AN ACT

 

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

1Screening Pilot Program Law.

2Section 1702-C. Definitions.

3The following words and phrases when used in this article
4shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
5context clearly indicates otherwise:

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

8"Dyslexia." A specific learning disorder that is
9neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected
10difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
11poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the
12person's intelligence, motivation and sensory capabilities,
13which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
14phonological component of language.

15"Pilot program." The Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program
16established under this article.

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

18Section 1703-C. Establishment.

19(a) Pilot program.--The department shall establish a
20Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program to provide evidence-based early
21screening and evidence-based intervention services for children
22with risk factors for dyslexia, such as low phonemic awareness.

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

1teachers trained in evidence-based intervention programs, for
2example, multisensory structured language programs, and includes
3a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program
4on the children's identified risk factors.

5(c) Program operation.--The pilot program shall operate for
6three full school years, beginning with the school year that
7begins at least six months after the effective date of this
8article.

9(d) Evaluation.--The goal of the pilot program shall be to
10evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based early reading
11assistance programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia
12and to evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special
13education costs.

14Section 1704-C. Departmental responsibilities.

15(a) Funds.--The department shall apply for Federal, private
16and other non-State funds and shall use available State funds
17appropriated by the General Assembly for the pilot program.

18(b) Consultation.--The department shall consult with the
19International Dyslexia Association, or any other nationally
20recognized organization that specializes in and has expertise in
21the scientific basis of dyslexia and its treatments, in
22establishing and operating the pilot program.

23(c) Report.--Not later than December 31 of the third school
24year in which the pilot program is operating, the secretary
25shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing the
26secretary's evaluation of the pilot program and legislative
27recommendations whether to continue, expand or make changes to
28the pilot program.

29(d) Guidelines and procedures.--The department shall
30establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program not

1later than three months after the effective date of this
2article.

3Section 1705-C. School district responsibilities.

4(a) Responsibilities.--Under the pilot program, each
5participating school district, through early childhood reading
6instruction and reading assistance programs, shall screen
7children upon school entry in kindergarten through second grade
8for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate evidence-based
9reading intervention services for those children suspected of
10having dyslexia and administer assessments, approved by the
11department, to ascertain whether the intervention services
12improve those students' reading and learning.

13(b) Notification.--When a child is suspected of having
14dyslexia, the participating school district shall notify the
15child's parent or guardian that the child, as part of the pilot
16program, is eligible to receive reading intervention services to
17measure the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs.
18The participating school district shall require the parent or
19guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian
20voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation
21in the pilot program. Each participating school district shall
22provide to the parents of children suspected of having dyslexia
23information about dyslexia and recommended evidence-based
24treatments.

25(c) Report.--Each participating school district shall
26annually report to the department data and information about the
27operation of the pilot program in the manner prescribed by the
28department.

29Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.