

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dyslexic child, one being Attorney Joseph Maggiacomo III, one board member of Decoding

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Dyslexia Rhode Island, one elementary school teacher, and one representative from the Rhode

 

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Island Federation of Teachers, to establish a plan for two (2) schools, to be located on the

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University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College campuses, which will be dedicated solely

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to the instruction of dyslexic children.

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     (b) The study commission will be funded by the general assembly, and shall visit no less

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than four (4) schools dedicated to the education of dyslexic children, to include, but not limited

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to, The Landmark School, located in Prides Corner, Massachusetts, The Carroll School, located in

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Waltham and Lincoln, Massachusetts, The Einstein School, located in Plano, Texas, and the

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Schenck School, located in Atlanta, Georgia.

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     (c) The committee shall render a report to the general assembly prior to the

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commencement of the 2021 legislative session.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - SCREENING AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH

DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS

***

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     This act would require all elementary and secondary public schools to provide screening

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for dyslexia and related disorders to their students and establish an appropriate plan for their

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treatment and/or education commencing in the school year 2020-2021 and continuing and create

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a study commission for two (2) schools to be located on the University of Rhode Island and

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Rhode Island College campuses dedicated solely to the instruction of dyslexic children.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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