Understanding More About IDEA and IEP's and Dyslexia
Decoding Dyslexia Massachusetts does not provide legal advice on this page or website. This page has information useful and accurate to the best of our ability, this is general knowledge collected and referenced but not intended to replace or provide legal counsel. If you need legal counsel please seek the advice of an attorney. |
The following links are also helpful when learning about IDEA and IEPs.
National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) Parent Guide Wrightslaw website Laws and Regulations page |
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the Federal Law that applies to Special Education |
Included in the IDEA law:
“specific learning disability” is listed as qualifying disability and defined as: “a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.” See 20 U.S.C. §1401(30) and 34 CFR §300.8(c)(10) (emphasis added). MA schools have the responsibility to use the term correctly and service providers must be knowledgeable about dyslexia and the evidence based services specifically for dyslexia using a valid science based definition. |
US DOE Guidance Letter for Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and DysgraphiaGuidance is issued to clarify existing law and is sent to the State to be distributed to the local schools and as a reference. This guidance specifically suggests States review their policies and use the word dyslexia when it is indicted.
"There is nothing in the IDEA or our implementing regulations that prohibits the inclusion of the condition that is the basis for the child’s disability determination in the child’s IEP. In addition, the IEP must address the child’s needs resulting from the child’s disability to enable the child to advance appropriately towards attaining his or her annual IEP goals and to enable the child to be involved in, and make progress in, the general education curriculum. 34 CFR §§300.320(a)(1), (2), and (4). Therefore, if a child’s dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia is the condition that forms the basis for the determination that a child has a specific learning disability, OSERS believes that there could be situations where an IEP Team could determine that personnel responsible for IEP implementation would need to know about the condition underlying the child’s disability .." You can read the full letter, print it out and share it with teachers, counselors, special education providers and team members. Bring this in full to a meeting and ask what the person(s) responsible for the implementation of the plan including general education instructors know about dyslexia. |
|
What is the IDEA Reading Criteria?
Learn about IDEA and IEP regulations and how they apply to your child's Education:
IDEA regulation divides reading into three different skills:
Only one of which must be deficient for SLD (and therefore dyslexia) eligibility to attach. In other words, under the IDEA regulation, a child may be able to decode words adequately and comprehend passages at an average level for her age, but still be eligible for services under the IDEA if her reading fluency skills are deficient. Breaking out these three components of reading in the IDEA regulation is consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. That federal statute, which predated the latest reauthorization of the IDEA in 2004, defines the “essential components of reading instruction” (ECORI) to mean “explicit and systematic instruction” in five specific areas, all of which are needed:
Language does not require reading, but there are language skills that are need as pre-reading skills in order to succeed at learning to read. The two key language skills that students must have are phonemic awareness skills (PA skills) and naming speed skills (rapid automatized naming skills or RAN skills). A deficit in either of these skills may qualify under the speech and language category of IDEA. Deficits in these pre-reading skills may need specialized instruction for reading.
IDEA regulation divides reading into three different skills:
- “basic reading skill” (see below),
- reading fluency skills, and
- reading comprehension--
Only one of which must be deficient for SLD (and therefore dyslexia) eligibility to attach. In other words, under the IDEA regulation, a child may be able to decode words adequately and comprehend passages at an average level for her age, but still be eligible for services under the IDEA if her reading fluency skills are deficient. Breaking out these three components of reading in the IDEA regulation is consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. That federal statute, which predated the latest reauthorization of the IDEA in 2004, defines the “essential components of reading instruction” (ECORI) to mean “explicit and systematic instruction” in five specific areas, all of which are needed:
- (A) phonemic awareness,
- (B) phonics,
- (C) vocabulary development, [ IDEA combines these first three into “basic reading skill”]
- (D) reading fluency, including oral reading skills, and
- (E) reading comprehension strategies. 20 U.S.C. § 6368(3). 5
Language does not require reading, but there are language skills that are need as pre-reading skills in order to succeed at learning to read. The two key language skills that students must have are phonemic awareness skills (PA skills) and naming speed skills (rapid automatized naming skills or RAN skills). A deficit in either of these skills may qualify under the speech and language category of IDEA. Deficits in these pre-reading skills may need specialized instruction for reading.
Learn more about Naming Speed Deficits and Dyslexia by down loading the document above.
|
| ||
I.D.E.A. laws may not seem to perfect to families whose students with dyslexia have had to fight for services. But there are some important parts of the laws we should all support keeping in place.
Particularly, for all kids who struggle with reading,
20 U.S.C. § 6368(3)(4)(5)(6)(7).
(3) Essential components of reading instruction The term “essential components of reading instruction” means explicit and systematic instruction in --
(A) phonemic awareness;
(B) phonics;
(C) vocabulary development;
D) reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and
(E) reading comprehension strategies.
(4) Instructional staff
The term “instructional staff”--
(A) means individuals who have responsibility for teaching children to read; and
(B) includes principals, teachers, supervisors of instruction, librarians, library school media specialists, teachers of academic subjects other than reading, and other individuals who have responsibility for assisting children to learn to read.
(5) Reading
The term “reading” means a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following:
(A)The skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print.
(B)The ability to decode unfamiliar words.
(C)The ability to read fluently.
(D)Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension.
(E) The development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print.
(F) The development and maintenance of a motivation to read.
(6) Scientifically based reading research
The term “scientifically based reading research” means research that --
(A) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties; and
(B) includes research that--
(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;
(ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and
(iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review.
(7) Screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments
(A)In general - The term “screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments” means --
(i) screening reading assessments;
(ii) diagnostic reading assessments; and
(iii) classroom-based instructional reading assessments.
(B) Screening reading assessment
The term “screening reading assessment” means an assessment that is—
(i) valid, reliable, and based on scientifically based reading research; and
(ii) a brief procedure designed as a first step in identifying children who may be at high risk for delayed development or academic failure and in need of further diagnosis of their need for special services or additional reading instruction.
(C) Diagnostic reading assessment
The term “diagnostic reading assessment” means an assessment that is--
(i) valid, reliable, and based on scientifically based reading research; and
(ii) used for the purpose of--
(I) identifying a child’s specific areas of strengths and weaknesses so that the child has learned to read by the end of grade 3;
(II) determining any difficulties that a child may have in learning to read and the potential cause of such difficulties; and
(III) helping to determine possible reading intervention strategies and related special needs.
(D) Classroom-based instructional reading assessment
The term “classroom-based instructional reading assessment” means an assessment that--
(i) evaluates children’s learning based on systematic observations by teachers of children performing academic tasks that are part of their daily classroom experience; and
(ii) is used to improve instruction in reading, including classroom instruction.
Particularly, for all kids who struggle with reading,
20 U.S.C. § 6368(3)(4)(5)(6)(7).
(3) Essential components of reading instruction The term “essential components of reading instruction” means explicit and systematic instruction in --
(A) phonemic awareness;
(B) phonics;
(C) vocabulary development;
D) reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and
(E) reading comprehension strategies.
(4) Instructional staff
The term “instructional staff”--
(A) means individuals who have responsibility for teaching children to read; and
(B) includes principals, teachers, supervisors of instruction, librarians, library school media specialists, teachers of academic subjects other than reading, and other individuals who have responsibility for assisting children to learn to read.
(5) Reading
The term “reading” means a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following:
(A)The skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print.
(B)The ability to decode unfamiliar words.
(C)The ability to read fluently.
(D)Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension.
(E) The development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print.
(F) The development and maintenance of a motivation to read.
(6) Scientifically based reading research
The term “scientifically based reading research” means research that --
(A) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties; and
(B) includes research that--
(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;
(ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and
(iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review.
(7) Screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments
(A)In general - The term “screening, diagnostic, and classroom-based instructional reading assessments” means --
(i) screening reading assessments;
(ii) diagnostic reading assessments; and
(iii) classroom-based instructional reading assessments.
(B) Screening reading assessment
The term “screening reading assessment” means an assessment that is—
(i) valid, reliable, and based on scientifically based reading research; and
(ii) a brief procedure designed as a first step in identifying children who may be at high risk for delayed development or academic failure and in need of further diagnosis of their need for special services or additional reading instruction.
(C) Diagnostic reading assessment
The term “diagnostic reading assessment” means an assessment that is--
(i) valid, reliable, and based on scientifically based reading research; and
(ii) used for the purpose of--
(I) identifying a child’s specific areas of strengths and weaknesses so that the child has learned to read by the end of grade 3;
(II) determining any difficulties that a child may have in learning to read and the potential cause of such difficulties; and
(III) helping to determine possible reading intervention strategies and related special needs.
(D) Classroom-based instructional reading assessment
The term “classroom-based instructional reading assessment” means an assessment that--
(i) evaluates children’s learning based on systematic observations by teachers of children performing academic tasks that are part of their daily classroom experience; and
(ii) is used to improve instruction in reading, including classroom instruction.