Ohio

HB96, HB157, HB436

Ohio HB 157 authorizes professional development related to dyslexia, and a dyslexia specialist. HB 96 amends section 3323.01 of Ohio law and enacts section 3323.25 which defines dyslexia, and which requires a pilot project to provide early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia. Statutes related to dyslexia can be found on the Ohio.gov Website. HB436 addresses screening, intervention, professional development, and state guidance. Section 3323.25 defines dyslexia as, “a specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language.”

According to HB 436, Each school district and other public school shall do all of the following:

(1) For the 2022-2023 school year, administer a tier one dyslexia screening measure to a student to whom either of the following applies:(a) The student is enrolled in any of grades kindergarten through three. A screening measure shall be administered to a student enrolled in kindergarten after January 1, 2023, but prior to January1, 2024.(b) The student is enrolled in any of grades four through six and either of the following applies:(i) The student's parent, guardian, or custodian requests that the screening measure be administered to the student.(ii) A classroom teacher requests that the screening measure be administered to the student and the student's parent, guardian, or custodian grants permission for the screening measure to be administered.

(2) For the 2023-2024 school year and each school year thereafter, administer a tier one dyslexia screening measure to a student to whom either of the following applies:(a) A student enrolled in kindergarten. A screening measure shall be administered to a student after the first day of January of the school year in which the student is enrolled in kindergarten and prior to the first day of January of the following school year.(b) A student enrolled in any of grades one through six if either of the following applies:(i) The student's parent, guardian, or custodian requests that the screening measure be administered to the student.(ii) A classroom teacher requests that the screening measure be administered to the student and the student's parent, guardian, or custodian grants permission for the screening measure to be administered. A district or school may administer a tier two dyslexia screening measure to a student to whom the district or school administers a tier one screening measure under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section. In that case, a district or school shall not be required to complete division (A)(4) of this section.

(3) Identify each student that is at risk of dyslexia based on the student's results on the tier one screening measure and notify the student's parent, guardian, or custodian that the student has been identified as being at risk.

(4) Monitor the progress of each at-risk student toward attaining grade-level reading and writing skills for up to six weeks. The district or school shall check each at-risk student's progress on at least the second week, fourth week, and sixth week after the student is identified as being at risk. If no progress is observed during the monitoring period, the district or school shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the student and administer a tier two dyslexia screening measure to the student.

(5) Report to a student's parent or guardian the student's results on a tier two screening measure approved by the Ohio dyslexia committee within thirty days after the measure's administration. If, as determined by the tier two screening measure, the student is identified as having dyslexia tendencies, the student's parent or guardian shall be provided with information about reading development, the risk factors for dyslexia, and descriptions for evidenced-based interventions.

(6) If a student demonstrates markers for dyslexia, provide the student's parents or guardian with a written explanation of the district or school's multi-sensory structured literacy program. (B)(1) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, each district or school shall:(a) Administer a tier one dyslexia screening measure to each kindergarten student that transfers into the district or school midyear during the school's regularly scheduled screening of the kindergarten class or within thirty days after the student's enrollment if the screening already has been completed;(b) Administer a tier one dyslexia screening measure to each student in grades one through six that transfers into the district or school midyear within thirty days after the student's enrollment. (2) If a student is identified as being at risk of dyslexia under division (B)(1) of this section, the district or school shall administer a tier two screening measure in a timely manner.(C) Each district or school shall do all of the following: (1) Comply with the guidebook developed under division (C) of section 3323.25 of the Revised Code;(2) Select screening and intervention measures to administer to students from the measures identified under division (E) of section 3323.25 of the Revised Code;(3) Establish a multidisciplinary team to administer screening and intervention measures and analyze the results of the measures. The team shall include trained and certified personnel and a stakeholder with expertise in the identification, intervention, and remediation of dyslexia.(4) Report to the department of education the results of screening measures administered under this section.

To our knowledge, Ohio does not require dyslexia intervention per se. As described in the screening section, however, intervention in a tiered context is supported through various provisions.