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INTRODUCTION

GUIDELINE OBJECTIVES

1. To clarify and streamline the identification process of students who may meet CISD and state of Texas criteria as dyslexic.

2. To provide guidance to Student Assistance Teams, §504 Committee members and Admission, Review, Dismissal (ARD)/Individual Education Program (IEP) Committee members as they review the needs of students and recommend evaluations.

3. To provide CISD teachers and staff information regarding the characteristics of students with dyslexia.

4. To provide suggestions for teaching strategies and classroom accommodations so that dyslexic students may meet with academic success and progress through the TEKS curriculum.

5. To delineate the Texas and CISD regulations and procedures that must be followed when implementing the Dyslexia program and to provide access to appropriate forms.

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PROCEDURES FOR DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS ELIGIBILIITY

1. Teacher has a concern that a student is dyslexic/not making adequate progress in reading/language arts; teacher contacts parents to set up a parent/teacher conference OR parent has shared a concern or report that a student has dyslexia.


2. General education teacher discusses concerns about the student with the counselor and other staff members and begins to collect and document the appropriate data for the SAT Request Packet. The teacher implements strategies suggested and/or proceeds with the SAT process.

3. Teacher completes the SAT Request Form (SAT 1) and returns it to counselor.

4. Counselor/campus SAT contact person convenes an SAT meeting and notifies all SAT participants of the date/time/location.

·         Committee reviews the information provided by teacher.

·         Committee discusses the student’s progress as compared to same-age/grade peers.

·         Committee will determine the targeted skills and targeted interventions based on the data presented and how the student’s progress will be documented. Teacher may use a variety of resources to include items that accompany the reading/math textbooks, Dyslexia Intervention Kit materials, etc

·         Progress monitoring is documented with a minimum of 6 data points.

·         Committee determines a date to meet to review student’s progress (RECOMMENDATION: 3-6 weeks to allow for sufficient data collection.)

5. Committee reconvenes and SAT determines whether or not the student is successful with the interventions. If the student is not successful, SAT moves to Tier II.

·         Committee reviews the information as updated by teacher.

·         Committee discusses the student’s progress as compared to same-age/grade peers involved in the same or similar intervention support.

·         Committee updates the targeted skills addressed through the targeted interventions, based on existing data.

·         Committee determines which intervention(s) would best address the student’s need and may add/revise/specify previous interventions.

·         Committee determines a date to meet to review student’s progress on new objectives/intervention results; a minimum of 6 data points is recommended.

6. If the SAT Committee determines that a Dyslexia Screening is recommended, the parents are required to give consent by signing the Consult Request Form. If denying a parent's evaluation request, the principal is notified and either a §504 or ARD/IEP Committee is scheduled (per instructions below) to provide all due rights/notices to parents and to complete either the §504 Evaluation Denial form or the Notice of Refusal to Provide Services in Regard to Identification, Evaluation, Placement or Free Appropriate Public Education form.

7. Dyslexia consultation is completed within 30 calendar days and SAT reconvenes to consider information. The new data is reviewed and consultation results are considered. The SAT then revises/intensifies the intervention plan, and a future monitoring date is set.

8. If the student is not successful with Tier II RTI, the SAT committee completes a dyslexia referral and/or generates a referral for a Full Individual Evaluation under special education rules/procedures.

 

STEP 2: STUDENT REFERRED FOR §504 OR SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION

1. Counselor meets with parents, provides parents a copy of the §504 Notice of Rights, reviews the rights with the parents and has parents sign the Receipt for §504 Rights Document. Parents are given a copy of the Special Services Parent Information packet to complete and return as soon as possible.

2. Counselor obtains parent consent for the evaluation using the Notice and Consent for Initial §504 Evaluation.

3. IMMEDIATELY Counselor informs campus Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher and Diagnostician; provides each with a full copy of all SAT and consent forms.

4. Assessments: Counselor: Obtains Special Services Parent Information from parent and makes copies for Language Science Therapist/teacher and Diagnostician; Language Science Therapist/teacher: Administers all appropriate tests for §504 and completes Dyslexia Test Summary; Diagnostician: Administers all appropriate tests for Special Education/Dyslexia Referral and completes Full Individual Evaluation Report.

5. When all assessments are complete (WITHIN 60 SCHOOL DAYS), Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher convenes with the Dyslexia Diagnostic Review Committee (DDRC) and invites the diagnostician, counselor and/or administrator to attend.

6. Counselor schedules a §504 meeting and sends parents the Notice of §504 Meeting.

7. §504 Committee meeting is held; §504 Meeting form and Committee Determination form are completed and copies given to parents along with a second copy of §504 Notice of Rights.

8. If student is eligible, an Individual §504 Plan and Accommodation Plan is developed and copied for parents.

9. If parents do not attend, copies of the above are mailed along with Notice of §504 Evaluation Results.

 

1. SAT Committee completes the Referral for Special Education Services forms (both the "Information from Educational Records" and "Information from Classroom Teacher" portions). Teacher completes the appropriate level of the Academic Competencies Checklist and submits it to the Diagnostician within 5 school days.

2. Counselor meets with parents, provides parents a copy of the ARD Process Guide and Explanation of Rights and Procedural Safeguards of a Parent of a Child with Disabilities in School, and reviews the rights in detail with the parents. Counselor and parents sign the Receipt for Explanation of Procedural Safeguards and counselor completes ARD Process Guide Receipt. Parents are given a copy of the Special Services Parent Information packet to complete and return as soon as possible.

3. Counselor obtains parent consent for the evaluation using the Notice of Full Individual Evaluation and Consent for Full Individual Evaluation Forms.

4. IMMEDIATELY Counselor informs campus Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher and Diagnostician; provides each with a full copy of all SAT and consent forms. Diagnostician becomes case manager.

5. Assessments: Counselor: Obtains Special Services Parent Information from parent and makes copies for Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher and Diagnostician. Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher: collects and researches student data in order to assist the ARD committee decision making process. Diagnostician: Administers all appropriate tests for Special Education/Dyslexia Referral and completes Full Individual Evaluation Report. 

6. When all assessments are complete, the Diagnostician presents the evaluation results to the Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher for consideration by the Dyslexia Diagnostic Review Committee. If appropriate, a campus staffing may subsequently be conducted. The Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher completes the Dyslexia Testing Summary.

7. Diagnostician schedules the ARD/IEP Committee meeting and sends parents the Notice of the Individual Education Program Team Meeting along with a second copy of Explanation of Rights and Procedural Safeguards of a Parent of a Child with Disabilities in School.

8. ARD/IEP Committee meeting is held; Individual Education Program (IEP) document is completed, and, if eligible, parents sign the Consent for Initial Placement Committee Determination form; copies of all are given to parents.

 

9. If parents do not attend, copies of the above are mailed along with the Parents not attending IEP form.

STEP 3: PLACEMENT IN CISD LANGUAGE SCIENCE PROGRAM

If the CISD Language Science Program is recommended, based on the student's assessment results, a member of the §504 or ARD/IEP Committee completes the Criteria and Consent for Entrance into or Continuation in the Language Science Program; parent indicates consent/denial and signs/dates the form.

(Note: If a student is exiting the Language Science Program, a member of the §504 or ARD/IEP Committee completes the Criteria for Exit from Carroll ISD Language Science Program; Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher and parent each sign/date)

STEP 4: REFERRAL LOG

LOGS:

Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher and Diagnostician each add the student's information to their respective referral logs.

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THE LAWS AND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION RULES/DEFINITIONS REGARDING DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS

The student who struggles with reading, writing, and/or spelling often puzzles teachers and parents. Often the student displays adequate intelligence and receives the same classroom instruction that benefits most children. Still the student struggles with some or all of the many facets of reading, writing and/or spelling. This student may be identified as a student with dyslexia.

TEXAS EDUCATION CODE (State Law):
§ 38.003. Screening and Treatment for Dyslexia and Related Disorders

a. Students enrolling in public schools in this state shall be tested for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the State Board of Education.

b. In accordance with the program approved by the State Board of Education, the Board of Trustees of each school district shall provide for the treatment of any student determined to have dyslexia or a related disorder.

c. The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules and standards necessary to administer this section.

d. In this section:

1. "Dyslexia" means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity.

2. "Related disorders" includes disorders similar to or related to dyslexia such as developmental auditory imperceptions, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia, developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th leg., ch 260 § 1, eff. May 30, 1995.

TEXAS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE (State Board of Education Rule)
§ 74.28. Student with Dyslexia and Related Disorders.

a. The board of trustees of a school district must ensure that procedures for identifying a student with dyslexia or a related disorder and for providing appropriate instructional services to the student are implemented in the district. These procedures will be monitored by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) with on-site visits conducted as appropriate.

b. A school district's procedures must be implemented according to the State Board of Education (SBOE) approved strategies for screening, and techniques for treating, dyslexia and related disorders. The strategies and techniques are described in the "Procedures Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders," a set of flexible guidelines for local districts that may be modified by SBOE only with broad-based dialogue that includes input from educators and professionals in the field of reading and dyslexia and related disorders from across the state. Screening should only be done by individuals/professionals who are trained to assess students for dyslexia and related disorders.

c. A school district may purchase a reading program or develop its own reading program for students with dyslexia and related disorders, as long as the program is characterized by the descriptors found in the "Procedures Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders." Teachers who screen and treat these students must be trained in instructional strategies which utilize individualized, intensive, multisensory, phonetic methods and a variety of writing and spelling components described in the "Procedures Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders" and in the professional development activities specified by each district and/or campus planning and decision-making committee.

d. Before an identification or assessment procedure is used selectively with an individual student, the school district must notify the student's parent or guardian or another person standing in parental relation to the student.

e. Parents/guardians of students eligible under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, §504, must be informed of all services and options available to the student under that federal statute.

f. Each school must provide each identified student access at his or her campus to the services of a teacher trained in dyslexia and related disorders. The school district may, with approval of each student's parents or guardians, offer additional services at a centralized location. Such centralized services shall not preclude each student from receiving services at his or her campus.

g. Because early intervention is critical, a program for early identification, intervention, and support for students with dyslexia and related disorders must be available in each district as outlined in the "Procedures Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders."

h. Each school district may provide a parent education program for parent/guardians of students with dyslexia and related disorders. This program should include: awareness of the characteristics of dyslexia; information on effective strategies for teaching dyslexic students; and awareness of information on modification, especially modifications allowed on standardized testing.

OTHER DEFINITIONS:

 

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/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 growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

(Adopted by the International Dyslexia Association Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002)

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CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA AND RELATED DISORDERS

 

The difficulties of a student identified as having dyslexia or a related disorder occur in phonemic awareness and manipulation, single-word decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and/or written composition. These difficulties are unexpected for the student's age, educational level, or cognitive abilities. Additionally, there is often a family history of similar difficulties.

The following are the primary reading/spelling characteristics of dyslexia:

·         Difficulty reading real words in isolation

·         Difficulty accurately decoding nonsense words

·         Slow, inaccurate, or labored oral reading (lack of reading fluency)

·         Difficulty with learning to spell

 

The reading/spelling characteristics are the result of difficulty with the following:

·         The development of phonological awareness, including segmenting, blending, and

·         manipulating sounds in words

·         Learning the names of letters and their associated sounds

·         Phonological memory (holding information about sounds and words in memory)

·         Rapid naming of familiar objects, colors, or letters of the alphabet

 

Secondary consequences of dyslexia may include the following:

·         Variable difficulty with aspects of reading comprehension

·         Variable difficulty with aspects of written composition

·          A limited amount of time spent in reading activities

 

 

 

The following may be associated with dyslexia if they are unexpected for the individual’s age, educational

level, or cognitive abilities.

·         May talk later than most children

·         May have difficulty with rhyming

·         May have difficulty pronouncing words (i.e., busgetti for spaghetti, mawn lower for lawn

·         mower)

·         May have poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants

·         May be slow to add new vocabulary words

·         May be unable to recall the right word

·         May have trouble learning numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, and how to spell and

·         write his or her name

·         Fails to understand that words come apart; for example, that snowman can be pulled apart

·         into snow and man and, later on, that the word man can be broken down still further and

·         sounded out as /m/ /ă/ /n/

·         Has difficulty learning the letter names and their corresponding sounds

·         Has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)—lacks a strategy

·         Has difficulty spelling phonetically

·         Reads dysfluently (choppy and labored)

·         Relies on context to recognize a word

·         Has a history of reading and spelling difficulties

·         Avoids reading aloud

·         Reads most materials slowly; oral reading is labored, not fluent

·         Avoids reading for pleasure

·         May have an inadequate vocabulary

·         Has difficulty spelling; may resort to using less complicated words in writing that are easier

·         to spell

 

Sources for Common Evidence of Dyslexia:

Common Signs, (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2006, from The International Dyslexia Association Web site.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems

at any level. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

Dyslexia Handbook 2007, 2010

 

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REFERRAL AND PLACEMENT GUIDELINES

CISD provides a continuum of programs and services for all students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve who are identified as having dyslexia or a related disorder. All programs and services are accessed ONLY AFTER the individual student's progress has been reviewed by a campus Student Assistance Team (SAT) that has determined that the student may be a student with dyslexia or a related disorder and should be referred for an evaluation. Requests for an SAT Committee meeting may be made by parents, teachers, counselors, etc., however, the SAT guidelines must be followed. These include a classroom observation, implementation/documentation of interventions, completion of forms documenting the student's academic history, meetings with the parent(s) and counselors, etc. The entire process of requesting a review by the campus SAT is delineated in the SAT manual, located in each campus office. When dyslexia or a related disorder is suspected, the campus Dyslexia Therapist/ Language Science Teacher may be consulted and can be included as a member of the student's SAT team.

In evaluating the student's progress, the SAT team will review all current and past information gathered on the student, including assessment information. If appropriate, a dyslexia screening (for which parent permission will be obtained at the SAT meeting, using Consult Request Form) will be conducted by the campus Dyslexia Therapist/Language Science Teacher; the results will be shared at the next SAT meeting. The SAT team will determine whether the student's possible dyslexia/related disorder should be evaluated by CISD personnel through the process delineated by federal, state and CISD guidelines for implementation of §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or through the Special Education process; either process will begin immediately once parent permission is obtained. [Refer to the campus SAT handbook for specific forms/procedures for either §504 or Special Education referral.]

Once the evaluation is completed, either a §504 or Admission, Review, Dismissal/Individual Education Program (ARD/IEP) Committee (if tested via the Special Education guidelines) will be convened. At the §504 or ARD/IEP Committee meeting, if the student is determined to have dyslexia or a related disorder, an individual plan (either a §504 Plan or an Individual Education Plan) will be developed. The plan will determine the extent of programs and services the student needs in order to make adequate yearly progress through the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum. Students are placed in the least restrictive environment, as determined by the §504 or ARD/IEP Committee's determination of the student's educational needs. [Refer to the §504 or Special Education section of the campus SAT handbook for specific forms/procedures.]