Dyslexia Guidance for
Special Education
The Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Dear
Colleague letter on October 23, 2015, to state and local educational
agencies. This letter focuses on the “unique educational needs of children
with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, which are conditions that
could qualify a child as a child with a specific learning disability under
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).” OSERs clarifies
in the letter that “there is nothing in the IDEA that would prohibit the use of
the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia in IDEA evaluation,
eligibility determinations, or Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
documents.” State education agencies and local education agencies are encouraged
to “consider situations where it would be appropriate to use the terms dyslexia,
dyscalculia, or dysgraphia to describe and address the child’s
unique, identified needs through evaluation, eligibility, and IEP
documents.” Further, States are encouraged to “review their policies,
procedures, and practices to ensure that they do not prohibit the use of
the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia in evaluations, eligibility,
and IEP documents.”
OSERS provides further
clarification, however, that “regardless of whether a child has dyslexia
or any other condition explicitly included in this definition of
‘specific learning disability,’ or has a condition such as dyscalculia or
dysgraphia not listed expressly in the definition, the local education
agency (LEA) must conduct an evaluation in accordance with 34 CFR
§§300.304-300.311 to determine whether that child meets the criteria for
specific learning disability or any of the other disabilities listed in 34
CFR §300.8, which implements IDEA’s definition of a ‘child with
a disability.’”
Finally, States are
encouraged to “remind their LEAs of the importance of addressing the
unique educational needs of children with specific learning disabilities
resulting from dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia during IEP team
meetings and other meetings with parents under IDEA.”
DESE joins OSERS and
recommends that LEAs use these terms, when appropriate, to describe and
address a child’s unique needs in evaluation, eligibility, and
IEP documents. DESE further recommends that LEAs review their policies,
procedures, and practices to ensure that they do not prohibit the use of
dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia in special education due process
paperwork. Finally, DESE recommends that LEAs address the unique
educational needs of children with specific learning disabilities
resulting from dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia during IEP
team meetings and other meetings with parents under IDEA.
Under Ark. Code Ann. §
6-41-601 et seq., LEAs are required to provide dyslexia intervention
services to all students who exhibit the characteristics of
dyslexia, including students with IEPs. The IEP committee would determine,
based on the student’s individual needs, the setting in which
appropriately trained personnel will provide dyslexia intervention. The
intervention may be delivered in the general education setting, the
special education setting, or in a combination of the two.
Use of IDEA funds for
dyslexia services
IDEA Part B funds can be
used for dyslexia intervention delivered through the
IEP. Additionally, IDEA specifies that an LEA may use up to 15% of
its IDEA Part B entitlement for early intervention services for any child
in kindergarten through grade 12 who is not currently identified as
needing special education or related services, but who needs additional
academic and behavioral supports to succeed in a general education
environment. These funds are to be used as supplementary funds and should
not be used to supplant local, state, or other federal program dollars.
Dyslexia Information
“Dyslexia” is
characterized by difficulties with:
- accurate word recognition,
- fluent word recognition,
- poor spelling, or
- decoding abilities.
These difficulties
typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language
and are often unexpected in relation to other cognitive
abilities. Many students with IEPs will have deficits in these areas
and will require dyslexia intervention. Dyslexia intervention must be provided by a
trained dyslexia interventionist for all students exhibiting
characteristics of dyslexia.
Additional information
regarding dyslexia can be found on the DESE dyslexia webpage. The Dyslexia
Resource Guide includes information regarding special education and
dyslexia intervention services.