§ 15.1-32-26 — Dyslexia screening and intervention - Report to legislative management - Professional development

Professional development.
1. For purposes of this section, "dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is
neurobiological in origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent
recognition of words and poor spelling and decoding abilities, independent of the
individual's general intelligence level.
2. The superintendent of public instruction shall provide guidance and recommendations
regarding proven strategies in early screening and intervention services for children
with risk factors for dyslexia characteristics, including low phonemic awareness.
3. Each school district shall:
a. For enrolled children seven years of age and younger, provide a universal
screening for dyslexia including core components of phonemic awareness,
decoding, and spelling, which must be approved by the superintendent of public
instruction;
b. Include a process to further evaluate identified risk factors;
c. Describe the intervention services for the identified dyslexia risk factors;
d. Provide reading intervention services to students with dyslexia characteristics;
e. Administer assessments, approved by the superintendent of public instruction, to
determine the effectiveness of the intervention services in improving the reading
and learning skills of the child; and
f. Provide professional development on dyslexia characteristics and interventions
related to phonological and phonemic awareness, sound and symbol
relationships, alphabet knowledge, rapid naming skills, and encoding and

decoding skills, to appropriate kindergarten through grade three personnel of the
school district and special education unit. Professional development may meet
the requirements for continuing education credits for license renewal.
4. A school district or special education unit shall provide a universal screener under
subdivision a of subsection 3 upon request by a parent, legal guardian, or teacher.
5. Before July 1, 2024, the superintendent of public instruction shall provide a report to
the legislative management regarding dyslexia screening and intervention under this
section.