Bill Text: OH HB96 | 2011-2012 | 129th General Assembly | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: To specify dyslexia as a specific learning disability and to require a pilot project to provide early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia. [Track Bill]

Status: 2012-03-22 - Effective Date [HB96 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2011-HB96-Comm_Sub.html

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As Reported by the House Education Committee

129th General Assembly Regular Session 2011-2012

Am. H. B. No. 96

Representatives Celeste, Brenner 

Cosponsors: Representatives Stebelton, Amstutz, Garland, Foley, Letson, Weddington, Pillich, Dovilla, Patmon, Ramos, Hollington, Phillips, Lundy, Thompson, O'Brien, Yuko, Murray, Williams, Stinziano, Stautberg, Antonio, Reece, Hagan, Fende, Snitchler, Fedor, Milkovich, Clyde, Winburn 

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A BILL

To amend section 3323.01 and to enact section 3323.25

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of the Revised Code to specify dyslexia as a

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specific learning disability and to require a

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pilot project to provide early screening and

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intervention services for children with dyslexia.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That section 3323.01 be amended and section	6
3323.25 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	7

Sec. 3323.01.  As used in this chapter:

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(A) "Child with a disability" means a child who is at least	9
three years of age and less than twenty-two years of age; who has	10
mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a	11
speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including	12
blindness), a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic	13
impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health	14
impairment, a specific learning disability (including dyslexia),	15
deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities; and who, by reason	16
thereof, needs special education and related services.	17

A "child with a disability" may include a child who is at	18
least three years of age and less than six years of age; who is	19
experiencing developmental delays, as defined by standards adopted	20
by the state board of education and as measured by appropriate	21
diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the	22
following areas: physical development, cognitive development,	23
communication development, social or emotional development, or	24
adaptive development; and who, by reason thereof, needs special	25
education and related services.	26

(B) "County DD board" means a county board of developmental	27
disabilities.	28

(C) "Free appropriate public education" means special	29
education and related services that meet all of the following:	30

(1) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision	31
and direction, and without charge;	32

(2) Meet the standards of the state board of education;

33

(3) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or	34
secondary education as otherwise provided by the law of this	35
state;	36

(4) Are provided for each child with a disability in	37
conformity with the child's individualized education program.	38

(D) "Homeless children" means "homeless children and youths"	39
as defined in section 725 of the "McKinney-Vento Homeless	40
Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C. 11434a.	41

(E) "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means the	42
written statement described in section 3323.011 of the Revised	43
Code.	44

(F) "Individualized education program team" or "IEP team"	45
means a group of individuals composed of:	46

(1) The parents of a child with a disability;

47

(2) At least one regular education teacher of the child, if	48
the child is or may be participating in the regular education	49
environment;	50

(3) At least one special education teacher, or where	51
appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child;	52

(4) A representative of the school district who meets all of	53
the following:	54

(a) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of,	55
specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of	56
children with disabilities;	57

(b) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum;

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(c) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of	59
the school district.	60

(5) An individual who can interpret the instructional	61
implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the	62
team as described in divisions (F)(2) to (4) of this section;	63

(6) At the discretion of the parent or the school district,	64
other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise	65
regarding the child, including related services personnel as	66
appropriate;	67

(7) Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.

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(G) "Instruction in braille reading and writing" means the	69
teaching of the system of reading and writing through touch	70
commonly known as standard English braille.	71

(H) "Other educational agency" means a department, division,	72
bureau, office, institution, board, commission, committee,	73
authority, or other state or local agency, which is not a city,	74
local, or exempted village school district or an agency	75
administered by the department of developmental disabilities, that	76
provides or seeks to provide special education or related services	77
to children with disabilities. The term "other educational agency"	78
includes a joint vocational school district.	79

(I) "Parent" of a child with a disability, except as used in	80
sections 3323.09 and 3323.141 of the Revised Code, means:	81

(1) A natural or adoptive parent of a child but not a foster	82
parent of a child;	83

(2) A guardian, but not the state if the child is a ward of	84
the state;	85

(3) An individual acting in the place of a natural or	86
adoptive parent, including a grandparent, stepparent, or other	87
relative, with whom the child lives, or an individual who is	88
legally responsible for the child's welfare;	89

(4) An individual assigned to be a surrogate parent, provided	90
the individual is not prohibited by this chapter from serving as a	91
surrogate parent for a child.	92

(J) "Preschool child with a disability" means a child with a	93
disability who is at least three years of age but is not of	94
compulsory school age, as defined under section 3321.01 of the	95
Revised Code, and who is not currently enrolled in kindergarten.	96

(K) "Related services" means transportation, and such	97
developmental, corrective, and other supportive services	98
(including speech-language pathology and audiology services,	99
interpreting services, psychological services, physical and	100
occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic	101
recreation, school nurse services designed to enable a child with	102
a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as	103
described in the individualized education program of the child,	104
counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling,	105
orientation and mobility services, school health services, social	106
work services in schools, and parent counseling and training, and	107
medical services, except that such medical services shall be for	108
diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to	109
assist a child with a disability to benefit from special	110
education, and includes the early identification and assessment of	111
disabling conditions in children. "Related services" does not	112
include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the	113
replacement of such device.	114

(L) "School district" means a city, local, or exempted	115
village school district.	116

(M) "School district of residence," as used in sections	117
3323.09, 3323.091, 3323.13, and 3323.14 of the Revised Code,	118
means:	119

(1) The school district in which the child's natural or	120
adoptive parents reside;	121

(2) If the school district specified in division (M)(1) of	122
this section cannot be determined, the last school district in	123
which the child's natural or adoptive parents are known to have	124
resided if the parents' whereabouts are unknown;	125

(3) If the school district specified in division (M)(2) of	126
this section cannot be determined, the school district determined	127
under section 2151.362 of the Revised Code, or if no district has	128
been so determined, the school district as determined by the	129
probate court of the county in which the child resides.	130

(4) Notwithstanding divisions (M)(1) to (3) of this section,	131
if a school district is required by section 3313.65 of the Revised	132
Code to pay tuition for a child, that district shall be the	133
child's school district of residence.	134

(N) "Special education" means specially designed instruction,	135
at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a	136
disability. "Special education" includes instruction conducted in	137
the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in	138
other settings, including an early childhood education setting,	139
and instruction in physical education.	140

(O) "Student with a visual impairment" means any person who	141
is less than twenty-two years of age and who has a visual	142
impairment as that term is defined in this section.	143

(P) "Transition services" means a coordinated set of	144
activities for a child with a disability that meet all of the	145
following:	146

(1) Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that	147
is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of	148
the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement	149
from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary	150
education; vocational education; integrated employment (including	151
supported employment); continuing and adult education; adult	152
services; independent living; or community participation;	153

(2) Is based on the individual child's needs, taking into	154
account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests;	155

(3) Includes instruction, related services, community	156
experiences, the development of employment and other post-school	157
adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of	158
daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.	159

"Transition services" for children with disabilities may be	160
special education, if provided as specially designed instruction,	161
or may be a related service, if required to assist a child with a	162
disability to benefit from special education.	163

(Q) "Visual impairment" for any individual means that one of	164
the following applies to the individual:	165

(1) The individual has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in	166
the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of	167
vision in the better eye such that the widest diameter subtends an	168
angular distance of no greater than twenty degrees.	169

(2) The individual has a medically indicated expectation of	170
meeting the requirements of division (Q)(1) of this section over a	171
period of time.	172

(3) The individual has a medically diagnosed and medically	173
uncorrectable limitation in visual functioning that adversely	174
affects the individual's ability to read and write standard print	175
at levels expected of the individual's peers of comparable ability	176
and grade level.	177

(R) "Ward of the state" has the same meaning as in section	178
602(36) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education	179
Improvement Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1401(36).	180

Sec. 3323.25.  (A) The superintendent of public instruction	181
shall establish a pilot project to provide early screening and	182
intervention services for children with dyslexia through three	183
separate partnerships, each between a school district and a	184
regional library or library system. One of the school	185
district-library partnerships shall be established in an urban	186
setting, one in a suburban setting, and one in a rural setting.	187
The superintendent shall solicit and select three school districts	188
and three corresponding regional libraries or library systems to	189
participate in the pilot project. The pilot project shall operate	190
for three full school years, beginning with the school year that	191
begins at least three months after the effective date of this	192
section.	193

The goal of the pilot project shall be to demonstrate and	194
evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs	195
for children with dyslexia and to evaluate whether those programs	196
can reduce future special education costs.	197

The superintendent shall apply for private and other nonstate	198
funds, and shall use available state funds appropriated to the	199
department of education for the pilot project.	200

The superintendent shall establish guidelines and procedures	201
for the pilot project.	202

The superintendent shall consult with the international	203
dyslexia association or any other nationally recognized	204
organization that specializes in issues surrounding dyslexia in	205
establishing and operating the pilot project.	206

(B) Under the pilot project, each participating school	207
district-library partnership, through early childhood reading	208
instruction and reading assistance programs, shall screen children	209
six years of age or younger for indications of dyslexia, provide	210
appropriate reading intervention services for those children	211
suspected of having dyslexia, and administer assessments, approved	212
by the state superintendent, to ascertain whether the intervention	213
services improve those students' reading and learning. Each	214
partnership shall provide to the parents of children suspected of	215
having dyslexia information about the learning disability,	216
recommended multisensory treatment, and possible services under	217
this chapter.	218

Each participating school district-library partnership shall	219
report to the state superintendent data about the operation and	220
results of the pilot project, as required by the superintendent in	221
the manner prescribed by the superintendent.	222

(C) Not later than the thirty-first day of December of the	223
third school year in which the pilot project is operating, the	224
state superintendent shall submit a report to the general	225
assembly, in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code,	226
containing the superintendent's evaluation of the results of the	227
pilot project and legislative recommendations whether to continue,	228
expand, or make changes to the pilot project.	229

(D) As used in this section, "dyslexia" means a specific	230
learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is	231
characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent	232
word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not	233
consistent with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory	234
capabilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit	235
in the phonological component of language.	236

Section 2. That existing section 3323.01 of the Revised Code	237
is hereby repealed.	238