SB0343 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 26220 RJT 52579 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0343

Introduced 2/2/2023, by Sen. Christopher Belt

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/2-3.161
105 ILCS 5/10-20.85 new
105 ILCS 5/34-18.82 new

Amends the School Code. Provides that the dyslexia handbook developed by the State Board of Education shall include guidelines on the administration of a universal screener and dyslexia screening, the interpretation of data from these screeners, and the resulting appropriate instruction within a multi-tiered system of support framework. Provides that the State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to ensure that a student will be screened for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener. Sets forth guidelines for developing a universal screening. Sets forth which students are required to be screened. Provides that no later than January 1, 2025, the State Board of Education shall employ at least 5 dyslexia specialists or dyslexia therapists with a minimum of 5 years of field experience in screening, identifying, and treating dyslexia and related disorders. Provides that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, each school district must screen students in grades kindergarten through 2 for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener approved by the State Board of Education. Provides that if a student is determined to be either at risk or at some risk for dyslexia after the universal screener has been administered, the school district must administer a dyslexia screening of the student. Provides that if a student's dyslexia screening indicates that the student has characteristics of dyslexia, the dyslexia intervention services provided to the student must utilize a structured literacy approach as outlined in the State Board of Education's handbook. Makes other changes.

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 2-3.161 and by adding Sections 10-20.85 and 34-18.82 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.161)

Sec. 2-3.161. Definition of dyslexia; reading instruction advisory group; handbook; screening rules; employment of specialists.

(a) In this Section, "universal screener" means an assessment used to aid educators in understanding the causes for student performance, learning strengths, and the needs that underlie student performance. The assessment is conducted to identify or predict which students may be at risk for poor learning outcomes and is typically brief and conducted with all students at a particular grade level.

(a-5) The State Board of Education shall incorporate, in both general education and special education, the following definition of dyslexia:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

(b) (Blank).

(c) The State Board of Education shall develop and maintain a handbook to be made available on its Internet website that provides guidance for pupils, parents or guardians, and teachers on the subject of dyslexia. The handbook shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) guidelines for teachers and parents or guardians on how to identify signs of dyslexia;

(2) a description of educational strategies that have been shown to improve the academic performance of pupils with dyslexia; and

(3) a description of resources and services available to pupils with dyslexia, parents or guardians of pupils with dyslexia, and teachers; and .

(4) guidelines on the administration of a universal screener and dyslexia screening, the interpretation of data from these screeners, and the resulting appropriate instruction within a multi-tiered system of support framework.

The State Board shall review the handbook on or before January 1, 2025 and at least once every 4 years to update, if necessary, the guidelines, educational strategies, or resources and services made available in the handbook.

(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to ensure that a student will be screened, as provided under Section 10-20.85 or 34-18.82, for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener. A student shall be screened:

(1) if a student is enrolled in a public school in any of grades kindergarten through 2;

(2) if a student in any of the grades kindergarten through 2:

(A) transfers to a new public school; and

(B) has not been screened previously during the school year;

(3) if a teacher, parent, or guardian of a student in grade 3 or higher requests the student be screened for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener; and

(4) if a student from another state enrolls for the first time in any of grades kindergarten through 2 in a school district in this State, unless the student, the student's parent, or the student's guardian presents documentation that the student:

(A) was screened for dyslexia using the screening under this Section or was screened using another similar screening during the school year; or

(B) is exempt from screening.

(e) The guidelines for the universal screener must include, as developmentally appropriate, all of the following:

(1) phonological and phonemic awareness;

(2) sound symbol recognition;

(3) alphabet knowledge;

(4) decoding skills;

(5) rapid naming skills;

(6) encoding skills; and

(7) oral reading fluency.

(f) No later than January 1, 2025, the State Board of Education shall employ at least 5 dyslexia specialists or dyslexia therapists with a minimum of 5 years of field experience in screening, identifying, and treating dyslexia and related disorders to provide both of the following:

(1) technical assistance for dyslexia and related disorders to the State Board of Education and school districts; and

(2) training to school district employees in:

(A) administering a universal screener and dyslexia screening;

(B) analyzing and interpreting screening data; and

(C) determining, within the multi-tiered system of support framework, appropriate dyslexia intervention services in accordance with Sections 10-20.85 and 34-18.82.

(g) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to ensure that a student receives dyslexia intervention services under Section 10-20.85 or 34-18.82.

(Source: P.A. 102-539, eff. 8-20-21.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.85 new)

Sec. 10-20.85. Dyslexia screening and support.

(a) In this Section:

"Dyslexia screening" means a process, as determined by a school district, for gathering additional information to determine if the characteristics of dyslexia are present.

"Universal screener" means an assessment used to aid educators in understanding the causes for student performance, learning strengths, and the needs that underlie student performance. The assessment is conducted to identify or predict which students may be at risk for poor learning outcomes and is typically brief and conducted with all students at a particular grade level.

(b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, each school district must screen students in grades kindergarten through 2 for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener approved by the State Board of Education.

(c) If a student is determined to be either at risk or at some risk for dyslexia after the universal screener has been administered under subsection (b), the school district must administer a dyslexia screening of the student. Through the dyslexia screening, the school district must gather additional information to determine if the student has the characteristics of dyslexia. The additional information may include, but is not limited to, information from progress monitoring data, work samples, additional age and grade appropriate assessments related to dyslexia, teacher questionnaires, parent interviews, information regarding the student's family history related to dyslexia, and speech and language assessments.

(d) If the universal screener or the dyslexia screening indicates that a student has some risk factors for dyslexia or the characteristics of dyslexia, the school must use a multi-tiered system of support framework within the guidelines provided by the State Board of Education to address the needs of the student.

(e) Before a school district administers a dyslexia screening to a student, the parent or guardian of the student must consent to the screening. A school district is not required to administer a dyslexia screening to a student if:

(1) the parent or guardian of the student objects to the screening; or

(2) the student is already receiving dyslexia intervention services.

(f) If a student's performance on a dyslexia screening indicates a need for dyslexia intervention services, the school district must:

(1) notify the student's parent or guardian of the results of all screenings; and

(2) provide the student's parent or guardian with information and resource material that includes all of the following:

(A) the characteristics of dyslexia;

(B) the appropriate classroom interventions and accommodations for students with dyslexia; and

(C) a statement that the parent or guardian may elect to have the student receive an educational evaluation by the school.

(g) If a student's dyslexia screening indicates that the student has characteristics of dyslexia, the dyslexia intervention services provided to the student must utilize a structured literacy approach as outlined in the State Board of Education's handbook under subsection (c) of Section Sec. 2-3.161. The dyslexia intervention services must:

(1) provide explicit, direct, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction that adheres to a logical plan about the alphabetic principle and is designed to accommodate the needs of each individual student without presuming prior skills or knowledge;

(2) implement evidence-based practices that have been proven effective in the treatment of dyslexia;

(3) engage the student in multi-modal language learning techniques;

(4) include phonemic awareness activities to enable the student to detect, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds in the spoken language;

(5) provide graphophonemic knowledge for teaching the letter sound plan of the English language;

(6) teach the structure and patterns of the English language, including linguistic instruction in morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics, that are directed toward proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that words and sentences are the carriers of meaning;

(7) develop strategies that advance the student's ability in decoding, encoding, word recognition, fluency, and comprehension; and

(8) provide meaning-based instruction directed at purposeful reading and writing, with an emphasis on comprehension and composition.

(h) On or before July 1, 2025 and on or before each July 1 thereafter, each school district must report to the State Board of Education:

(1) the number of students who were administered a universal screener under this Section for the risk factors of dyslexia during the school year;

(2) the number of students who were determined to be at risk or at some risk for dyslexia;

(3) the number of students identified with the characteristics of dyslexia during the school year;

(4) the number of students during the previous school year who received dyslexia intervention under this Section; and

(5) the dyslexia intervention services that were used during the previous school year under this Section.

The State Board of Education shall publish the information collected from the report on its Internet website.

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.82 new)

Sec. 34-18.82. Dyslexia screening and support.

(a) In this Section:

"Dyslexia screening" means a process, as determined by the school district, for gathering additional information to determine if the characteristics of dyslexia are present.

"Universal screener" means an assessment used to aid educators in understanding the causes for student performance, learning strengths, and the needs that underlie student performance. The assessment is conducted to identify or predict which students may be at risk for poor learning outcomes and is typically brief and conducted with all students at a particular grade level.

(b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the school district must screen students in grades kindergarten through 2 for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener approved by the State Board of Education.

(c) If a student is determined to be either at risk or at some risk for dyslexia after the universal screener has been administered under subsection (b), the school district must administer a dyslexia screening of the student. Through the dyslexia screening, the school district must gather additional information to determine if the student has the characteristics of dyslexia. The additional information may include, but is not limited to, information from progress monitoring data, work samples, additional age and grade appropriate assessments related to dyslexia, teacher questionnaires, parent interviews, information regarding the student's family history related to dyslexia, and speech and language assessments.

(d) If the universal screener or the dyslexia screening indicates that a student has some risk factors for dyslexia or the characteristics of dyslexia, the school must use a multi-tiered system of support framework within the guidelines provided by the State Board of Education to address the needs of the student.

(e) Before the school district administers a dyslexia screening to a student, the parent or guardian of the student must consent to the screening. The school district is not required to administer a dyslexia screening to a student if:

(1) the parent or guardian of the student objects to the screening; or

(2) the student is already receiving dyslexia intervention services.

(f) If a student's performance on a dyslexia screening indicates a need for dyslexia intervention services, the school district must:

(1) notify the student's parent or guardian of the results of all screenings; and

(2) provide the student's parent or guardian with information and resource material that includes all of the following:

(A) the characteristics of dyslexia;

(B) the appropriate classroom interventions and accommodations for students with dyslexia; and

(C) a statement that the parent or guardian may elect to have the student receive an educational evaluation by the school.

(g) If a student's dyslexia screening indicates that the student has characteristics of dyslexia, the dyslexia intervention services provided to the student must utilize a structured literacy approach as outlined in the State Board of Education's handbook under subsection (c) of Section Sec. 2-3.161. The dyslexia intervention services must:

(1) provide explicit, direct, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction that adheres to a logical plan about the alphabetic principle and is designed to accommodate the needs of each individual student without presuming prior skills or knowledge;

(2) implement evidence-based practices that have been proven effective in the treatment of dyslexia;

(3) engage the student in multi-modal language learning techniques;

(4) include phonemic awareness activities to enable the student to detect, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds in the spoken language;

(5) provide graphophonemic knowledge for teaching the letter sound plan of the English language;

(6) teach the structure and patterns of the English language, including linguistic instruction in morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics, that are directed toward proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that words and sentences are the carriers of meaning;

(7) develop strategies that advance the student's ability in decoding, encoding, word recognition, fluency, and comprehension; and

(8) provide meaning-based instruction directed at purposeful reading and writing, with an emphasis on comprehension and composition.

(h) On or before July 1, 2025 and on or before each July 1 thereafter, the school district must report to the State Board of Education:

(1) the number of students who were administered a universal screener under this Section for the risk factors of dyslexia during the school year;

(2) the number of students who were determined to be at risk or at some risk for dyslexia;

(3) the number of students identified with the characteristics of dyslexia during the school year;

(4) the number of students during the previous school year who received dyslexia intervention under this Section; and

(5) the dyslexia intervention services that were used during the previous school year under this Section.

The State Board of Education shall publish the information collected from the report on its Internet website.