• With the recent release of the revised Texas Dyslexia Handbook, districts and leadership will need to work to proactively plan for compliance according to Texas Education Agency.  The handbook provides school districts with information regarding the state’s dyslexia laws and their relation to these federal laws: the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 as amended in 2008 (Section 504), the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  It is vital for educational leaders to follow new referral and testing procedures by acquiring parental consent for a Full Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE).  The principals need to prepare their local system for this change by educating all staff members, assuring open lines of communication with all parties, and administering screeners are completed.

• There is a single pathway now - all students with the suspicion of dyslexia must go through the FIE or FIIE.  After testing is completed then the committee will determine the placement of the student in SPED or under 504. 
•  According to TEA, a district must have procedures in place for their dyslexia program, testing students, and serving their students.
• When districts are preparing for the Dyslexia Review and Monitor, a district will need to use the program evaluation that TEA has created.  
• Dyslexia screeners must be completed at the end of the Kindergarten school year and no later than January 31st for first-grade students.

• 19 TAC §74.28(c) secures that dyslexia instruction "must deliver the instruction with fidelity." Therefore, school districts are encouraged to employ highly trained individuals to deliver dyslexia instruction.  School districts are experiencing a critical shortage in credentialed and highly trained dyslexia therapists and practitioners to provide services to students with dyslexia.  Although funding is now available to help support the hire, locating highly-qualified teachers in this area is proving to still be a struggle.  

• be fast-paced
• include hands-on word study activities for engagement
• inclusion of both decodable and non-decodable text
• self-regulation component
• greater emphasis on fluency instruction
• word study, text reading components, comprehension
• self-regulation components 
• student written response to text

•  teacher-researcher collaboration opportunities
• researched-based, teacher-friendly comprehensive intervention program

• entire classrooms to identify risk as multitiered system of support 
• 3-5 screening pieces each administered in less than 5 minutes
•  positive on the screen indicates a need for an inventory, progress monitoring, and possibly additional or more intensive instruction not to be used as a diagnosis
• differentiated according to appropriate grade-level skills 
• (in grade level one and above) should focus on either timed or untimed reading of short word lists and passages 
• fair and nondiscriminatory

•  States that every school district is obligated to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE)
•  Protections of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) are rooted in the 14th Amendment
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment n also ensures that students 
• Mandates that students are not subject to discriminatory policies and practices but provided meaningful opportunities to learn and equal opportunities to be counted in the publicly reported data system.

• Guarantees a free public education to all students
• Schools must provide the services, resources, and highly-qualified instructors to facilitate meaningful learning for students with Dyslexia or related disorders.

• establish assessment and evaluation standards and procedures for students (Child Find)
•  Develop and implement an individualized education program (IEP) for eligible students with a disability
• specific update under IDEA for dyslexia in 2021 - must seek parental consent for a Full Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE)

• defines dyslexia and related disorders 
• mandates districts to  evaluate for dyslexia at appropriate times
• requires schools to provide treatment to students diagnosed by highly-qualified instructors
• gives the State Board of Education authority to adopt rules and standards for testing, screening, and serving students

• FAPE (free appropriate public education) means that a school’s educational program must provide “more than de minimus” educational benefit.  Schools must ensure that every child is instructed in a challenging way.
• Student's Individualized Education plan must be reasonably calculated to assure students make appropriate progress. This could now apply to students identified with dyslexia.

_{Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE–1, 580 U.S.(2017)} 

• Texas court upholds that school districts must provide intervention for students at-risk of reading difficulties.
• Parent requests for FIIE testing is to be honored unless relevant, deep data can provide evidence otherwise.

_{William V., et al v. Copperas Cove Indep. Sch. Dist, No. 19-51046 5th Cir. (Tex. 2020) Link:  https://www.txcourts.gov/opinions/1951046_5.pdf}

• defines dyslexia as one of the foundations for qualification for a specific learning disability
• inclusive of dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia  manifestation of the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do calculations

• requires that the evaluation and identification of a student with dyslexia be completed by a trained and qualified individual
• Local Education Agencies must provide evidence-based reading programs for identified students by a highly-qualified teacher.
• Full Initial Individual Evaluation must be provided following parental consent and be completed in a timely manner.
• Screenings for early identification must be completed according to the handbook and early intervention is to be provided to those reported as "at-risk" of reading difficulties.  
• School districts will be monitored and audited for compliance.  

• parental notification/consent
• fidelity of testing
• highly-qualified instructors
• researched-based curriculum
• appropriate/timely screenings
• compliance monitoring/reassessment

• providing full FIIE for testing
• hiring highly-qualified instructors
• ARD committee determines LRE placement for SPED or 54 according to diagnosis data
• implementation of early screenings

_{Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE–1, 580 U.S.(2017)}