Missouri's legislative task force on dyslexia announced recommendations on Tuesday it's passed along to state education and legislative leaders to better screen students for reading disorders.
The task force was established by last year's House Bill 2379, sponsored by state Rep. Kathryn Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, the chairperson of the task force.
HB 2379 mandated, with the start of the 2018-19 school year, all public schools will have to conduct dyslexia screenings for students and have "reasonable classroom support consistent with the guidelines" developed by the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from the task force's recommendations.
DESE must have those guidelines in place by the end of 2017.
Swan said Tuesday the task force's recommendation details all students in kindergarten through third grade be screened for dyslexia and related disorders, with first- through third-graders screened within 30 days of the first day of attendance and kindergartners screened no later than Jan. 31 of each year.
It's recommended schools also screen transfer students and any student identified as struggling with reading by teachers, parents or assessments, she said.
For students identified as needing help, "there are specific recommendations from the task force on intervention systems," including "sufficient training for our teachers and instructors," targeted interventions and frequent progress monitoring, she said.
The task force recommended weekly progress monitoring for students identified as needing assistance.
Jennifer Edwards, co-founder of Decoding Dyslexia Missouri, said the recommended screenings "will provide a huge win for parents," because identifying dyslexia has been "a burden on the parents to be able to determine why their child couldn't read," which can be an expensive effort.
"Schools must ensure that staff-designated screeners are trained, and that all administrators and teachers are trained in the characteristics of dyslexia and the necessity of classroom supports that include accessible educational material and assistive technology," Swan said.
She said the task force strongly recommends schools require two hours of annual training for teachers. Current statutory language only requires schools to offer the training.
Kim Stuckey, a DESE director and dyslexia specialist, said the department will offer some training sessions.
DESE's specific guidelines based on the task force's recommendations will include "best practices, support materials and technology resources with the appropriate training for supporting students in the classroom," Swan said.
Stuckey said those guidelines will be released Dec. 31.
She also believes Missouri is the only state in the country with mandated dyslexia support, so other states are watching Missouri's lead.
Swan said 10-20 percent of the population is affected by dyslexia, and according to the National Institutes of Health, "dyslexia is the leading cause of reading failure."
She added reading failure "is the most commonly-shared characteristic of juvenile justice offenders, and it's thought that 80-90 percent of the prison population may be affected."
"This small investment today will have long-term benefits not only for our students and families, but for the economic and social benefits of our communities and for our state," she said.
The task force's final report with its recommendations has been shared with the governor, Senate president pro tem, speaker of the House, Joint Committee on Education and State Board of Education.