Texas – 2019 – HB 2847 – Prohibition of Unlicensed Dyslexia Services

State of Texas

Update: The Dyslexia Amendment has been removed from HB 2847 during the Senate Committee Hearing Process. The Senate Committee Substitute and the Conference Committee report no longer contain any provisions that would impact or change dyslexia services or licensing in Texas.

HB 3244 2847 as currently previously written would have outlawed the provision of private services for dyslexia of any kind except by persons licensed as multisensory structured language education (MSLE) therapists. We are strongly opposed to any law that would impose unprecedented state licensing requirements on providers of services for dyslexia. Fortunately these provisions were removed from the final version of the bill.

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Arkansas – 2019 – SB 153 – Science-Based Reading Programs

An act concerning school-level improvement plans and the right to read act; to require that a public school include in its annual school-level improvement plan a literacy plan; to require that the curriculum, professional development, and graduate studies recommendations for a public school district and open-enrollment public charter school be in accordance with the science of reading; to require that the department of education create an approved list of curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading; and for other purposes.

Pennsylvania – 2017-2018 – SB 776 – Dyslexia Pilot Program

Pennsylvania outline mapAn Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; and, in Dyslexia and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program, further providing for definitions and for establishment of program.  Defines dyslexia; establishes pilot program in 8 school districts to provide intervention based on synthetic phonics and structured literacy.

Oklahoma – 2018 – SB929 – Definition of Specific Learning Disability

OklahomaModifies legal defintition of “specific learning disability”.  As enacted, the bill provides this definition:

“Specific learning disability” means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia and developmental aphasia. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage;

Kansas – 2018– HB 2602 – Legislative Task Force

Kansas outline and sealThere is hereby established the legislative task force on dyslexia. The task force shall advise and make recommendations to the
governor, the legislature and the state board of education regarding matters concerning the use of evidence-based practices for students with dyslexia. The work of the task force should be completed by January 2,  2019, and a report prepared and submitted to the governor, the legislature and the state board of education by January 30, 2019