Bill Text: NY A05259 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Requires school districts to conduct mandatory early screening for dyslexia for all children commencing in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten and continuing thereafter on an annual basis until each child successfully completes second grade; requires school districts to designate an individual to maintain complete and accurate records containing early screening reports for each child, and to provide resources and materials to the parent and/or guardian of any child who displays indications of dyslexia.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-6)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to education [A05259 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A05259-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5259--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 8, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. SIMON, GALEF, SIMOTAS, LiPETRI, THIELE -- read
          once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education  --   committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law,  in relation to mandatory early
          screening for dyslexia
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 319. Mandatory early screening for dyslexia. 1. All school districts
     4  shall  be  required to conduct full and individual screenings in accord-
     5  ance with this section for purposes of  early  identification,  support,
     6  intervention  and  accommodation  of  children  with  dyslexia and other
     7  learning disabilities. For purposes of this section, the term "dyslexia"
     8  means a specific learning disability that is neurobiological  in  origin
     9  and  that  is  characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or
    10  fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities,  which
    11  difficulty  typically  results from a deficit in the phonological compo-
    12  nent of language and that is inconsistent  with  the  person's  intelli-
    13  gence,  motivation, and sensory capabilities and the provision of effec-
    14  tive instruction.
    15    2. Mandatory early screening for dyslexia shall be conducted  by  each
    16  school  district  using a digital assessment tool that includes targeted
    17  questions designed to quickly and reliably gather certain relevant func-
    18  tional and developmental information from all children described in this
    19  subdivision.  Mandatory  early  screening  shall  commence  during  pre-
    20  kindergarten  or  kindergarten, whichever is earlier, and shall continue
    21  thereafter  on  an  annual  basis  until  such  child  has  successfully
    22  completed the second grade.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08780-04-9

        A. 5259--A                          2
     1    3.  Upon  completion  of  the  administration  of each mandatory early
     2  screening, a copy of each early screening report and any other  findings
     3  shall  be  given to the parent and/or guardian and teachers and teaching
     4  assistants of each child, and the individual designated  in  subdivision
     5  four of this section.
     6    4.  Each  school  district  shall  designate an individual to maintain
     7  complete and accurate records, including copies of each early  screening
     8  report,  for  all  children for the duration of each child's educational
     9  pursuit or until such child reaches the age  of  sixteen,  whichever  is
    10  later.  The  designated individual shall provide resources and materials
    11  to the parent and/or guardian of any child  who  displays  low  phonemic
    12  awareness and other indications of dyslexia.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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