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Rhode Island

State Education Agency (SEA) Dyslexia Legislation

Has Legislation?Yes

Parent Opt-Out/Consent Procedures by Law?
No
SEA Recognizes IDA Definition?
Yes
SEA Recognizes State Definition?
No
SEA Has Dyslexia Specialist?
No

H7052

H7052 defines dyslexia and describes screening and intervention requirements related to dyslexia.

Screening

Required?Yes

Parents Must Be Notified of Results?
No
SEA Publishes List of Screeners?
Yes
Annual Reporting to the SEA?
No
Response to Intervention for Student Learning Disability Eligibility in 2010?
Required by law
Student Learning Disability Eligibility (Zirkel & Thomas 2010 Classification)?
RTI required SD prohibited

All school districts that provide elementary education are required to screen all children prior to, or upon, their first entry to school to determine their level of educational readiness. All children are required to participate in this screening. Screening shall address the child's educational  development and shall be used to determine whether he or she is educationally disadvantaged in terms of readiness for instruction in the literacy skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, or mathematics.

State Recognized Screeners

See the state department of education website for guidance on selecting screeners. For more information on screening, Examples of Dyslexia Screening Tools.

Pre-service

Required?No

Rhode Island does not have pre-service legislation related to dyslexia.

In-service

Required?No

Rhode Island does not have in-service legislation related to dyslexia.

However, state law states that “The literacy program shall also include assistance  to students by providing strategies that formally address dyslexia, when appropriate. In addition, the department of elementary and secondary education shall offer to school districts, at no cost to the school district or to participants in the training, professional development services to enhance the skills of elementary teachers in the use of evidence-based strategies to improve the literacy skills of students with dyslexia.”

Intervention

Required?Yes

Multisensory?
Promoted
Evidence-Based?
Promoted
Explicit/Direct?
Promoted
MTSS/RTI?
Promoted

Law states, "The commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall stipulate for each school district the specific cutoff points and the grades for required service each year. Services must be provided first to students who are most educationally disadvantaged. Services shall focus on instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and mathematics. Program emphasis shall be as follows: (A) Intensive development in literacy. Kindergarten through grade three (3). (B) Early intervention in literacy. Grades four (4) through six (6) (C) Remediation in literacy. Grades seven (7) through eight (8). (D) Intensive remediation in literacy. Grades nine (9) through twelve." 

Further, the state literacy guide promotes RTI and instruction that is evidence-based, explicit, and multisensory.

Literacy State-identified Measurable Result (SIMR) - Part B

Has Literacy SIMR?No

Rhode Island's SIMR focuses on improving math proficiency.

Resources

Decoding Dyslexia Rhode Island

International Dyslexia Association Rhode Island

Citations

Zirkel, P. A., & Thomas, L. B. (2010). State laws for RTI: An updated snapshot. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 56-63.

Gearin, B., Turtura, J., Kame’enui, E. J., Nelson, N. J., & Fien, H. (2018). A Multiple Streams Analysis of Recent Changes to State-Level Dyslexia Education Law. Educational Policy, 0895904818807328.

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Last modified: 
11/20/2023 - 8:18pm