HB 2170
Initials CH Page 1 House Engrossed
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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-seventh Legislature
First Regular Session
House: ED DP 12-0-0-0
HB 2170: individualized education programs; dyslexia diagnosis
Sponsor: Representative Gress, LD 4
House Engrossed
Overview
Requires the individualized education program (IEP) of a child with a specific learning
disability to indicate whether the child has been diagnosed with dyslexia.
History
A child with a disability is a child who: 1) is between the ages of 3 and 21; 2) has been
evaluated in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and 3)
is found to have a disability and requires special education and related services. State law,
in accordance with the IDEA, lists the following disability categories that qualify a child as
a child with a disability: 1) autism; 2) developmental delay; 3) emotional disability; 4) hearing
impairment; 5) other health impairments; 6) specific learning disability; 7) mild, moderate or
severe intellectual disability; 8) multiple disabilities; 9) multiple disabilities with severe
sensory impairment; 10) orthopedic impairment; 11) preschool severe delay; 12)
speech/language impairment; 13) traumatic brain injury; and 14) visual impairment. Federal
regulations define specific learning disability as a disorder in the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or using language that may manifest itself in the
imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations,
such as dyslexia (34 C.F.R. § 300.8) (A.R.S. § 15-761).
An IEP is a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed in accordance
with the IDEA. Federal regulations detail how an IEP must be developed, the duties of the
IEP team and the components of the IEP. Among other requirements, an IEP must contain
a statement of: 1) the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional
performance; 2) measurable annual goals; 3) the child's progress towards meeting the annual
goals; and 4) the special education, related services and supplementary aids and services to
be provided (34 C.F.R. § 300.320).
All school districts and charter schools are required to develop policies to provide special
education to all children with disabilities. Children with disabilities must receive special
education programming commensurate with their abilities and needs. If appropriate to meet
the child's needs and ensure access to general education, specially designed instruction that
meets the child's IEP may be delivered in a variety of education settings (A.R.S. § 15-763).
Provisions
1. Mandates the IEP of a child found to need special education and related services due to a
specific learning disability to indicate whether the child has been diagnosed with dyslexia.
(Sec. 1)