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.

15This article shall be known and may be cited as the Dyslexia
16Screening Pilot Program Law.

17Section 1702-C. Definitions.

18The following words and phrases when used in this article

1shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2context clearly indicates otherwise:

3"Department." The Department of Education of the
4Commonwealth.

5"Dyslexia." A specific learning disorder that is
6neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected
7difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
8poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the
9person's intelligence, motivation and sensory capabilities,
10which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
11phonological component of language.

12"Pilot program." The Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program
13established under this article.

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

15Section 1703-C. Establishment.

16(a) Pilot program.--The department shall establish a
17Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program to provide evidence-based early
18screening and evidence-based intervention services for children
19with risk factors for dyslexia, such as low phonemic awareness.

20(b) School districts.--The department shall select at least
21three school districts to participate in the pilot program. To
22be considered for the pilot program, a school district shall
23submit a proposal to the department that identifies an evidence-
24based method of screening children for low phonemic awareness
25and other evidence-based risk factors for dyslexia, provides for
26the enrollment of children identified as having evidence-based
27risk factors for dyslexia in a reading program staffed by
28teachers trained in evidence-based intervention programs, for
29example, multisensory structured language programs, and includes
30a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program

1on the children's identified risk factors.

2(c) Program operation.--The pilot program shall operate for
3three full school years, beginning with the school year that
4begins at least six months after the effective date of this
5article.

6(d) Evaluation.--The goal of the pilot program shall be to
7evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based early reading
8assistance programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia
9and to evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special
10education costs.

11Section 1704-C. Departmental responsibilities.

12(a) Funds.--The department shall apply for Federal, private
13and other non-State funds and shall use available State funds
14appropriated by the General Assembly for the pilot program.

15(b) Consultation.--The department shall consult with the
16International Dyslexia Association, or any other nationally
17recognized organization that specializes in and has expertise in
18the scientific basis of dyslexia and its treatments, in
19establishing and operating the pilot program.

20(c) Report.--Not later than December 31 of the third school
21year in which the pilot program is operating, the secretary
22shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing the
23secretary's evaluation of the pilot program and legislative
24recommendations whether to continue, expand or make changes to
25the pilot program.

26(d) Guidelines and procedures.--The department shall
27establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program not
28later than three months after the effective date of this
29article.

30Section 1705-C. School district responsibilities.

1(a) Responsibilities.--Under the pilot program, each
2participating school district, through early childhood reading
3instruction and reading assistance programs, shall screen
4children upon school entry in kindergarten through second grade
5for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate evidence-based
6reading intervention services for those children suspected of
7having dyslexia and administer assessments, approved by the
8department, to ascertain whether the intervention services
9improve those students' reading and learning.

10(b) Notification.--When a child is suspected of having
11dyslexia, the participating school district shall notify the
12child's parent or guardian that the child, as part of the pilot
13program, is eligible to receive reading intervention services to
14measure the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs.
15The participating school district shall require the parent or
16guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian
17voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation
18in the pilot program. Each participating school district shall
19provide to the parents of children suspected of having dyslexia
20information about dyslexia and recommended evidence-based
21treatments.

22(c) Report.--Each participating school district shall
23annually report to the department data and information about the
24operation of the pilot program, in the manner prescribed by the
25department.

26Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.