Grundy Reporter

State Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee)  is hoping schools will soon be required to provide early dyslexia screening to determine whether students have characteristics of the learning disability.

Haas introduced HB 4632 which would require the Illinois State Board of Education to provide technical assistance for specific learning disabilities to schools. If passed, every school district starting in 2022-2023 would have to screen students in kindergarten through second grade for risk factors of dyslexia by using a universal screener.

“It is our job to provide all students with a quality education,” Haas said in a report by House Republicans. “We can’t do that if students with dyslexia are not identified.”

If a student is displaying signs of dyslexia, under the bill additional screening would be provided, according to the House GOP. Starting July 1, 2022, a “multi-tiered” support system would be established to aid teachers, families, and students.

Supporters of the bill recognize that early screenings and follow-up would cause school districts to incur additional costs, but they say the money would be well spent. Left undetected, dyslexia can lead to psychological and medical problems and a higher chance of dropping out of school.

The Illinois State Board of Education handbook defines dyslexia "as a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. It can also include problems in reading comprehension that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

Dyslexia is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders, impacting about 20 percent of the population, and 80-90 percent of those with learning disabilities. It’s a difficult disorder to detect for a myriad of reasons including stigma and lack of detection. An estimated 1 in 5 children in school are dyslexic, but just 5% are identified.

According to the handbook, dyslexia interventions “are most effective when they begin in kindergarten or first grade, oftentimes dyslexia goes undetected until third or fourth grade.”

Early reading problems can manifest as serious reading disabilities later, which makes early screening vital.