April 2021 Committee on Instruction Item 6
Discussion of 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.28, Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders
April 15, 2021
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the committee to discuss a potential proposed amendment to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.28, Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders. The proposed amendment would update the Dyslexia Handbook: Procedures Concerning Dyslexia and Related Disorders (Dyslexia Handbook) adopted as Figure: 19 TAC §74.28(c) to clarify requirements related to dyslexia screening for students in Kindergarten and Grade 1. This item also provides an opportunity for the committee to consider correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c)(28) and §38.003(a) and (c).
TEC, §7.102(c)(28), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to approve a program for testing students for dyslexia and related disorders.
TEC, §38.003(a), requires that students enrolling in public schools be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the SBOE. The program must include screening at the end of the school year of each student in Kindergarten and each student in Grade 1.
TEC, §38.003(c), requires the SBOE to adopt any rules and standards necessary to administer TEC, §38.003, Screening and Treatment for Dyslexia and Related Disorders.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: A proposed amendment to §74.28 can be presented for first reading and filing authorization at a future SBOE meeting.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted §74.28 effective September 1, 1996. The SBOE amended §74.28 effective August 27, 2018, to align the rule with legislative changes made by House Bill 1886, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017. In February 2018, the SBOE adopted an amendment to §74.28 effective March 13, 2019. The SBOE adopted an amendment to §74.28 effective December 25, 2019.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: Section 74.28 provides guidance to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools for identifying students with dyslexia or related disorders and providing appropriate services to those students.
The 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, passed HB 1886, amending TEC, §38.003, to specify that a student enrolled in public school must be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the SBOE. The legislation required that the program include screening at the end of the school year for all students in Kindergarten and Grade 1. An amendment to §74.28 to align the rule with HB 1886 was approved for second reading and final adoption at the June 2018 SBOE meeting with an effective date of August 27, 2018.
Section 74.28 was amended effective March 13, 2019, to adopt the Dyslexia Handbook in rule as Figure: 19 TAC §74.28(c).
The section was amended again effective December 25, 2019, to require school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) through the Texas Student Data System Public Education Information Management System (TSDS PEIMS) the results of screening for dyslexia and related disorders required at the end of the school year for each student in Kindergarten and each student in Grade 1 in accordance with TEC, §38.003(a).
This item provides the committee with an opportunity to discuss potential updates to the Dyslexia Handbook that would clarify requirements related to dyslexia screening for students in Kindergarten and Grade 1.
Additionally, this item provides the committee with an opportunity to discuss follow up correspondence received by TEA in fall 2020 from the U.S. Department of Education OSEP related to OSEP's 2018 letter of findings related to the state's implementation of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The correspondence indicates that some stakeholders cited the Dyslexia Handbook as a source of ambiguous guidance.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Support Services
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director, Curriculum Standards and Student Support
Attachment:
Text of 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter C, Other Provisions, §74.28, Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders
Separate Exhibit:
Dyslexia Handbook