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While some states have moved forward with comprehensive programs to address dyslexia and improve reading instruction overall, California's approach has been slow and tentative.
'A Critical First Step:' Dyslexia Screening To Be Mandatory in California Schools
In UCLA Community School's multilingual classrooms, students are encouraged to read books at their precise reading level in multiple languages, according to one of the school's assistant principals.
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When we asked Southern Californians last summer about what it’s like to experience dyslexia, we heard from hundreds of parents about the challenges of supporting their children in a system that fails to address dyslexia.
Many discussed the need for their children's schools to identify dyslexia early, which could help parents address the challenge as proactively as possible.
Yet for years, California has been one of the only states across the country without mandatory screenings for dyslexia.
California’s new state budget, finalized today, changes that. The budget allocates $1 million for mandatory dyslexia screenings and additional support for students having difficulty reading.
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(While the legislature approved a budget today, they do still have to work with the governor to address a deficit. But the bill passed today includes the dyslexia benefit that Gov. Gavin Newsom has championed. Read the full budget summary here.)
DYSLEXIA IN Southern California
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Researchers agree that with the proper interventions and instruction, the vast majority of students with dyslexia can learn to overcome academic challenges and rise to the reading level of their peers. This special series from LAist investigates how California's education system — from early childhood to college to adulthood — can achieve that goal.
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- Part 1: The Science
- Part 2: The Realities Of Early Childhood
- Part 3: Policy Meets Practice
- Part 4: Bringing Dyslexia To College
- Part 5: How Teachers Are Prepared
- Part 6: Through The Cracks
- Part 7: Roundtable: Time, Money, And Self-Advocacy
What happens next?
School districts would have until the 2025-26 school year to begin screening using any of a list of instruments designated by a state panel.
Megan Potente, co-state director of local advocacy group Decoding Dyslexia CA, said she and fellow advocates are ecstatic. While the budget’s language doesn’t go too far in depth, she still feels that it’s “an absolutely critical first step … it’s been so long coming. We aren’t counting our chickens until they hatch, but it’s thrilling to have the support of the governor.”
What should parents know?
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Pamela Cohen is a local literacy advocate and member of LAUSD’s Dyslexia Work Group. She says an important distinction to note is that the new budget will finance dyslexia screening — not testing.
“We're talking about a 10 to 15-minute screener. A short assessment that can help flag if kids have certain struggles in reading,” Cohen said.
The UCSF Dyslexia Center has been designing a tool that aims to detect early signs of reading challenges in kindergarten and first grade, an initiative often touted by the governor.
When we spoke to UCSF’s Marilu Gorno-Tempini for our dyslexia series last summer, she explained that for early elementary schoolers, screening — and not testing — is the responsible route to take.
"I don't want to identify anybody as dyslexic when they're in kindergarten and first grade,” Gorno-Tempini said. “I want to identify them as at risk.”
What happens when a child is identified as at risk?
Cohen said that once a child is identified as at risk for dyslexia, ideally, “there should be some kind of non-special ed intervention, you know, and targeted support for that kid to help them in their reading struggles.”
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“People need educators to be properly trained in what are the effective approaches for struggling readers and kids at risk for dyslexia,” she said.
Teacher support for effective dyslexia intervention is also referenced in the budget — but the chosen methodology of those trainings is unclear.
Cohen believes some parents aren’t thrilled about the screenings because of fears of overidentifying for dyslexia, and labeling their kid with a learning disability they don’t have. But she feels that shouldn’t be the case.
“It should be good news for parents … your kid is getting identified, and they're getting early intervention,” Cohen said. “We're catching it early, and they're gonna get support, they're not going to struggle.”
Cohen added, “The key thing is the effective rollout, and that's where everything usually, unfortunately, goes awry.”
The first signs of success? That the screenings are actually happening.
“The first signs of success will be that all children in California in K–2 are screened using evidence-based, culturally, linguistically, developmentally appropriate screeners,” Potente said. “And parents are informed of children who are showing signs of reading difficulties.”
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Terms To Know
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Dyslexia Terms
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- Phonemes: The smallest units of sound that make up words. For example, while the word “car” is spelled with the letters c-a-r, the phonemes involved are “/k/” and “ar,” or /kar/.
- Phonological awareness: An individual’s awareness of and access to the sound structure of oral language. It is the understanding that spoken language can be divided into smaller units (i.e., words, syllables, and phonemes) and that those units can be identified and manipulated.
- Phonological processing: The ability to understand, mentally store, retrieve and change speech sounds. Someone with a phonological processing deficit has a hard time segmenting written words into smaller parts.
- Decoding: A skill used to break words down into syllables and phonemes.
- Fluency: In reading, fluency refers to the ability to read a text accurately and quickly, focusing on comprehension instead of decoding.
- Dyslexia: A learning condition that affects how a brain processes language, which usually manifests itself in difficulty reading. People with dyslexia often have trouble recognizing letters and understanding how combinations of letters create the sounds that make up our language.
- Dyscalculia: A learning condition that affects a person’s ability to do math, and can make math take longer. Dyslexia can also affect math.
- Dysgraphia: A learning condition that involves difficulty with writing — handwriting, typing, and spelling. Like dyscalculia, dysgraphia has a high rate of co-occurrence with dyslexia.
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Education Terms
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- IDEA: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Federal law that requires students with disabilities to have access to a “free and appropriate education,” including additional services or accommodations.
- IEP: Individualized Education Plan. A plan developed by a support team to ensure that a child who has a disability identified under IDEA and who is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives their education in the least restrictive environment. Children receive a support team that also includes a child’s parents and at least one special education teacher and usually a general education teacher; a school district representative; and other various experts and representatives as necessary.
- Specific learning disability (SLD): One of the 13 disability categories identified in the IDEA. If an individual has an SLD, it means they can have trouble understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may make it difficult to listen, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations. Dyslexia qualifies as a specific learning disability.
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: A series of gradually escalating responses to students struggling in class. This is an umbrella term for the many options for services available to school districts, and is focused on all students, not specifically students in special education.
- Neurodiversity: The idea that all brains interact with the world differently, supporting the notion that there is no one “right” way of neurological thinking or behaving.
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Sources: California Dyslexia Guidelines, U.S. Department of Education
Learn More About Dyslexia
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I want to know more about dyslexia ...
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- California Dyslexia Guidelines — Comprehensive guide from the California Department of Education to help educators and parents identify, assess and support students with dyslexia.
- International Dyslexia Association — membership-based organization that hosts conferences and workshops, and publishes self-assessments and fact sheets on everything from the neuroscience of dyslexia to how to apply for accommodations on college entrance exams. It also publishes some resources in Spanish.
- International Dyslexia Association, Los Angeles Branch — hosts teacher trainings, conferences, and provides grants to support dyslexia programs in local schools. Published fact sheets on dyslexia in English and Spanish.
- California Dyslexia Initiative Free Webinar Series — hosted by the Sacramento County Office of Education and funded by the California Department of Education. Also publishes professional development resources for teachers.
- Learning Disabilities Association of America: Comprehensive informational resources for parents, educators, and adults. Recommendations for helpful apps, programs, and teaching materials. Also provides advice for folks who have just learned they might have a learning disability.
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I want to know more about laws regarding dyslexia and special education ...
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- AB-1369: California Dyslexia Guidelines — under the guidelines, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to provide technical assistance in implementing the guidelines to parents, teachers, school administrators and faculty members in teacher training programs.
- SB-237: Dyslexia Risk Screening — this bill has not been passed.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — IDEA requires school districts to provide a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities. The federal IDEA website has resources for families, including information on individualized education plans (IEPs) and dispute resolution.
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I want to connect with other parents or dyslexia advocates ...
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- Disability Rights California — engages in legal and policy advocacy, and publishes resources for individuals with disabilities and their families.
- Decoding Dyslexia CA Parent Support Groups — Decoding Dyslexia, a grassroots organization made up of families affected by dyslexia and educators, has parent support groups that meet regularly across California.
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I want to go to college ...
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- National Center for College Students with Disabilities - federally funded online source of information, contacts, research and support groups for students with disabilities
- Campus Disability Resource Database - searchable database with contact information for disability resources at some 4,000 U.S. public and private colleges and universities
- Black, Disabled, and Proud: College Students With Disabilities - resources geared toward Black high school and college students, and educators and disability service providers
- Generation Patient - support and advocacy for young adults with chronic medical disabilities
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