S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9116

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 28, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  O'DONNELL  --  read once and referred to the
  Committee on Education

AN ACT to establish a pilot  program  to  provide  early  screening  and
  intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. (a) The commissioner of education  is  hereby  directed  to
establish  a  pilot  program to provide early screening and intervention
services for children with risk  factors  for  dyslexia,  including  low
phonemic awareness. The commissioner shall select three school districts
to participate in the pilot program, one of which shall be located in an
urban  setting, one of which shall be located in a suburban setting, and
one of which shall be located in a rural setting.  Any  school  district
selected to participate in the pilot program may establish a partnership
with  a  regional  library  or  library system for purposes of the pilot
program. To be considered for the pilot program, a school district shall
submit a proposal to the commissioner which:
  (1) identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic  aware-
ness and other risk factors for dyslexia;
  (2)  provides for the enrollment of children identified as having risk
factors for dyslexia in a reading program staffed by teachers trained in
multisensory structured language programs; and
  (3) includes a methodology for evaluating the effects of  the  reading
program on the children's identified risk factors.
  (b) The goal of the pilot program shall be to demonstrate and evaluate
the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs for children with
risk  factors  for  dyslexia  and to evaluate whether those programs can
reduce future special education costs.
  (c) The commissioner shall establish guidelines and procedures for the
pilot program. The commissioner shall  consult  with  the  international
dyslexia  association  or  any  other nationally recognized organization
that specializes in multisensory structured language  programs  for  the
treatment of dyslexia in establishing and operating the pilot program.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13667-01-6
              

A. 9116                             2

  (d)(1)  Under  the  pilot program, each participating school district,
through early  childhood  reading  instruction  and  reading  assistance
programs, shall:
  (i)  screen  children  six  years of age or younger for indications of
dyslexia;
  (ii) provide appropriate reading intervention services for those chil-
dren suspected of having dyslexia; and
  (iii) administer assessments, approved by the commissioner, to  ascer-
tain  whether  the intervention services improve those students' reading
and learning.
  (2) When a child is suspected of having dyslexia, the  district  shall
notify  the  child's parent or guardian of that fact and that the child,
as part of the pilot program, is  eligible  to  receive  reading  inter-
vention  services  to measure the effectiveness of early reading assist-
ance programs. The district shall require  the  parent  or  guardian  to
indicate in writing that the parent or guardian voluntarily and knowing-
ly  consents  to  the child's participation in the pilot program for the
provision of reading intervention services. Each district shall  provide
to  the  parents  of  children  suspected of having dyslexia information
about the learning disability, recommended multisensory treatments,  and
possible services under this pilot program or the education law.
  (3)  Each  participating  school district shall report annually to the
commissioner data about the operation and results of the pilot  program,
as  required by the commissioner in the manner prescribed by the commis-
sioner.
  (e) For the purposes of this act, "dyslexia" means a specific learning
disorder that is neurological in origin and  that  is  characterized  by
unexpected  difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent  with  the  person's
intelligence,  motivation,  and sensory capabilities, which difficulties
typically result  from  a  deficit  in  the  phonological  component  of
language.
  (f)  The  pilot  program  shall  operate  for three full school years,
beginning with the next succeeding school  year  that  begins  at  least
three months after the effective date of this section.
  S  2.  The commissioner of education shall apply for private and other
nonstate funds, and shall use available state funds appropriated to  the
department  of  education  for the pilot program established pursuant to
section one of this act.
  S 3. The commissioner of education shall submit a report to the gover-
nor and the legislature no later than the thirty-first day  of  December
of  the  third  school  year  in  which  the  pilot program is operating
containing the commissioner's evaluation of the  results  of  the  pilot
program  and legislative recommendations whether to continue, expand, or
make changes to the pilot program.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.