Education
BY CHLOE YOUNG
LISD shifts dyslexia services to be under special education
A new state law requires school districts in Texas to provide special education services to students with dyslexia and heightened the requirements for who can evaluate them. While proponents of the law say the change is designed to improve services for students, Leander ISD officials and some educational organizations have expressed concerns that the changes may put a strain on staff members and result in additional costs for districts. House Bill 3928, passed in 2023, removed the ability for districts to provide instruction to dyslexic students through a Section 504 plan for students with disabilities. By the end of the 2024-25 school year, districts must transition all students needing dyslexia instruction to an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, said Kimberly Waltmon, assistant superintendent of special programs and services for LISD. Prior to the change, some dyslexic students received instruction under
special education while others did so through a Section 504 plan. Some students may continue to receive accommodations for dyslexia under a Section 504 plan, such as more time to take tests, while any students needing to be pulled out of their classes to receive dyslexia-specific instruction must now do so through special education, said Steven Aleman, senior policy specialist for Disability Rights Texas. Of the 2,236 dyslexic students in LISD, 52% received services through a Section 504 plan in the 2023-24 school year, Waltmon said. Districts may now need to re-evaluate dyslexic students to determine if they require specially designed instruction under special education, Aleman said. Additionally, the law outlines new requirements staff must meet to evaluate students and participate in their special education Admission, Dismissal and Review committee meetings, or ARD meetings. According to the new law, qualified staff must now meet one of the following criteria to evaluate students and participate in their special education ARD meetings: Be a licensed dyslexia therapist Have “the most advanced dyslexia-related certification” Meet additional training requirements adopted by the State Board of Education can evaluate students are unclear and could present challenges for the district, she said. The district’s most highly trained dyslexia providers may be restricted to evaluations and ARD meetings, Waltmon said. Additionally, the district’s dyslexia specialists, who provide instruction to students, may no longer participate in case manage- ment without being certified in special education.
Dyslexic students receiving services in Leander ISD
Special education Non-special education
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The context
Diving in deeper
The TEA has encouraged districts to provide dyslexia services under special edu- cation after the agency was subject to a cor- rective action plan from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs in 2018, said Karlyn Keller, division director of school Medicaid services and student solutions for the Texas Association of School Boards. The department’s evaluation included concerns about dyslexic students being excluded from special education. Compared to a Section 504 plan, a special education plan gives parents and students more protections through robust documen- tation and provides greater accountability, special education advocates said.
A dyslexia therapist is the gold standard for evaluating students under the law, but districts have flexibility for their staff to acquire national creden- tials or receive additional training provided by the Texas Education Agency, Aleman said. There were 1,039 licensed dyslexia therapists in Texas as of August, according to the Texas Depart- ment of Licensing and Regulation. Meanwhile, nearly 330,000 public school students in the state have dyslexia, according to the TEA. Becoming a licensed dyslexia therapist requires a master’s degree and at least 900 hours of coursework and training, according to the TDLR. While Waltmon said she believes it will be beneficial to serve all dyslexic students under special education, the new requirements on who
requirements—will continue to advocate for more special education funding. Although the recent changes did not come with any funding, they have costs to districts, TCASE Director of Governmental Relations Andrea Chevalier said. “We’re already underfunded in special education,” Chevalier said. “Now, we’re sending people to training and getting them certified.”
provide more clarity on the new personnel requirement in the draft version of the handbook, which is expected to be finalized by the end of June, Waltmon said. Additionally, TASB, Disability Rights Texas and the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education—which opposed HB 3928 due to its heightened personnel
Going forward
The State Board of Education is working to revise its dyslexia handbook to detail how the new law should be enforced, Aleman said. LISD is asking the SBOE to
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LEANDER - LIBERTY HILL EDITION
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