DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of the law
or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 391 Original 2020 Regular Session Marino
Abstract: Revises laws relative to dyslexia for the purposes of screening, diagnosing, and providing
intervention for students.
Dyslexia generally
Present law, relative to dyslexia, provides the following:
(1)Requires the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to adopt a program
for testing students for dyslexia and related disorders and requires school boards to provide
remediation for dyslexic students in accordance with the program.
(2)Requires every child in grades K-3 to be screened at least once for dyslexia.
(3)Requires a student to be referred for dyslexia testing upon request of a parent, student, school
nurse, classroom teacher, or other school personnel.
(4)Provides for implementation of a pilot program relative to dyslexia screening.
(5) Provides two definitions of dyslexia for various present law purposes.
Proposed law repeals present law and provides the following relative to dyslexia:
Definitions
Proposed law defines "dyslexia" as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the
intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in phonological
processing, which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell. Defines "phonological
processing" as meaning the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language.
Screening
Proposed law requires a dyslexia screening program to be administered to each student by a
classroom teacher in the second half of kindergarten or at any time it is requested by a teacher or a
parent or guardian. Prohibits the program from being a progress monitoring tool and requires that
it use a screener developed solely for dyslexia; be evidence-based with proven, published
psychometric validity; and be used for the purpose of determining a student's at-risk status for dyslexia.
Diagnosis
Proposed law, relative to diagnosis, provides the following:
(1)Provides that if screening results indicate that a student is at risk for dyslexia, the school, in
order to determine whether he has dyslexia, shall determine through history, observation, and
psychometric assessment if there are unexpected difficulties in reading and associated
linguistic problems at the level of phonological processing that are unrelated to the student's
intelligence, age, and grade level.
(2)Prohibits the core assessment for the diagnosis of dyslexia from being based on a single test
score or specific number of characteristics and requires that it include the following:
(a)Tests of language, particularly phonology; reading, including real and pseudowords;
reading fluency; spelling; and intellectual ability.
(b)An academic performance review.
(c) A parental interview.
Intervention
Proposed law requires that for students identified as dyslexic, intervention programs shall be
evidence-based and shall provide systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension strategies; provide ample opportunities for writing, reading, and
discussing literature; and be delivered with sufficient intensity and duration.
Rules
Proposed law requires BESE to promulgate rules to implement proposed law provisions in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
Ancillary certification for dyslexia practitioners and therapists
Present law provides for the issuance of an ancillary certificate to a teacher for service as a dyslexia
practitioner or dyslexia therapist. Proposed law retains present law but recodifies it for purposes of
statutory organization.
(Amends R.S. 17:392.1(D) and 2112(Section heading); Adds R.S. 17:392.11 and 392.12; Repeals
R.S. 17:7(11), 24.11, 392.1(B)(2)(a) and (3), 392.2, and 2112(A)(2) and (B))