BILL NUMBER: AB 1369 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Frazier
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to add Sections 56025.5, 56031.5, 56049, 56337.6, and
56337.7 to, and to repeal and add Sections 44227.7 and 56245 of, the
Education Code, relating to special education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1369, as introduced, Frazier. Special education: dyslexia.
(1) Existing law requires all children with disabilities residing
in the state, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and
who are in need of special education and related services, to be
identified, located, and assessed. Existing law provides that a pupil
who is assessed as being dyslexic and meets certain eligibility
criteria for the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
category of specific learning disabilities is entitled to special
education and related services. Existing law defines a "specific
learning disability" as a disorder in one or more of the basic
psychological processes involved in understanding or in using
language, and includes in that definition dyslexia and other
specified conditions.
This bill would require local educational agencies to screen all
pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, as
provided, to identify dyslexia or other reading and writing
dysfunctions, and to notify a pupil's parent or legal guardian of any
identified dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunction, as
specified. The bill would define "dyslexia" and "specific learning
disability," as specified. By imposing additional duties on local
educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law encourages local in-service training programs for
regular education teachers and special education teachers to include
a component on, and institutions of higher education that provide
teacher training programs to emphasize, the recognition of, and
teaching strategies for, specific learning disabilities, including
dyslexia and related disorders.
This bill would instead require local in-service training programs
for school psychologists, regular education teachers, and special
education teachers in local educational agencies to include a
component on, and, commencing with the 2016-17 academic year, the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing to require institutions of higher
education that provide teacher training programs to include
instruction in, the recognition of, and appropriate evidence-based
teaching methodologies for, dyslexia or other reading and writing
dysfunctions. By requiring local educational agencies to expand their
local in-service training programs, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(3) This bill would require the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to develop, on or before January 1, 2017, program
guidelines for dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunctions to
be used to assist regular education teachers, special education
teachers, and parents to identify, assess, plan, provide, evaluate,
and improve educational services to pupils, as specified. The bill
would require the Superintendent to adopt, on or before January 1,
2017, an evidence-based screening instrument to identify pupils, and
an evidence-based, multisensory, direct, explicit, structured, and
sequential approach to instructing pupils, who have dyslexia or other
reading and writing dysfunctions.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44227.7 of the Education Code is repealed.
44227.7. The Legislature encourages institutions of higher
education to provide, in teacher training programs, increased
emphasis on the recognition of, and teaching strategies for, specific
learning disabilities, including dyslexia and related disorders.
Experts in the field of these disabilities should be utilized for
that purpose.
SEC. 2. Section 44227.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
44227.7. Commencing with the 2016-17 academic year, the
commission shall require institutions of higher education that
provide teacher training programs to include in those programs
instruction in the recognition of, and appropriate evidence-based
teaching methodologies for, dyslexia, as defined in Section 56025.5,
or other reading and writing dysfunctions, including dyscalculia,
dysgraphia, auditory and visual processing disabilities, and related
disorders.
SEC. 3. Section 56025.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56025.5. "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is
neurological in origin and characterized by difficulties with
accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding
abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
phonological component of language that is often unexpected in
relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective
classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in
reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede
the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Other
characteristics include, but are not limited to, difficulty in
acquiring language skills; inability to comprehend oral or written
language; difficulty in rhyming words; difficulty in naming letters,
recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds, and blending sounds
when speaking and reading words; difficulty recognizing and
remembering sight words; consistent transposition of number
sequences, and letter reversals, inversions, and substitutions; and
difficulty in replication of content.
SEC. 4. Section 56031.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56031.5. "Specific learning disability" includes dyslexia,
dyscalculia, dysgraphia, auditory and visual processing disabilities,
and related disorders.
SEC. 5. Section 56049 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56049. (a) On or before January 1, 2017, the Superintendent shall
develop program guidelines for dyslexia or other reading and writing
dysfunctions to be used to assist regular education teachers,
special education teachers, and parents to identify, assess, plan,
provide, evaluate, and improve educational services to pupils.
(b) The program guidelines shall include characteristics typical
of pupils with dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunctions,
and evidence-based strategies for their remediation.
(c) The Superintendent shall consult with teachers,
administrators, school psychologists, and other educational
professionals involved in the identification and treatment of
dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunctions.
(d) The Superintendent shall disseminate the program guidelines
and provide technical assistance regarding their use and
implementation to parents, teachers, administrators, other education
professionals, and faculty members in teacher training programs of
institutions of higher education.
SEC. 6. Section 56245 of the Education Code is repealed.
56245. The Legislature encourages the inclusion, in local
in-service training programs for regular education teachers and
special education teachers in local educational agencies, of a
component on the recognition of, and teaching strategies for,
specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia and related
disorders.
SEC. 7. Section 56245 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56245. Local in-service training programs for school
psychologists, regular education teachers, and special education
teachers in local educational agencies shall include a component on
the recognition of, and appropriate evidence-based teaching
methodologies for, dyslexia, as defined in Section 56025.5, or other
reading and writing dysfunctions, including dyscalculia, dysgraphia,
auditory and visual processing disabilities, and related disorders.
SEC. 8. Section 56337.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56337.6. (a) On or before January 1, 2017, the Superintendent
shall adopt both of the following:
(1) An evidence-based screening instrument to identify pupils who
have dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunctions.
(2) An evidence-based, multisensory, direct, explicit, structured,
and sequential approach to instructing pupils who have dyslexia or
other reading and writing dysfunctions.
(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, a local educational
agency shall use the screening instrument specified in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) to identify pupils who have dyslexia or other
reading and writing dysfunctions, and shall implement the
evidence-based multisensory approach to instructing pupils who have
dyslexia or other reading and writing dysfunctions specified in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). A local educational agency shall
ensure that teachers receive appropriate training on the screening
instrument and the instruction approach.
SEC. 9. Section 56337.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56337.7. A local educational agency shall screen all pupils
enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, at least once
during the period in which a pupil is enrolled in those grade levels,
to identify dyslexia, as defined in Section 56025.5, or other
reading and writing dysfunctions. If the screening identifies
dyslexia, as defined in Section 56025.5, or other reading and writing
dysfunctions in a pupil, the local educational agency that
administered the screening shall notify the pupil's parent or legal
guardian of the finding in writing within 30 calendar days.
SEC. 10. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.