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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2768 By: Randleman
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to education; creating the Dysgraphia
and Education Task Force; providing termination date;
stating purpose of task force; providing for
membership; providing deadline for appointments;
providing for filling of vacancies; providing
deadline for organizational meeting; directi ng
election of a chair and vice -chair; providing for
meetings; prohibiting travel reimbursement for task
force members; providing duties of task force;
providing for staff assistance; requiring task force
to issue report to the Legislature and Governor by a
specified date; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-194,
which relates to professional development programs;
including dysgraphia in annual dyslexia professional
development program; amending 70 O.S. 2021, Section
1210.517, which relates to the dyslexia handbook;
including information about dysgraphia in the
handbook; renaming handbook to dyslexia and
dysgraphia handbook upon d ate certain; requiring
inclusion of certain task force stakeholders in
handbook review process; directing handbook revisions
to include certain information about dys graphia;
providing for noncodification; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law not to be
codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
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A. There is hereby created, to continue until December 31,
2023, the "Dysgraphia and Education Task Force ". The purpose of the
task force shall be to add information about dysgraphia to the
dyslexia handbook that will p rovide guidance for schools, students ,
and parents in identification, intervention, and support of students
with dysgraphia through accommodations and assistive technology.
B. The task force shall be comprised of ten (10) members as
follows:
1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee;
2. A student with dysgraphia, appointed by the Speaker of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives;
3. A classroom teacher, appointed by the President Pro Tempore
of the Oklahoma State Senate ;
4. A special education teacher, appointed by the Governor;
5. A school district director of special services, appointed by
the Governor;
6. Two members who are certified school psychologists, one
appointed by the Spe aker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
and one appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State
Senate;
7. A professor or instructor employed by an Oklahoma
institution of higher education who studies or provides in struction
in dysgraphia, appointed by the Governor;
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8. A member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, appointed
by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives; and
9. A member of the Oklahoma State Senate, appointed by the
President Pro Tempore of the Okl ahoma State Senate.
C. Appointments to the task force shall be made by September 1,
2022. Members of the task force shall serve at the pleasure of the
appointing authority. A vac ancy on the task force shall be filled
by the appointing authority.
D. The task force shall conduct an organi zational meeting no
later than October 1, 2022. The task force shall elect a chair and
vice-chair at the organizational meeting. A majority of t he members
present at a meeting shall constitute a quorum to conduct busine ss.
E. The task force shall be aut horized to meet at such time s as
may be required in order to fulfill the duties imposed upon the task
force by law. Members of the task force sha ll not be reimbursed for
travel expenses.
F. Due to dysgraphia being poorly understood and often
undiagnosed, the task force shall:
1. Study how to effectively identify students who have
dysgraphia identified through possible reading and broad written
language scores;
2. Study the response-to-intervention process (RTI), as well as
other effective research -based approaches in writing, reading, and
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literacy to identify the appropriate measures for assisting students
with dysgraphia;
3. Make recommendation s for appropriate resources and
interventions for students with reading or writing difficulties,
including dysgraphia and broad written language disorder; and
4. Include this information in the handbook as provided in
Section 1210.517 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes for schools,
teachers, and families to use as a resource.
G. Staff assistance for the task force shall be provided by
staff of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma
State Senate.
H. The task force shall issue a report of its findings to the
Legislature and Governor no l ater than December 1, 2023.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 6-194, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 6-194. A. The district boards of education of this
state shall establish professional development programs for the
certified teachers and administrators of the di strict. Programs
shall be adopted by each board based upon recommendations of a
professional development committee appointed by the board of
education for the district. For the fiscal years ending June 30,
2011, and June 30, 2012, a school district board of education may
elect not to adopt a nd offer a professional development program f or
certified teachers and administrators of the district. If a school
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district elects not to adopt and offer a professional development
program, the district may expend any monies allocated for
professional development for any purpose related to the suppo rt and
maintenance of the school district as determined by the b oard of
education of the school district.
B. Each professional development committee shall include
classroom teachers, administrators, school coun selors or licensed
mental health providers, a nd parents, guardians or custodians of
children in the school di strict and shall consult with a higher
education faculty. A majority of the members of the professional
development committee shall be composed of classroom teachers. The
teacher members shall be selected by a designated administrator of
the school district from a list of names submitted by the teachers
in the school district. The members selected shall be sub ject to
the approval of a majority vot e of the teachers in the district.
C. In developing program recommendations, each professional
development committee shall annually utilize a data -driven approach
to analyze student data and determine district and sch ool
professional development needs. T he professional development
programs adopted shall be directed toward development of
competencies and instruc tional strategies in the core curriculum
areas for the follow ing goals:
1. Increasing the academic performan ce data scores for the
district and each school site;
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2. Closing achievement gaps among student subgroups;
3. Increasing student achievement as d emonstrated on state -
mandated tests and the ACT;
4. Increasing high school graduation rates; and
5. Decreasing college remediation rates.
Each program may also include components on classroo m management
and student discipline strategies, outreach to pare nts, guardians or
custodians of students, special education, and racial and ethnic
education, which all perso nnel defined as teachers in Section 1 -116
of this title shall be required to comple te on a periodic basis.
The State Board of Education shall prov ide guidelines to assist
school districts in developing and i mplementing racial and ethnic
education components into professional development progr ams.
D. At a minimum of once an academic yea r a program shall be
offered which includes the following:
1. Training on recognition of child abuse and neglect;
2. Recognition of child sexual abuse;
3. Proper reporting of suspected abuse; and
4. Available resources.
E. One time per year, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year,
training in the area of autism sh all be offered and all resident
teachers of students in early childhood programs through grade three
shall be required to complete the autism train ing during the
resident year and at least one time every three (3) years
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thereafter. All other teachers and education support professionals
of students in early childhoo d programs through grade three shall be
required to complete the autism training at le ast one time every
three (3) years. The auti sm training shall include a minimum
awareness of the characteris tics of autistic children, resources
available and an introdu ction to positive behavior supports to
challenging behavior. Each adopted program sha ll allow school
counselors to receive at leas t one-third (1/3) of the hours or
credit required each year thro ugh programs or courses specifically
designed for school coun selors.
Districts are authorized to utilize any means for professional
development that is not prohibited by law including, but not limited
to, professional development provided by the district, any state
agency, institution of higher education, or any pri vate entity.
F. One time per year, beginning in the 2020-2021 2022-2023
school year, a dyslexia and dysgraphia awareness program shall be
offered. At a minimum, the program shall include:
1. Training in awareness of dyslexia and dysgraphia
characteristics in students;
2. Training in effective classr oom instruction to meet the
needs of students with dyslexia or dysgraphia, or both; and
3. Available dyslexia and dysgraphia resources for teacher s,
students and parents.
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G. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, each
certified teacher in t his state shall be required by the dis trict
board of education to meet the professi onal development requirements
established by the board, or estab lished through the negotiation
process. Except as otherwise provided for in this subsection, the
professional development requirements established by each board of
education shall require eve ry teacher to annually complete a mini mum
number of the total nu mber of points required to maintain
employment. Failure of a ny teacher to meet district board of
education professional development requirements m ay be grounds for
nonrenewal of such teacher' s contract by the board. Such failure
may also be grounds for n onconsideration of salary increments
affecting the teacher. For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2011,
and June 30, 2012, a certified teacher shal l not be required to
complete any points of t he total number of professional develo pment
points required. Pr ovided, a teacher may elect to complete some or
all of the minimum number of points required for the two (2) fiscal
years and any points completed shall be counted toward the total
number of points required to maintain employment. If a teacher does
not complete some or all of the minimum number of points required
for one (1) or both fiscal years, the total numbe r of points
required to maintain emplo yment shall be adjusted and reduced by the
number of points not completed.
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H. Each district shall annually s ubmit a report to the State
Department of Education on the di strict level professional
development needs, act ivities completed, expenditures, and r esults
achieved for each school year by each goal as provided in subsection
C of this section. If a school d istrict elects not to adopt and
offer a professional developm ent program as provided for in
subsection A of this section, the district shall not be required to
submit an annual report as requi red pursuant to this subsection but
shall report to the State De partment of Education its election not
to offer a program and all professional development activities
completed by teachers and administrators of t he school district.
I. Subject to the availa bility of funds, the Department shall
develop an online system f or reporting as required in subsection H
of this section. Th e Department shall also make such information
available on its website.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 70 O.S. 2021, Section 1210.517, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1210.517 A. The State Department of Education shall
maintain the dyslexia handboo k created by the Dyslexia and Ed ucation
Task Force pursuant to Section 1, Chapter 261, O.S.L. 2017 and
provide information about dysgraphia reported by the Dysgr aphia and
Education Task Force pursuant to Section 1 of this act that includes
guidance, technical assistance and training to assist all local
school systems, studen ts and families in the implementation of
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evidence-based practices for instructing students with
characteristics of dyslexia and dysgraphia. Beginning January 1,
2024, the dyslexia ha ndbook shall be known as the dyslexia and
dysgraphia handbook.
B. The Department shall review the handbook and make revisions,
as necessary, but at a minimum of every three (3) years, with
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, previous members of the
Dyslexia and Education Task F orce, the Dysgraphia and Education Task
Force, and the State Advisory Panel created pursuant to Part B of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act . Previous members
of the Task Force task forces shall be consulted when making
revisions to the handbook. Each member of the Task Force task
forces not available for the review shall be replaced by an
individual meeting the criteria of the original appointment in order
to maintain the original composition of the Task Force task forces.
C. Any revisions to the handbook shall include, but not be
limited to, the following information for sc hool districts screening
students in kindergarten and grades one through three who have been
identified through the response-to-intervention process as having
characteristics of dyslexi a or dysgraphia:
1. Evidence-based practices designed specifically for students
with characteristics of dysl exia or dysgraphia;
2. Characteristics of targeted instruction for dyslexia and
dysgraphia;
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3. Guidance on developing instructional plans for stu dents with
characteristics of dyslexia or dysgraphia;
4. Best practices for reading and writing instruction aligned
with the science of reading;
5. Guidance for selecting instructional materials that address
dyslexia, dysgraphia and other reading or writing difficulties;
6. Suggested training programs; and
7. Guidance on dysgraphia and dyscalculia.
SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
58-2-10876 MJ 03/02/22