PART VI-B. DYSLEXIA

§392.11. Dyslexia; screening, diagnosis, and reporting

            A. As used in this Part:

            (1) "Dyslexia" means an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in phonological processing, which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.

            (2) "Phonological processing" means the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken and written language.

            B.(1) The state Department of Education shall select a dyslexia screener with an area under the curve of 0.80 or above and provide the screener, at no cost, to each public school. The dyslexia screener shall be administered to each student by a classroom teacher in the second half of kindergarten or upon request of a teacher or a parent or legal guardian. This screener shall not be a progress monitoring tool but shall:

            (a) Be developed solely for dyslexia.

            (b) Be evidence-based with proven, published psychometric validity.

            (c) Be used for the sole purpose of determining whether a student is at risk for dyslexia.

            (2) If the results of such screening indicate that a student is at risk for dyslexia, the parent or legal guardian shall be notified within thirty days of the results of the screening, and, if requested by the parent or legal guardian, a core assessment for the diagnosis of dyslexia shall be administered as provided in Subsection C of this Section.

            C.(1) The parent may select either the school or a vendor or professional approved by the department to administer the core assessment. The administrator of the core assessment, in order to determine whether the student has dyslexia, shall determine through history, observation, and psychometric assessment if there are unexpected difficulties in reading and associated linguistic problems at the level of phonological processing that are unrelated to the student's intelligence, age, and grade level. The core assessment shall not be based on a single test score or specific number of characteristics and shall include all of the following:

            (a) Tests of language, particularly phonemic assessment, real words and pseudowords, oral reading fluency, and intellectual ability.

            (b) An academic performance review.

            (c) An interview with the student's parent or legal guardian.

            (2) The department shall do the following in accordance with rules that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adopt for such purposes:

            (a) Establish qualifications for vendors and professionals who may administer the core assessment as provided in this Subsection and provide a process for their approval.

            (b) Establish a payment amount and provide for reimbursement for the administration of the core assessment.

            (3) If the core assessment is administered by the school, the department shall reimburse the school for the cost of the assessment. If the core assessment is administered by an approved vendor or professional, the department shall reimburse the parent or legal guardian for the cost of the assessment. The reimbursement amount shall not exceed the payment amount established in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.

            D.(1) Each public school governing authority shall submit a report to the state Department of Education by December fifteenth annually relative to the occurrence of dyslexia. The report shall include numbers of students of all grade levels identified as dyslexic, either pursuant to the provisions of this Section or by any other means, and shall include, per grade, all of the following:

            (a) For students identified as dyslexic through a Section 504 Plan:

            (i) The number initially identified during the preceding school year.

            (ii) The total number.

            (b) For students with an Individualized Education Plan identified as having a specific learning disability, dyslexia:

            (i) The number initially identified during the preceding school year.

            (ii) The total number.

            (2) The state Department of Education shall compile the reports received pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection and report such data to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education no later than March first annually.

            (3) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the number of students in a grade level identified as dyslexic is not zero and not more than ten, the report shall not indicate an exact number but shall indicate that there are fewer than eleven students in the grade identified as dyslexic.

            Acts 2023, No. 266, §1; Acts 2024, No. 517, §1.