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GPL is blessed to have patrons and staff well-versed in the complexity of dyslexia. This legislative session Indiana passed a new bill that will ensure proper screening for children with this issue. Below is an explanation of the new bill and its expected outcomes. It is written by Erin Houchin, the bill’s author who is the Assistance Majority Whip of the Indiana Senate representing District 47.

This session, I was proud to author and pass Senate Enrolled Act 217, which I am confident will have a positive impact on many children and families across our state.

Studies estimate that up to 20 percent of the population is affected at some level with dyslexia. Chances are, you may have a child with this learning disability, or know someone who does. Dyslexia is inherited, it can be detected at an early age, and there are proven, effective teaching methodologies that can help students overcome it with the right intervention. While students with dyslexia will have it for life, this specific learning disability does not have to impede a child’s ability to succeed at any level.

Non-existent screening procedures in our schools are all but ensuring many of these students are never properly diagnosed, and possibly being diagnosed with other learning disabilities. As a result, they may never receive the intervention needed to achieve their full potential. Up to 20 percent of our children may be falling through the cracks.

SEA 217 seeks to close the dyslexia gap. It requires reading plans for students in grades K-2 to include indicators to screen for dyslexia risk factors, using a screening tool approved by the Indiana Department of Education (DOE). If a child is determined to be at risk for dyslexia, the school shall administer a level I or level II dyslexia screening, after obtaining parental consent. Parents may also choose to obtain an independent comprehensive dyslexia evaluation. This will ensure we identify affected students early, with time to intervene, and provide these students with the right intervention.

Not all intervention practices used for students with other reading disabilities work for dyslexic students, but we know the methodologies that do, and it is critical to get these students the resources that will work for them.

SEA 217 requires schools to use specific response to intervention processes if a screener indicates certain characteristics of dyslexia, and for each school corporation and charter school to employ at least one authorized reading specialist trained in dyslexia no later than the 2019-2020 school year. This specialist can be a reading specialist trained in dyslexia, or a teacher or tutor who has completed dyslexia intervention training approved by the DOE. Furthermore, it requires the DOE to employ at least one reading specialist trained in dyslexia no later than July 1, 2019. The DOE shall also develop an Indiana dyslexia resource guide, and ensure that each teacher receives professional awareness information on dyslexia.

We cannot afford to let any of our students struggle through school, and potentially their lives and careers, without doing something – especially when we know what works. We can’t allow dyslexia to continue to be under-reported and misdiagnosed. The changes outlined in SEA 217 will ensure we are accurately identifying a pervasive issue among our student population, and make sure these students are provided with the tools they need to succeed.