SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1583        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 312

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Barbara A. L'Italien

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to address the special education needs of children with dyslexia.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1583        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 312

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

An Act to address the special education needs of children with dyslexia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1:  Section 38G of Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 266 after the word “disabilities,” the following words:-

including dyslexia,

SECTION 2: Section 38G1/2 of said Chapter 71, as appearing in the 2012 Official Addition, as amended by Chapter 226 of the Acts of 2014, is hereby amended by inserting before the definition of “Transition services” the following definition:-

“Dyslexia” shall have the same meaning as the most recent definition by the International Dyslexia Association.

SECTION 2: Section 38G1/2 of said Chapter 71, as so appearing,  is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The board shall provide an endorsement in dyslexia which shall include both coursework and field experience for licensed general and special education teachers to acquire the competencies necessary to use the science of reading and evidenced based approaches to instructing and remediating students with Dyslexia, develop  appropriate IEP programs, enable students with dyslexia to effectively access grade-level curriculum, and consult and collaborate with other educators in order to meet the unique and complex educational needs of students with dyslexia. All content taught as part of this specialization shall be consistent with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., for evidence based practices.  The requirements for the endorsement in dyslexia, as promulgated by the board, may also be used to satisfy course requirements necessary to obtain a professional license. The board shall promulgate regulations specifying the subject matter knowledge, skills and competencies required for such endorsement, including requirements to incorporate renewal of the endorsement as part of the individual professional development plan required pursuant to section 38G.  Said regulations shall also specify components necessary for preparation programs offering an endorsement in dyslexia, which shall be included in the department’s process for approving preparation programs.

SECTION 3: Section 3 of Chapter 71B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in paragraph 6 the following words:

A school district shall refer for evaluation, using evidenced-based testing methodologies, any student aged 6 or older, who is at-risk for dyslexia.

SECTION 4:  Section 3 of said Chapter 71B is hereby further amended by inserting in paragraph 8 (at the end – line 137) the following words:

Whenever an evaluation indicates that a child has dyslexia, as defined by the most recent definition of the International Dyslexia Association,  the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, as defined by regulations of the department, shall consider and specifically address the following: access to evidence-based, sequenced, explicit multisensory reading instruction; access to assistive technology; access to teachers and teaching assistants who have obtained the dyslexia endorsement pursuant to Section 38G1/2 of Chapter 71 of the General Laws; and effective access to grade-level curriculum.