Dyslexia Guidance

The General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 217 which addresses Dyslexia in Indiana Schools.

• Is neurological in origin and characterized by: difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities;

• Typically results 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.

• May include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge; and

• May require the provision of special education services after an eligibility determination is made in accordance with Article 7.

Students who must be screened using a mandatory universal screener approved by the IDOE include:

• Students in kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2

• A kindergarten through grade 2 student who transfers to a new school, and has not previously been screened during the school year

• A student in grade 3 or higher who has difficulty as noted by the classroom teacher in,

  • Phonological and phonemic awareness

  • Sound symbol recognition;

  • Alphabet knowledge;

  • Decoding skills;

  • Rapid naming skills; and

  • Encoding skills

• A student in kindergarten through grade 2 from another state who enrolls in an Indiana school for the first time unless the student has documentation that he/she has had dyslexia or similar screening during the school year or is exempt from screening

• A school corporation is not required to administer a universal screening if the parent objects to the screening.

If the student’s performance on the universal screener indicates he/she is determined to be at risk, or some risk, for having characteristics of dyslexia, the school shall notify the parent/guardian of the results of the screening and obtain consent for a level 1 or 2 screening to be administered.

Additional information and resource materials are provided below:

• International Dyslexia Website

• Dyslexia Help

• Dyslexia Yale

• Dyscalculia Website

• PearsonClinical.com/dyslexia

• Understood - Dyslexia