Rhode Island
State Education Agency (SEA) Dyslexia Legislation
Has Legislation?YesH7052 defines dyslexia and describes screening and intervention requirements related to dyslexia.
Screening
Required?Yes- Response to Intervention for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?
- Required by law
- Student Learning Disability Eligibility (Zirkel & Thomas 2010 Classification)?
- RTI required SD prohibited
All school districts that provide elementary education are required to screen all children prior to, or upon, their first entry to school to determine their level of educational readiness. All children are required to participate in this screening. Screening shall address the child's educational development and shall be used to determine whether he or she is educationally disadvantaged in terms of readiness for instruction in the literacy skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, or mathematics.
State Recognized Screeners
See the state department of education website for guidance on selecting screeners. For more information on screening, Examples of Dyslexia Screening Tools.
Pre-service
Required?NoRhode Island does not have pre-service legislation related to dyslexia.
In-service
Required?NoRhode Island does not have in-service legislation related to dyslexia.
However, state law states that “The literacy program shall also include assistance to students by providing strategies that formally address dyslexia, when appropriate. In addition, the department of elementary and secondary education shall offer to school districts, at no cost to the school district or to participants in the training, professional development services to enhance the skills of elementary teachers in the use of evidence-based strategies to improve the literacy skills of students with dyslexia.”
Intervention
Required?YesLaw states, "The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall stipulate for each school district the specific cutoff points and the grades for required service each year. Services must be provided first to students who are most educationally disadvantaged. Services shall focus on instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and mathematics. Program emphasis shall be as follows: (A) Intensive development in literacy. Kindergarten through grade three (3). (B) Early intervention in literacy. Grades four (4) through six (6) (C) Remediation in literacy. Grades seven (7) through eight (8). (D) Intensive remediation in literacy. Grades nine (9) through twelve."
Further, the state literacy guide promotes RTI and instruction that is evidence-based, explicit, and multisensory.
Literacy State-identified Measurable Result (SIMR) - Part B
Has Literacy SIMR?No
Resources
Decoding Dyslexia Rhode Island
International Dyslexia Association Rhode Island
Citations
Zirkel, P. A., & Thomas, L. B. (2010). State laws for RTI: An updated snapshot. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 56-63.
Gearin, B., Turtura, J., Kame’enui, E. J., Nelson, N. J., & Fien, H. (2018). A Multiple Streams Analysis of Recent Changes to State-Level Dyslexia Education Law. Educational Policy, 0895904818807328.
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Has Dyslexia Legislation?Yes
Screening Requirement?Yes
Pre-service Requirement?No
In-service Requirement?No
Intervention Requirement?Yes
Has Literacy SIMR?No
The research reported here is funded by awards to the National Center on Improving Literacy from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, in partnership with the Office of Special Education Programs (Award #: S283D160003). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of OESE, OSEP, or the U.S. Department of Education. Copyright © 2024 National Center on Improving Literacy. https://www.improvingliteracy.org