STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7086--A
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      April 4, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SIMON, GALEF -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in
          accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing  a  pilot
          program to provide early screening and intervention services for chil-
          dren with risk factors for dyslexia
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 319. Dyslexia screening; pilot program. 1. The commissioner is here-
     4  by directed to establish a pilot program to provide early screening  and
     5  intervention  services  for  children  with  risk  factors for dyslexia,
     6  including low phonemic awareness. The commissioner  shall  select  three
     7  school districts to participate in the pilot program, one of which shall
     8  be  located  in  an  urban  setting,  one of which shall be located in a
     9  suburban setting, and one of which shall be located in a rural  setting.
    10  Any  school  district  selected  to participate in the pilot program may
    11  establish a partnership with a regional library or  library  system  for
    12  purposes of the pilot program. To be considered for the pilot program, a
    13  school district shall submit a proposal to the commissioner which:
    14    (a)  identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic aware-
    15  ness and other risk factors for dyslexia;
    16    (b) provides for the enrollment of children identified as having  risk
    17  factors for dyslexia in a reading program staffed by teachers trained in
    18  multisensory structured language programs; and
    19    (c)  includes  a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading
    20  program on the children's identified risk factors.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06023-03-8

        A. 7086--A                          2
 
     1    2. The goal of the pilot program shall be to demonstrate and  evaluate
     2  the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs for children with
     3  risk  factors  for  dyslexia  and to evaluate whether those programs can
     4  reduce future special education costs.
     5    3.  The commissioner shall establish guidelines and procedures for the
     6  pilot program. The commissioner shall  consult  with  the  international
     7  dyslexia  association  or  any  other nationally recognized organization
     8  that specializes in multisensory structured language  programs  for  the
     9  treatment of dyslexia in establishing and operating the pilot program.
    10    4.  (a)  Under  the pilot program, each participating school district,
    11  through early  childhood  reading  instruction  and  reading  assistance
    12  programs, shall:
    13    (i)  screen  children  six  years of age or younger for indications of
    14  dyslexia;
    15    (ii) provide appropriate reading intervention services for those chil-
    16  dren suspected of having dyslexia; and
    17    (iii) administer assessments, approved by the commissioner, to  ascer-
    18  tain  whether  the intervention services improve those students' reading
    19  and learning.
    20    (b) When a child is suspected of having dyslexia, the  district  shall
    21  notify  the  child's parent or guardian of that fact and that the child,
    22  as part of the pilot program, is  eligible  to  receive  reading  inter-
    23  vention  services  to measure the effectiveness of early reading assist-
    24  ance programs. The district shall require  the  parent  or  guardian  to
    25  indicate in writing that the parent or guardian voluntarily and knowing-
    26  ly  consents  to  the child's participation in the pilot program for the
    27  provision of reading intervention services. Each district shall  provide
    28  to  the  parents  of  children  suspected of having dyslexia information
    29  about the learning disability, recommended multisensory treatments,  and
    30  possible services under this pilot program or this chapter.
    31    (c)  Each  participating  school district shall report annually to the
    32  commissioner data about the operation and results of the pilot  program,
    33  as  required by the commissioner in the manner prescribed by the commis-
    34  sioner.
    35    5. For the purposes of  this  section,  "dyslexia"  means  a  specific
    36  learning  disorder that is neurological in origin and that is character-
    37  ized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition
    38  and by poor spelling and decoding  abilities  not  consistent  with  the
    39  person's  intelligence,  motivation,  and  sensory  capabilities,  which
    40  difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological  compo-
    41  nent of language.
    42    6. The pilot program shall operate for three full school years, begin-
    43  ning  with  the  next  succeeding school year that begins at least three
    44  months after the effective date of this section.
    45    § 2. The commissioner of education shall apply for private  and  other
    46  nonstate  funds, and shall use available state funds appropriated to the
    47  department of education for the pilot program  established  pursuant  to
    48  section one of this act.
    49    § 3. The commissioner of education shall submit a report to the gover-
    50  nor  and  the legislature no later than the thirty-first day of December
    51  of the third school  year  in  which  the  pilot  program  is  operating
    52  containing  the  commissioner's  evaluation  of the results of the pilot
    53  program and legislative recommendations whether to continue, expand,  or
    54  make changes to the pilot program.
    55    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.