Iowa-2013-SF2070-Introduced

S.F. 2070 Section 1. Section 256.9, subsection 53, paragraph c, 1 subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (e), Code 2014, is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 (e) Professional development strategies and materials to 4 support teacher effectiveness in student literacy development. 5 The center shall also collaborate with area education agencies 6 to provide practitioners with professional development 7 opportunities related to reading disabilities, including but 8 not limited to dyslexia, designed to account for the various 9 manners in which different practitioners interact with, or 10 develop instructional programs for, students with reading 11 disabilities. 12 Sec. 2. Section 256B.2, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 13 2014, is amended to read as follows: 14 a. “Children requiring special education” means persons under 15 twenty-one years of age, including children under five years of 16 age, who have a disability in obtaining an education because 17 of a head injury, autism, behavioral disorder, or physical, 18 mental, communication, or learning disability including but not 19 limited to dyslexia , as defined by the rules of the department 20 state board of education. Rules adopted by the state board of 21 education relating to special education shall incorporate the 22 definition of dyslexia adopted by the international dyslexia 23 association. If a child requiring special education reaches 24 the age of twenty-one during an academic year, the child may 25 elect to receive special education services until the end of 26 the academic year. 27 Sec. 3. Section 256B.7, Code 2014, is amended to read as 28 follows: 29 256B.7 Examinations of children. 30 1. a. The division of special education shall distribute 31 to each school district and accredited nonpublic school 32 information on screening instruments that are available to 33 identify students who possess one or more potential indicators 34 of dyslexia or another reading disability. The division 35 -1- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 1/ 7

S.F. 2070 shall provide information screening instruments appropriate 1 for kindergarten through grade two students and screening 2 instruments that may be suitably used for older students. The 3 division shall develop and distribute to each school district 4 and accredited nonpublic school guidance on appropriate 5 intervention strategies for students diagnosed with dyslexia 6 or another reading disability. 7 b. Each school district shall, and an accredited nonpublic 8 school may, select and implement age-appropriate screening 9 instruments for the early diagnosis of dyslexia and other 10 reading disabilities. A screening shall be administered by a 11 teacher or other practitioner properly trained in the screening 12 process for dyslexia and other reading disabilities. Each 13 school district shall ensure that each student enrolled in 14 the school district who has exhibited one or more potential 15 indicators of dyslexia or another reading disability is 16 screened for dyslexia and other reading disabilities using a 17 screening instrument selected pursuant to paragraph “a” no 18 later than the student’s completion of the first semester of 19 the second grade. 20 c. If a student is determined, through the screening 21 conducted pursuant to paragraph “b” , to possess one or 22 more potential indicators of dyslexia or another reading 23 disability, the school district or school shall ensure that the 24 student receives a comprehensive assessment for the learning 25 disability. In the event that a diagnosis of dyslexia or 26 another reading disability is confirmed by the comprehensive 27 assessment, the student shall receive appropriate special 28 education as provided in this chapter, which shall include 29 but not be limited to appropriate evidence-based intervention 30 strategies, including intense instruction on phonemic 31 awareness, phonics and fluency, vocabulary, and reading 32 comprehension. 33 d. As used in this subsection, “potential indicators of 34 dyslexia or another reading disability” means indicators that 35 -2- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 2/ 7

S.F. 2070 include but are not limited to difficulty in acquiring language 1 skills; inability to comprehend oral or written language; 2 difficulty in rhyming words; difficulty in naming letters, 3 recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, or blending 4 sounds when speaking or reading words; difficulty recognizing 5 or remembering sight words; consistent transposition of number 6 sequences, letter reversals, inversions, or substitutions; and 7 trouble in replication of content. 8 2. In order to render proper instruction to each child 9 requiring special education, the school districts shall certify 10 children requiring special education for special instruction 11 in accordance with the requirements set up by the division 12 of special education and shall provide examinations for 13 children preliminary to making certification. The examinations 14 necessary for the certification of children requiring special 15 education shall be prescribed by the state division of special 16 education. Disputes concerning a child’s eligibility for 17 special education shall be addressed under rules and procedures 18 adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 19 256B.6 and consistent with the federal Individuals with 20 Disabilities Education Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. 21 Sec. 4. Section 272.2, Code 2014, is amended by adding the 22 following new subsection: 23 NEW SUBSECTION . 19. Adopt rules establishing criteria, and 24 issuance and renewal requirements, for a reading disability 25 instruction endorsement. Training requirements for the 26 endorsement shall be specific to the needs of students with 27 reading disabilities. In developing the rules, the board 28 shall review knowledge and practice standards published 29 by the international dyslexia association and criteria and 30 requirements developed by other states for certification of 31 individuals who work with students with dyslexia. 32 Sec. 5. Section 273.2, Code 2014, is amended by adding the 33 following new subsection: 34 NEW SUBSECTION . 10. The area education agency board shall 35 -3- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 3/ 7

S.F. 2070 provide to the local school districts in the area professional 1 development instruction on the screening, intervention, 2 accommodation, and use of technology for students with reading 3 disabilities including but not limited to dyslexia. School 4 districts in the area are encouraged to require that the 5 following practitioners annually complete two hours of such 6 professional development instruction: general education 7 practitioners teaching at the kindergarten through grade three 8 levels, special education teachers, basic skills teachers, 9 English as a second language teachers, reading specialists, 10 learning disabilities teacher consultants, and speech-language 11 specialists. 12 Sec. 6. STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED. In accordance 13 with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring 14 compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall 15 be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid 16 received by the school district under section 257.16. This 17 specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed 18 to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of 19 section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding 20 shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act 21 by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school 22 districts. 23 EXPLANATION 24 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 25 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 26 This bill requires that rules relating to special education 27 adopted by the state board of education incorporate the 28 definition of dyslexia adopted by the international dyslexia 29 association, and provides for the screening of students for 30 dyslexia or other reading disabilities, for professional 31 development opportunities and requirements for instruction on 32 reading disabilities including dyslexia, and for issuance of 33 a reading disability instruction endorsement by the board of 34 educational examiners. 35 -4- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 4/ 7

S.F. 2070 The Iowa reading research center, under the department 1 of education, is directed to collaborate with area education 2 agencies to provide practitioners with professional development 3 opportunities related to reading disabilities, including but 4 not limited to dyslexia, designed to account for the various 5 manners in which different practitioners interact with, or 6 develop instructional programs for, students with reading 7 disabilities. 8 The bill changes the definition of “children requiring 9 special education” to add that a learning disability includes 10 but is not limited to dyslexia, and makes a technical change to 11 recognize the authority of the state board of education, rather 12 than the department, to adopt rules relating to the definition. 13 The division of special education is directed to distribute 14 to each school district and accredited nonpublic school 15 information on screening instruments to identify students who 16 possess one or more potential indicators of dyslexia or another 17 reading disability. The division must also provide information 18 on screening instruments appropriate for kindergarten through 19 grade two students and screening instruments that may be 20 suitably used for older students. 21 A school district shall, and an accredited nonpublic 22 school may, select and implement age-appropriate screening 23 instruments for the early diagnosis of dyslexia and other 24 reading disabilities. The division must develop and distribute 25 to each school district and accredited nonpublic school 26 guidance on appropriate intervention strategies for such 27 students. Screening must be administered by a properly 28 trained practitioner. A student who has exhibited one or more 29 potential indicators of dyslexia or another reading disability 30 must be screened by the school district by the middle of second 31 grade. 32 If a student is determined through screening to possess one 33 or more potential indicators of dyslexia or another reading 34 disability, the school district or school shall ensure that 35 -5- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 5/ 7

S.F. 2070 the student receives a comprehensive assessment for learning 1 disabilities. In the event that a diagnosis of dyslexia or 2 another reading disability is confirmed by the comprehensive 3 assessment, the student shall receive appropriate special 4 education as provided in Code chapter 256B, which shall 5 include but not be limited to appropriate evidence-based 6 intervention strategies, including intense instruction on 7 phonemic awareness, phonics and fluency, vocabulary, and 8 reading comprehension. 9 The bill defines “potential indicators of dyslexia or 10 another reading disability” to mean indicators that include but 11 are not limited to difficulty in acquiring language skills; 12 inability to comprehend oral or written language; difficulty 13 in rhyming words; difficulty in naming letters, recognizing 14 letters, matching letters to sounds, or blending sounds 15 when speaking or reading words; difficulty recognizing or 16 remembering sight words; consistent transposition of number 17 sequences, letter reversals, inversions, or substitutions; and 18 trouble in replication of content. 19 The bill also requires the board of educational examiners 20 to adopt rules establishing criteria, and issuance and 21 renewal requirements, for a reading disability instruction 22 endorsement. The bill specifies that training requirements 23 for the endorsement must be specific to the needs of students 24 with reading disabilities. The bill requires the board, 25 when developing the rules, to review knowledge and practice 26 standards published by the international dyslexia association 27 and criteria and requirements developed by other states for 28 certification of individuals who work with students with 29 dyslexia. 30 Area education agency boards are directed to provide to the 31 local school districts professional development instruction 32 on the screening, intervention, accommodation, and use of 33 technology for students with reading disabilities including but 34 not limited to dyslexia. School districts are encouraged to 35 -6- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 6/ 7

S.F. 2070 require that the following practitioners annually complete two 1 hours of such professional development instruction: general 2 education practitioners teaching at the kindergarten through 3 grade three levels, special education teachers, basic skills 4 teachers, English as a second language teachers, reading 5 specialists, learning disabilities teacher consultants, and 6 speech-language specialists. 7 The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code 8 section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of 9 any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school 10 district from state school foundation aid received by the 11 school district under Code section 257.16. The specification 12 is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate 13 funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The 14 inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the 15 requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state 16 mandates included in the bill. 17 -7- LSB 5570XS (3) 85 kh/nh 7/ 7