1Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2act relating to the public school system, including certain
3provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5laws relating thereto," providing for Dyslexia <-Screening and 
6Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program.

7The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8hereby enacts as follows:

9Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
11article to read:

<-12ARTICLE XVII-C

13DYSLEXIA SCREENING PILOT PROGRAM

14Section 1701-C. Short title of article.

15This article shall be known and may be cited as the Dyslexia
16Screening Pilot Program Law.

17Section 1702-C. Definitions.

18The following words and phrases when used in this article

1shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2context clearly indicates otherwise:

3"Department." The Department of Education of the
4Commonwealth.

5"Dyslexia." A specific learning disorder that is
6neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected
7difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
8poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the
9person's intelligence, motivation and sensory capabilities,
10which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
11phonological component of language.

12"Pilot program." The Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program
13established under this article.

14"Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.

15Section 1703-C. Establishment.

16(a) Pilot program.--The department shall establish a
17Dyslexia Screening Pilot Program to provide evidence-based early
18screening and evidence-based intervention services for children
19with risk factors for dyslexia, such as low phonemic awareness.

20(b) School districts.--The department shall select at least
21three school districts to participate in the pilot program. To
22be considered for the pilot program, a school district shall
23submit a proposal to the department that identifies an evidence-
24based method of screening children for low phonemic awareness
25and other evidence-based risk factors for dyslexia, provides for
26the enrollment of children identified as having evidence-based
27risk factors for dyslexia in a reading program staffed by
28teachers trained in evidence-based intervention programs, for
29example, multisensory structured language programs, and includes
30a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program

1on the children's identified risk factors.

2(c) Program operation.--The pilot program shall operate for
3three full school years, beginning with the school year that
4begins at least six months after the effective date of this
5article.

6(d) Evaluation.--The goal of the pilot program shall be to
7evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based early reading
8assistance programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia
9and to evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special
10education costs.

11Section 1704-C. Departmental responsibilities.

12(a) Funds.--The department shall apply for Federal, private
13and other non-State funds and shall use available State funds
14appropriated by the General Assembly for the pilot program.

15(b) Consultation.--The department shall consult with the
16International Dyslexia Association, or any other nationally
17recognized organization that specializes in and has expertise in
18the scientific basis of dyslexia and its treatments, in
19establishing and operating the pilot program.

20(c) Report.--Not later than December 31 of the third school
21year in which the pilot program is operating, the secretary
22shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing the
23secretary's evaluation of the pilot program and legislative
24recommendations whether to continue, expand or make changes to
25the pilot program.

26(d) Guidelines and procedures.--The department shall
27establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program not
28later than three months after the effective date of this
29article.

30Section 1705-C. School district responsibilities.

1(a) Responsibilities.--Under the pilot program, each
2participating school district, through early childhood reading
3instruction and reading assistance programs, shall screen
4children upon school entry in kindergarten through second grade
5for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate evidence-based
6reading intervention services for those children suspected of
7having dyslexia and administer assessments, approved by the
8department, to ascertain whether the intervention services
9improve those students' reading and learning.

10(b) Notification.--When a child is suspected of having
11dyslexia, the participating school district shall notify the
12child's parent or guardian that the child, as part of the pilot
13program, is eligible to receive reading intervention services to
14measure the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs.
15The participating school district shall require the parent or
16guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian
17voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation
18in the pilot program. Each participating school district shall
19provide to the parents of children suspected of having dyslexia
20information about dyslexia and recommended evidence-based
21treatments.

22(c) Report.--Each participating school district shall
23annually report to the department data and information about the
24operation of the pilot program, in the manner prescribed by the
25department.

<-26ARTICLE XVII-C

27DYSLEXIA AND EARLY LITERACY INTERVENTION PILOT PROGRAM

28Section 1701-C. Short title of article.

29This article shall be known and may be cited as the Dyslexia
30and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program Law.

1Section 1702-C. Definitions.

2The following words and phrases when used in this article
3shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
4context clearly indicates otherwise:

5"Department." The Department of Education of the
6Commonwealth.

7"Dyslexia." A condition that is characterized by difficulty
8with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling
9and decoding abilities, which characteristics typically result
10from a deficit in one or more processes related to the
11phonological component of language, that is often unexpected in
12relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of
13effective classroom instruction and that may result in problems
14in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may
15impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. The
16term shall apply only for purposes of the pilot program.

17"Intensive intervention." Explicit, multisensory, synthetic
18phonics instruction and a structured language program delivered
19with fidelity by a trained interventionist. The term shall apply
20only for purposes of the pilot program.

21"Pilot program." The Dyslexia and Early Literacy
22Intervention Pilot Program established under this article.

23Section 1703-C. Establishment.

24(a) Pilot program.--The department shall establish a
25Dyslexia and Early Literacy Intervention Pilot Program to
26provide evidence-based early screening and multitier support
27systems, using evidence-based intervention services for students
28with potential risk factors for early reading deficiencies and
29dyslexia, such as low phonemic awareness, low letter and symbol
30naming and inability to remember sequences.

1(b) Program operation.--The pilot program shall operate for
2three full school years, beginning with the school year that
3begins at least six months after the effective date of this
4article.

5(c) Eligibility.--The department shall select at least three
6school districts to participate in the pilot program. To be
7eligible for the pilot program:

8(1) A school district must enroll 3,000 to 15,000
9students and provide full-day kindergarten.

10(2) Three months after the effective date of this
11section, the school district must submit a proposal to the
12department that identifies how it will meet the guidelines of
13the pilot program's:

14(i) evidence-based core reading program;

15(ii) evidence-based method of screening all
16kindergarten students;

17(iii) evidence-based intervention programs; and

18(iv) a methodology for evaluating the effects of the
19program on the students' identified risk factors.

20Section 1704-C. Department responsibilities.

21(a) Funds.--The department shall apply for Federal, private
22and other non-State funds and shall use available State funds
23appropriated by the General Assembly for the pilot program.

24(b) Consultation.--The department shall consult with the
25International Dyslexia Association, or any other recognized
26organization that specializes in and has expertise with the
27scientific basis of dyslexia and its intervention, in
28establishing, operating and evaluating the pilot program.

29(c) Guidelines and procedures.--No later than three months
30after the effective date of this article, the department shall

1establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program that
2shall include:

3(1) Evidence-based core reading programs that
4incorporate systematic phonemic instruction and develop basic
5reading skills for all students in the pilot program to use.

6(2) An evidence-based screening for low phonemic
7awareness and other evidence-based risk factors for early
8reading deficiencies and dyslexia. The screening shall be
9given to all kindergarten students enrolled in the school
10district three times per school year. The first screening
11shall be at the beginning of the school year, the second
12screening during the middle of the school year and the third
13screening in the final quarter of the school year.

14(3) Intervention measures, including multisensory
15structured language programs for students scoring below the
16benchmark that provide timely targeted instruction and
17strategic reteaching and intensive intervention in identified
18areas.

19(4) Diagnostic assessments for students scoring below
20the benchmark that are nationally standardized, norm-
21referenced screening assessments of phonological awareness,
22alphabetic knowledge, concept of word and grapheme phoneme
23correspondence. The screening shall be demonstrated to have
24predictive validity and classification accuracy.

25Section 1705-C. School district responsibilities.

26(a) Notification.--

27(1) When a student is suspected of having an early
28reading deficiency or dyslexia, the participating school
29district shall notify the student's parent or guardian that
30the student, as part of the pilot program, is eligible to

1receive reading intervention services to measure the
2effectiveness of early reading assistance programs. The
3participating school district shall require the parent or
4guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian
5voluntarily and knowingly consents to the student's continued
6participation in the pilot program. Each participating school
7district shall provide to the parent or guardian of the
8student suspected of having an early reading deficiency or
9dyslexia, information about early reading deficiencies and
10dyslexia and recommended evidence-based resources and
11interventions.

12(2) Participation in the pilot program, screening or
13intervention assistance does not preclude a parent or
14guardian from requesting an evaluation for special education
15at any time, including prior to or during the course of early
16intervention assistance.

17(b) Evaluation.--

18(1) Each participating school district shall annually
19report to the department data and information about the
20operation of the pilot program, in the manner prescribed by
21the department.

22(2) The department shall contract with a nationally
23recognized educational evaluation institution or organization
24to provide an evaluation of the pilot program to review the
25effectiveness of evidence-based early reading assistance
26programs for students with risk factors for early reading
27deficiencies and dyslexia and to determine if the programs
28reduce special education costs. The evaluation shall be
29published on the department's publicly accessible Internet
30website.

1Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.