SECTION 1. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding after section 57 the following section:-

SECTION 57A. For the purposes of this section the following word will have the following meaning:

Dyslexia: “a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin with indicators that include but not limited to, difficulty in acquiring language skills; inability to comprehend oral or written language; difficulty in rhyming words; difficulty in naming letters, recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, and blending sounds when speaking and reading words; difficulty recognizing and remembering sight words; consistent transposition of number sequences, letter reversals, inversions, and substitutes and trouble in replication of content.”

Each district shall ensure that each student enrolled in the school district shall be screened for potential indicators of dyslexia or other reading disabilities no later than the first semester of the second grade.

The  Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall promulgate regulations to develop screening procedures or instruments to identify students who possess one or more potential indicators of dyslexia.