"Say Dyslexia" Law

 

In 2016, the Tennessee legislature passed a law that is also referred to as the “Say Dyslexia” law. The law requires schools to screen for characteristics of Dyslexia through Response to Intervention (RTI) and to provide “Dyslexia-specific intervention” for those students who show a need. This blog explains more about common Dyslexia terms and important information that you should know. It also provides steps on what to do if you suspect your child has Dyslexia.

 

Definition of Dyslexia and Common Terms

●      Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that a child may have if the student has difficulty with recognizing words, spelling, and applying knowledge to letters- sounds (Decoding).

●      Decoding is the ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, or how to correctly pronounce written words

●      RTI² helps students with disabilities be identified earlier in school and it also gives students extra support if needed.  RTI² includes instruction and intervention. RTI² helps identify students with Dyslexia needs.

●      Universal Screening helps schools identify which students need extra help. Students who need extra help are progress monitored.

●      Progress monitoring is how your child’s school measures skills and keeps track of how a student is responding to a certain teaching method. Charting your child’s progress over time can help the school decide whether he needs to be taught in a different way.

Here are things to look for in your child if you suspect Dyslexia

●      Does your child read but not sound out letters on the page?

●      Does your child not sound out simple words like cat, nap, map?

●      Is there a history of reading needs?

●      Has your child needed additional help and not developed a strategy for unfamiliar words?

●      Does your child mix up similar words like tornado and volcano or lotion and ocean?

Important Information to know

●      If you suspect your child has Dyslexia, talk to your child’s teacher or IEP Team and have your child evaluated.

●      Districts are required to use a universal screener in RTI2 to identify strengths and areas of need. This information can be helpful in making decisions about skill-specific interventions. ALL students must participate in the universal screening to identify those students who may need additional supports.

●     1 out of 5 students has Dyslexia. Most students are undiagnosed. However, whether it is diagnosed or not, the student should get the intervention and support they need.

●      It is not necessary for a student to be diagnosed with Dyslexia in order to receive appropriate intervention. Once a school identifies that a student shows characteristics of Dyslexia, it is important to provide the right interventions.

Levels of Support for Dyslexia:

Intensive – given daily or very frequently for a sufficient amount of time
Explicit – skills are explained, directly taught, and modeled by the teacher
Systematic and cumulative – introduces concepts in a definite, logical sequence;
concepts are ordered from simple to more complex
Structured – has step-by-step procedures for introducing, reviewing, and practicing
concepts
Multi-sensory – links listening, speaking, reading, and writing together; involves
movement and “hands-on” learning
Language-based – addresses all levels of language, including sounds (phonemes),
symbols (graphemes), meaningful word parts (morphemes), word and phrase meanings (semantics), sentences (syntax), longer passages (discourse), and the social uses of language (pragmatics)

These principles of instruction are often referred to by the following terms: Orton-Gillingham-based, a Multisensory Structured Language, or Structured Literacy. Interventions must be aligned to individual students’ needs. For students with Dyslexia or for students with the characteristics of Dyslexia, the intervention should address the specific phonological deficits identified through targeted assessments.

For more information, please visit https://decodingdyslexiatn.org/?fbclid=IwAR3Lw8DmVW1fPKJbl78P8WukkOhvTwg87Jtmu9L4B0WJ0b4ARJR0tg0J4ew

Resources

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/special-education/dys/Dyslexia_resource_guide.pdf

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/special-education/dys/say_Dyslexia_faq.pdf

https://www.ortonacademy.org/resources/what-is-the-orton-gillingham-approach/

http://tnida.org/

Summary of Facebook Live Q&A: Legal Questions

 1/13/21 Facebook Live

Theresa Nicholls & Rachel Suppe

https://fb.watch/3nbmdef3m2/

Please join Jen Aprea, Director of The Arc TN’s Family Engagement Project and Theresa Nicholls, Assistant Commissioner of Special Populations for the TN Department of Education for a Q & A session about Special Education in the state of Tennessee.

 

JEN: Hello again, and welcome to our Facebook Live Event where we will give you the latest updates on Special Education Services in Tennessee. My name is Jennifer Aprea and I work with the Arc Tennessee as the Director of Family Engagement in Special Education. Since last year we’ve been bringing on guests from throughout the Special Populations Division of the Department of Education to learn about their roles and how they serve students.

Today we are bringing back Assistant Commissioner of Special Populations, Theresa Nichols and Rachel Suppe Legal Counsel for the Department of Education, to answer some of the more general questions we’ve received over the last few weeks!

Before we get to the questions, let’s give Assistant Commissioner Nicholls a chance to update us on the latest news from the Department regarding school closures in TN.

 

• Comm. Nicholls provides latest update:
• CLP’s Continuous Learning Plans were required to be developed by every school district to ensure that every student would receive instruction. Regardless to whether students attend school in-person or receive virtual instruction. School Districts are using data to update their plans. All updates to CLP’s  are submitted to the State Department of Education.
• IDEA  Law is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities. During this time nothing about this law has been waived. Students should be receiving all related services.
• The State Department of Education in in the process of determining how the most recent stimulus package will be used to support education.

 

Jennifer Aprea:   Q & A

 

1.      Our daughter has been completely virtual this year. She has not received any face to face instruction and has barely been given any assignments.  She is getting her therapies virtually, her teacher has dropped off a few activities for her to do, and she has some books she can read through Unique Learning Systems, but other than that, she has gotten nothing the entire first semester of school. She is not getting an education while schools are required to be providing it, so she is not receiving FAPE. What is the best way to address this?

 

Raquel Suppe

Schools are still required to provide FAPE whether students are in person or virtual. It’s important for parents to complete a tracking sheet to have a record of the services that your child has received. Parents should request an IEP meeting to discuss and make changes concerning the delivery of services. Lastly parents may file a complaint if they feel like their concerns are not being addressed. Ms. Suppe mentioned that Parents may contact her office directly if they have additional questions.

 

 

2.      My child has an IEP and I feel that he’s not able to learn remotely, but his teacher said that his needs aren’t great enough for him to be included in the small group of students that goes in-person even when the rest of the school is remote. Is there anything I can do to get him permission to come on campus?

Rachel Suppe

 

Decisions concerning FAPE and LRE should only be made by the IEP team. Reach out to your Special Education Director and request an IEP meeting. Whether a student attends class remotely or in person should be determined by the students needs and their ability to learn remotely. During your IEP meeting discussion should be conducted to determine potential placement. If you think that your proposal is not addressed, you should receive prior written notice as why your proposal was rejected.

 

3.      My son has Autism, but his IEP lists his diagnosis as “Multiple Disabilities” and I’m not sure that’s the right fit. Should I call a new IEP meeting to have them change that?

 

Theresa Nicholls

 

Yes, requesting an IEP meeting would be the first step in to initiate a re-evaluation of the student’s specific needs and accurate diagnosis. The re-evaluation can be done anytime during the school year.

 

 

4.      I’ve been checking my district’s website for a plan specific to students receiving special education services should we need to transition to remote and I can’t find anything. I know the Department put up the district CLPs on their website, but are districts required to share that information as well? If I can’t find it, who should I reach out to?

 

Theresa Nicholls

State Board requires that each school district post their CLP’s on their website. This plan must be available at all times. Reach out to your Special Education Director or School Administrator for guidance in locating the Continuous Learning Plan.

 

 Closing Summary of Questions & Answers

 

ESY Services, or Extended School Year is an individualized instruction program for eligible students with disabilities that is beyond the regular school year. The need for ESY Services must be determined on an individual basis by the IEP Team. These services will be supplied over the summer to prevent regression and maintain skills previously taught.

Compensatory Services or other remediation should be available to students that have been denied FAPE or according to individual data suffered learning loss. The need for these services should be determined using progress reports, report cards and other forms of data. IEP teams should also consider the need of each individual student.

Students that turn 18 during their senior year should continue their transition plans whether the student is a virtual student or attending class in person. The Voc Rehab program is still in partnership with our school districts. All transition plans should be finalized by the time students reach their senior year.         

 

We want to thank you for joining us today and we hope you found this helpful! Remember you can sign up for our newsletters and follow us on social media to get regular updates as we get through this public health crisis together! And be sure to join us next week when we talk to Assistant Commissioner Theresa Nicholls about the latest updates from the Department of Special Populations.