Washington DC

State Education Agency (SEA) Dyslexia Legislation

Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities Screening and Prevention Pilot Program Act of 2019

According to the Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities Screening and Prevention Pilot Program Act of 2019 (1) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that: (A) Is neurobiological in origin; (B) Is characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities, which typically result from a deficiency in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction; and (C) May have secondary consequences, such as problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Response to Intervention for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?

Permitted by law

Severe Discrepancy for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?

Permitted by law

Student Learning Disability Eligibility (Zirkel & Thomas 2010 Classification)?

RTI and SD permitted by law

Beginning with School Year 2022-2023, OSSE shall provide an array of supports, informed by best practices such as the knowledge and practice standards of an international association of dyslexia, to assist LEAs and public schools to achieve the requirements and goals set forth in this title and to adopt teaching and learning practices that support students with reading difficulties, including … (3) A list of recommended screening instruments that an LEA may use to identify students who are at risk of reading difficulties, which screen for the following factors: (A) Phonological awareness; (B) Rapid naming skills; (C) Correspondence between sounds and letters; and (D) Decoding; and (4) Guidance on: (A) How to identify if a student has one or more reading difficulties, including how to distinguish whether an English language learner’s reading issue is due to a reading difficulty or is associated with learning English as a second language; (B) Proper protocols and procedures for screening students for potential reading difficulties; ...

Universal screening and intervention for reading difficulties. (a) Beginning with School Year 2023-2024, using the guidance provided by OSSE pursuant to section 102(a)(3), an LEA shall ensure that all students in kindergarten through second grade are screened for reading difficulties. (b) If an LEA chooses to use a screening instrument that is not recommended by OSSE pursuant to section 102(a)(3), the LEA shall make available, upon request, its reasoning as to why it chose to use that particular screening tool.

a) Beginning October 31, 2023, and by October 31 of each year thereafter, District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) shall send a letter to OSSE reporting whether each DCPS school has complied with the requirements set forth in this title in the previous school year. If a DCPS school has failed to comply with one of more sections of this title, DCPS shall state the name of the school, the deficiency, and the timeline for curing said deficiency. (b)(1) Beginning October 31, 2023, and by October 31 of each year thereafter, each public charter LEA shall send a letter to the Public Charter School Board (“PCSB”) reporting whether each public charter school within the LEA has complied with the requirements set forth in this title in the previous school year. If a public charter school has failed to comply with one of more sections of this title, the public charter school LEA shall state the name of the school, the deficiency, and the timeline for curing the deficiency. (2) By November 15, 2023, and by November 15 of each year thereafter, the PCSB shall transmit a copy of each letter to OSSE. (c) OSSE shall make publicly available the compliance letters within 10 business days after receiving the letters from DCPS and the PCSB.

Washington DC does not have pre-service legislation related to dyslexia.

Beginning with School Year 2022-2023, OSSE shall provide an array of supports, informed by best practices such as the knowledge and practice standards of an international association of dyslexia, to assist LEAs and public schools to achieve the requirements and goals set forth in this title and to adopt teaching and learning practices that support students with reading difficulties, including: (1) Regular, high-quality professional development opportunities for an LEA’s educators that will enable educators to: (A) Understand and recognize reading difficulties; (B) Screen for reading difficulties; and (C) Implement instruction in the general education classroom, or during reading intervention, that is systemic, cumulative, explicit, diagnostic, multi-sensory, and evidence-based to meet the educational needs of students with reading difficulties. (2) Awareness training on reading difficulties for all LEA educators, including those covered by section 103(a).

Sec. 103. Professional development on reading difficulties. (a)(1) Beginning with School Year 2022-2023 and annually thereafter, each public school shall ensure that the number of educators equal to the number of general education teachers working with students in kindergarten through second grade at that school have completed professional development on reading difficulties. (2) The training required in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be provided by OSSE, an LEA, or a third-party with an expertise in reading and reading difficulties, and shall comply with the standards set forth in section 102(a)(1). (b) Beginning with School Year 2022-2023 and annually thereafter, each educator employed by an LEA, including those who received training pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, shall complete awareness training on reading difficulties as provided by OSSE pursuant to section 102(a)(2).

Resources

International Dyslexia Association DC Capital Area

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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