Bill Text: NY S02534 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the certification or training of teachers, administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and related disorders.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-4)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S02534 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S02534-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2534 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 13, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the certification or training of teachers, administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and related disorders The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3004 of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 7 to read as follows: 3 7. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner is 4 authorized and empowered to certify or require training of teachers, 5 administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and its related 6 disorders. The commissioner shall have the power to prescribe the neces- 7 sary regulations and establish such programs and training related to the 8 needs of children with dyslexia or a related disorder. Such programs and 9 training shall include, but not be limited to, successful completion of 10 sufficient hours of coursework and supervised clinical experience, as 11 determined by the commissioner to be evidence-based effective programs, 12 such as multisensory structured language education or other similar 13 education programs for teaching children at risk for being, or diagnosed 14 as, dyslexic or a related disorder. Such programs or training may be 15 obtained from an institution or provider which has been approved by the 16 department to provide such programs and training. 17 b. For the purposes of this section, the term "dyslexia" shall mean a 18 specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is 19 characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word 20 recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent 21 with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities, 22 which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological 23 component of language. 24 § 2. Clause (a) and subclause (i) of clause (b) of subparagraph 3 of 25 paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 4402 of the education law, 26 clause (a) as amended by chapter 53 of the laws of 1991 and subclause EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00474-01-7S. 2534 2 1 (i) of clause (b) as amended by chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, are 2 amended to read as follows: 3 (a) Obtain, review and evaluate all relevant information, including 4 but not limited to that presented by the parent, person in parental 5 relationship and teacher, pertinent to each child suspected of or iden- 6 tified as having a handicapping condition, including the results of a 7 physical examination performed in accordance with sections nine hundred 8 three, nine hundred four and nine hundred five of this chapter and, 9 where determined to be necessary by a school psychologist, an appropri- 10 ate psychological evaluation performed by a qualified private or school 11 psychologist, and other appropriate assessments as necessary to ascer- 12 tain the physical, mental, emotional and cultural-educational factors 13 which may contribute to the suspected or identified handicapping condi- 14 tion, and all other school data which bear on the child's progress, 15 including, where appropriate, observation of classroom performance. If 16 the committee or subcommittee has reason to believe that the handicap- 17 ping condition may involve dyslexia, as defined in paragraph b of subdi- 18 vision seven of section three thousand four of this chapter, or a 19 related disorder, the child shall be evaluated and tested according to 20 current scientific understanding of dyslexia to determine whether the 21 child has dyslexia or a related disorder. 22 (i) Make recommendations based upon a written evaluation setting forth 23 the reasons for the recommendations, to the child's parent or person in 24 parental relation and board of education or trustees as to appropriate 25 educational programs and placement in accordance with the provisions of 26 subdivision six of section forty-four hundred one-a of this article, and 27 as to the advisability of continuation, modification, or termination of 28 special class or program placements which evaluation shall be furnished 29 to the child's parent or person in parental relation together with the 30 recommendations provided, however that the committee may recommend a 31 placement in a school which uses psychotropic drugs only if such school 32 has a written policy pertaining to such use that is consistent with 33 subdivision four-a of section thirty-two hundred eight of this chapter 34 and that the parent or person in parental relation is given such written 35 policy at the time such recommendation is made. If the child is deter- 36 mined to have dyslexia, as defined in paragraph b of subdivision seven 37 of section three thousand four of this chapter, or a related disorder, 38 the recommendations shall be made by the individual educational planning 39 team, which shall be knowledgeable in the current scientific understand- 40 ing of dyslexia, including the instructional components and approaches 41 for students with dyslexia. If such recommendation is not acceptable to 42 the parent or person in parental relation, such parent or person in 43 parental relation may appeal such recommendation as provided for in 44 section forty-four hundred four of this [chapter] article. 45 § 3. Clause (b) of subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of 46 section 4402 of the education law, as amended by chapter 716 of the laws 47 of 1991, is amended to read as follows: 48 (b) Make recommendations based upon a written evaluation setting forth 49 the reasons for the recommendations, to the child's parent or person in 50 parental relationship and board of education or trustees as to appropri- 51 ate educational programs and placement in accordance with the provisions 52 of subdivision six of section forty-four hundred one-a of this article, 53 and as to the advisability of continuation, modification, or termination 54 of special class or program placements which evaluation shall be 55 furnished to the child's parent or person in parental relationship 56 together with the recommendations provided, however that the committeeS. 2534 3 1 may recommend a placement in a school which uses psychotropic drugs only 2 if such school has a written policy pertaining to such use and that the 3 parent or person in parental relationship is given such written policy 4 at the time such recommendation is made. If the child is determined to 5 have dyslexia, as defined in paragraph b of subdivision seven of section 6 three thousand four of this chapter, or a related disorder, the recom- 7 mendations shall be made by the individual educational planning team, 8 which shall be knowledgeable in the instructional components and 9 approaches for students with dyslexia. If such recommendation is not 10 acceptable to the parent or person in parental relationship, such parent 11 or person in parental relationship may appeal such recommendation as 12 provided for in section forty-four hundred four of this [chapter] arti- 13 cle. 14 § 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 4402 of the education 15 law, as amended by section 16-a of part A of chapter 56 of the laws of 16 2014, is amended to read as follows: 17 a. The board of education or trustees of each school district shall be 18 required to furnish suitable educational opportunities for students with 19 disabilities by one of the special services or programs listed in subdi- 20 vision two of section forty-four hundred one of this article. The need 21 of the individual child shall determine which of such services shall be 22 rendered. If the student is a student with dyslexia or a related disor- 23 der, the district shall be required to provide to such student the 24 services of a teacher or instructor trained in dyslexia and related 25 disorders pursuant to subdivision seven of section three thousand four 26 of this chapter. Each district shall provide to the maximum extent 27 appropriate such services in a manner which enables students with disa- 28 bilities to participate in regular education services when appropriate. 29 Such services or programs shall be furnished between the months of 30 September and June of each year, except that for the nineteen hundred 31 eighty-seven--eighty-eight school year and thereafter, with respect to 32 the students whose disabilities are severe enough to exhibit the need 33 for a structured learning environment of twelve months duration to main- 34 tain developmental levels, the board of education or trustees of each 35 school district upon the recommendation of the committee on special 36 education shall also provide, either directly or by contract, for the 37 provision of special services and programs as defined in section forty- 38 four hundred one of this article during the months of July and August as 39 contained in the individualized education program for each eligible 40 student, and with prior approval by the commissioner if required; 41 provided that a student with a disability who is eligible for services, 42 including services during the months of July and August, pursuant to 43 section forty-four hundred ten of this article shall not be eligible to 44 receive services pursuant to this paragraph during the months of July 45 and August. 46 § 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 47 have become a law, provided that the amendments to subclause (i) of 48 clause (b) of subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 49 4402 of the education law made by section two of this act shall be 50 subject to the expiration and reversion of such clause pursuant to 51 section 22 of chapter 352 of the laws of 2005, as amended, and subdivi- 52 sion d of section 27 of chapter 378 of the laws of 2007, as amended, 53 when upon such date the provisions of section three of this act shall 54 take effect.