1Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2act relating to the public school system, including certain
3provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5laws relating thereto," providing for Dyslexia Screening
6Pilot Program.

7The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8hereby enacts as follows:

9Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
11article to read:

12ARTICLE XVII-C

13DYSLEXIA SCREENING PILOT PROGRAM

14Section 1701-C. Short title of article.

1This article shall be known and may be cited as the Dyslexia
2Screening Pilot Program Law.

3Section 1702-C. Definitions.

4The following words and phrases when used in this article
5shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
6context clearly indicates otherwise:

7"Department." The Department of Education of the
8Commonwealth.

9"Dyslexia." A specific learning disorder that is
10neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected
11difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
12poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the
13person's intelligence, motivation and sensory capabilities,
14which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
15phonological component of language. <-Other difficulties may 
16include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading 
17experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and 
18background knowledge.

19"Pilot program." The Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program
20established under this article.

21"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.

22Section 1703-C. Establishment.

23(a) Pilot program.--<-The To the extent funding is available,
24the department shall establish a Dyslexia Screening Pilot
25Program to provide evidence-based early screening and evidence-
26based intervention services for children with risk factors for
27dyslexia, such as low phonemic awareness.

28(b) School districts.--The department shall select at least
29three school districts to participate in the pilot program. To
30be considered for the pilot program, a school district shall

1submit a proposal to the department that <-demonstrates that the 
2school district has funding available for the program and that
3identifies an evidence-based method of screening children for
4low phonemic awareness and other evidence-based risk factors for
5dyslexia, provides for the enrollment of children identified as
6having evidence-based risk factors for dyslexia in a reading
7program staffed by teachers trained in evidence-based
8intervention programs, for example, multisensory structured
9language programs, and includes a methodology for evaluating the
10effects of the reading program on the children's identified risk
11factors.

12(c) Program operation.--<-The To the extent funding is
13available, the pilot program shall operate for three full school
14years, beginning with the school year that begins at least six
15months after the effective date of this article.

16(d) Evaluation.--The goal of the pilot program shall be to
17evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based early reading
18assistance programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia
19and to evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special
20education costs.

21Section 1704-C. Departmental responsibilities.

22(a) Funds.--The department shall apply for Federal, private
23and other non-State funds and shall use available State funds
24appropriated by the General Assembly for the pilot program.

25(b) Consultation.--The department shall consult with the
26International Dyslexia Association, or any other nationally
27recognized organization that specializes in and has expertise in
28the scientific basis of dyslexia and its treatments, in
29establishing and operating the pilot program.

30(c) Report.--Not later than December 31 of the third school

1year in which the pilot program is operating, the secretary
2shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing the
3secretary's evaluation of the pilot program and legislative
4recommendations whether to continue, expand or make changes to
5the pilot program.

6(d) Guidelines and procedures.--The department shall
7establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program not
8later than three months after the effective date of this
9article.

10Section 1705-C. School district responsibilities.

11(a) Responsibilities.--Under the pilot program, each
12participating school district, through early childhood reading
13instruction and reading assistance programs, shall screen
14children upon school entry in kindergarten through second grade
15for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate evidence-based
16reading intervention services for those children suspected of
17having dyslexia and administer assessments, approved by the
18department, to ascertain whether the intervention services
19improve those students' reading and learning.

20(b) Notification.--When a child is suspected of having
21dyslexia, the participating school district shall notify the
22child's parent or guardian that the child, as part of the pilot
23program, is eligible to receive reading intervention services to
24measure the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs.
25The participating school district shall require the parent or
26guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian
27voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation
28in the pilot program. Each participating school district shall
29provide to the parents of children suspected of having dyslexia
30information about dyslexia and recommended evidence-based

1treatments.

2(c) Report.--Each participating school district shall
3annually report to the department data and information about the
4operation of the pilot program in the manner prescribed by the
5department.

6Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.