C.R.S. tit. 22, art. 20.5 — Education of Children with Dyslexia | Colorado Revised Statutes (2024 edition) — Colorado

C.R.S. § 22-20.5-101 Legislative declaration

22-20.5-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that various educational advocacy groups, including parents of children identified as having dyslexia, have voiced concerns related to the adequacy and effectiveness of the methods and tools for identifying students who have dyslexia and the adequacy of the educational supports for these students. While there have been various efforts at both the state and school district levels to address the issues related to effective identification and support for students with dyslexia, these efforts have not resulted in significant progress in educating these students. Therefore, the general assembly, recognizing the obligation of the state of Colorado to provide educational opportunities to all children that will enable them to lead fulfilling and productive lives, finds that it is necessary to create a working group of parents and educational experts to review the work of educational experts and local education providers in Colorado and in other states in the area of identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia and to use their findings to inform future efforts by the state and local education providers to identify and effectively support students with dyslexia. (2) The general assembly further finds that a pilot program through which the department of education works with a group of volunteer local education providers to use early literacy assessment results to identify markers of dyslexia and provide support to young students who may demonstrate the early markers for dyslexia will strengthen the ability of local education providers throughout the state to identify and effectively support students with dyslexia.

C.R.S. § 22-20.5-102 Definitions

22-20.5-102. Definitions. As used in this article 20.5, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Commissioner of education" or "commissioner" means the office of the commissioner of education created and existing pursuant to section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. (2) "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115. (3) "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. The secondary consequences of dyslexia may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that may impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. (4) "Local education provider" means a school district, a board of cooperative services created pursuant to article 5 of this title 22 that operates a public school, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22, a charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22, or the state charter school institute established in section 22-30.5-503. (5) "Pilot program" means the pilot program to identify markers of dyslexia and enable effective interventions operated pursuant to section 22-20.5-104. (6) "Rural school district" means a school district in Colorado that the department determines is rural, based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area. (7) "Small rural school district" means a rural school district that enrolls fewer than one thousand students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. (8) "Working group" means the working group for identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia convened by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-20.5-103.

C.R.S. § 22-20.5-103 Working group for identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia - convened - duties - report - repeal

22-20.5-103. Working group for identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia - convened - duties - report - repeal. (1) The commissioner of education shall convene a working group for identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia to review data concerning the identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia and efforts in Colorado and other states to improve educational outcomes for students with dyslexia. In convening the working group, the commissioner shall appoint the following members: (a) A parent of a child who is identified as having dyslexia; (b) A parent of a child who is identified as having dyslexia and a disability; (c) A school district literacy specialist; (d) A school district director of special education; (e) A state or national literacy expert; (f) A state or national dyslexia expert; (g) Two elementary grade teachers, one of whom teaches in a rural school district or a small rural school district; (h) A principal who is employed at an elementary school in a rural school district or an employee of a board of cooperative services, created pursuant to article 5 of this title 22, who has expertise as a literacy specialist; (i) A faculty member of an institution of higher education who teaches in an approved educator preparation program for elementary grade teachers; and (j) A member of the local chapter of an international dyslexia association. (2) The working group shall: (a) Analyze current national and statewide data related to students identified as having dyslexia, including but not limited to identification rates and achievement rates; (b) Analyze the implementation and demonstrated effectiveness in other states of statewide legislation for dyslexia screening, educator training, and other dyslexia-related laws; (c) Identify and recommend appropriate dyslexia screening tools and processes as well as comprehensive assessments that address the recognized challenges of dyslexia, including phonological processing, phonemic awareness, and decoding and encoding skills; (d) Identify and recommend a statewide plan for supporting students who are identified as having dyslexia, including specific intervention structures and their components, which must include evidence-based interventions, progress-monitoring systems, and data-collection systems. The recommendations for a statewide plan must consider legal requirements included in the "Colorado READ Act", part 12 of article 7 of this title 22, and its implementing rules; the "Exceptional Children's Educational Act", article 20 of this title 22, and its implementing rules; the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended, and its implementing regulations; and section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973", 29 U.S.C. sec. 701 et seq., as amended, and its implementing regulations. (e) Identify and recommend components of dyslexia awareness training for Colorado educators, including the content, target audience, time frame for training, and projected cost; (f) Identify and recommend educator training for in-state approved programs of preparation for teachers and alternative teacher programs and recommended training for current educators, based on effective practices in other states, as well as recommendations from state and national organizations focusing on literacy. The recommendations concerning educator training may include the content, target audience, time frame for training, and projected cost. tate approved programs of preparation for teachers and alternative teacher programs and recommended training for current educators, based on effective practices in other states, as well as recommendations from state and national organizations focusing on literacy. The recommendations concerning educator training may include the content, target audience, time frame for training, and projected cost. (g) Provide recommendations to the department concerning the design and implementation of the pilot program. (3) In completing the duties described in subsections (2)(c) to (2)(g) of this section, the working group shall analyze and integrate, as appropriate, the work and recommendations of other previous and ongoing state initiatives related to improving the identification and support of students who have dyslexia. (4) The working group shall submit a progress report to the commissioner by December 31, 2019, which must include a summary of the progress the working group is making regarding the items described in subsection (2) of this section and may include preliminary policy recommendations. By July 1, 2020, and by July 1 each year thereafter, the working group shall submit to the commissioner a report of its policy recommendations with regard to the items described in subsection (2) of this section. On or before February 1, 2021, and on or before February 1 each year thereafter, the commissioner shall submit the report, with any recommendations for legislation, to the state board of education and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees. Notwithstanding the requirement in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the requirement to submit the report specified in this subsection (4) continues indefinitely. (5) This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2029. Before the repeal, the working group is scheduled for review in accordance with section 2-3-1203.

C.R.S. § 22-20.5-104 Pilot program - dyslexia markers - effective interventions - created - evaluation report - repeal

22-20.5-104. Pilot program - dyslexia markers - effective interventions - created - evaluation report - repeal. (Repealed)