AN ACT RELATIVE TO STUDENTS 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. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 57 the following section:-
Section 57A. The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of early education and care, shall, subject to appropriation, issue guidelines to assist districts in developing screening procedures or protocols for students that demonstrate 1 or more potential indicators of a neurological learning disability including, but not limited to, dyslexia.
SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 287 of the acts of 2012 is hereby amended by inserting after the word “education”, in line 8, the second time it appears, the following words:- ; provided further, that 1 member shall be a representative or member of a dyslexia advocacy organization.
SECTION 3. Said section 1 of said chapter 287 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 40, the word “and”, the third time it appears, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- the identification of neurological learning disabilities including, but not limited to, dyslexia and.
SECTION 4. Said section 1 of said chapter 287 is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 49, the word “and”.
SECTION 5. Subsection (b) of said section 1 of said chapter 287 is hereby amended by striking out clause (6) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 clauses:-
(6) action steps to implement the research-based recommendations contained in reports written by experts in early language and literacy development; and
(7) action steps to implement research-based recommendations contained in reports written by experts in early language and literacy development on student screening and teacher preparation methods with respect to reading disabilities including, but not limited to, dyslexia.
Approved, October 19, 2018