Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation establishing a Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program within the Department of Education (PDE). It is my sincere hope you will join me in this important effort.

Developmental reading disorder, also called dyslexia, is a reading disability that occurs when the brain does not properly recognize and process certain symbols. The disorder is a specific information-processing problem that does not interfere with one's ability to think or to understand complex ideas. For example, most people with dyslexia have normal intelligence, and many have above-average intelligence. Despite this fact, students with dyslexia are likely to struggle with many aspects of academic learning and are at a higher risk of dropping out of school. Moreover, dyslexia often goes undiagnosed for years and sometimes is not formally recognized until adulthood.

The statistics on dyslexia and dyslexia-related symptoms are truly alarming. According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 85 percent of students classified as having a primary learning disability have difficulty in reading and language processing. However, the number of people having some symptoms of dyslexia is much higher, perhaps as much as 15 to 20 percent of the entire U.S. population as a whole. These symptoms include slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words. Unfortunately, not all of the students exhibiting one or more signs of dyslexia will qualify for special education, but are likely to benefit from systematic instruction in reading, writing, and language.

This legislation will establish a Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program (DSPP) within PDE. The overall purpose of the DSPP is to provide evidence-based early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia. Additionally, DSPP will help evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia and to evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special education costs. Through DSPP, PDE will select at least three school districts to participate. To be considered, a school district must submit a proposal to PDE that identifies an evidence-based method of screening children for low phonemic awareness and other risk factors for dyslexia, among other requirements. During the third year of DSPP, the Secretary of Education shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing an evaluation of the program and recommendations to continue, expand, or make changes to the pilot program.

If you have any questions, please contact my office at 717.787.8927.