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| To amend section 3323.01 and to enact section 3323.25 | 1 |
| of the Revised Code to specify dyslexia as a | 2 |
| specific learning disability and to require a | 3 |
| pilot project to provide early screening and | 4 |
| intervention services for children with risk | 5 |
| factors for dyslexia. | 6 |
| Section 1. That section 3323.01 be amended and section | 7 |
| 3323.25 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
| Sec. 3323.01. As used in this chapter: | 9 |
| (A) "Child with a disability" means a child who is at least | 10 |
| three years of age and less than twenty-two years of age; who has | 11 |
| mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a | 12 |
| speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including | 13 |
| blindness), a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic | 14 |
| impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health | 15 |
| impairment, a specific learning disability (including dyslexia), | 16 |
| deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities; and who, by reason | 17 |
| thereof, needs special education and related services. | 18 |
| A "child with a disability" may include a child who is at | 19 |
| least three years of age and less than six years of age; who is | 20 |
| experiencing developmental delays, as defined by standards adopted | 21 |
| by the state board of education and as measured by appropriate | 22 |
| diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the | 23 |
| following areas: physical development, cognitive development, | 24 |
| communication development, social or emotional development, or | 25 |
| adaptive development; and who, by reason thereof, needs special | 26 |
| education and related services. | 27 |
| (B) "County DD board" means a county board of developmental | 28 |
| disabilities. | 29 |
| (C) "Free appropriate public education" means special | 30 |
| education and related services that meet all of the following: | 31 |
| (1) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision | 32 |
| and direction, and without charge; | 33 |
| (2) Meet the standards of the state board of education; | 34 |
| (3) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or | 35 |
| secondary education as otherwise provided by the law of this | 36 |
| state; | 37 |
| (4) Are provided for each child with a disability in | 38 |
| conformity with the child's individualized education program. | 39 |
| (D) "Homeless children" means "homeless children and youths" | 40 |
| as defined in section 725 of the "McKinney-Vento Homeless | 41 |
| Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C. 11434a. | 42 |
| (E) "Individualized education program" or "IEP" means the | 43 |
| written statement described in section 3323.011 of the Revised | 44 |
| Code. | 45 |
| (F) "Individualized education program team" or "IEP team" | 46 |
| means a group of individuals composed of: | 47 |
| (1) The parents of a child with a disability; | 48 |
| (2) At least one regular education teacher of the child, if | 49 |
| the child is or may be participating in the regular education | 50 |
| environment; | 51 |
| (3) At least one special education teacher, or where | 52 |
| appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child; | 53 |
| (4) A representative of the school district who meets all of | 54 |
| the following: | 55 |
| (a) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, | 56 |
| specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of | 57 |
| children with disabilities; | 58 |
| (b) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; | 59 |
| (c) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of | 60 |
| the school district. | 61 |
| (5) An individual who can interpret the instructional | 62 |
| implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the | 63 |
| team as described in divisions (F)(2) to (4) of this section; | 64 |
| (6) At the discretion of the parent or the school district, | 65 |
| other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise | 66 |
| regarding the child, including related services personnel as | 67 |
| appropriate; | 68 |
| (7) Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability. | 69 |
| (G) "Instruction in braille reading and writing" means the | 70 |
| teaching of the system of reading and writing through touch | 71 |
| commonly known as standard English braille. | 72 |
| (H) "Other educational agency" means a department, division, | 73 |
| bureau, office, institution, board, commission, committee, | 74 |
| authority, or other state or local agency, which is not a city, | 75 |
| local, or exempted village school district or an agency | 76 |
| administered by the department of developmental disabilities, that | 77 |
| provides or seeks to provide special education or related services | 78 |
| to children with disabilities. The term "other educational agency" | 79 |
| includes a joint vocational school district. | 80 |
| (I) "Parent" of a child with a disability, except as used in | 81 |
| sections 3323.09 and 3323.141 of the Revised Code, means: | 82 |
| (1) A natural or adoptive parent of a child but not a foster | 83 |
| parent of a child; | 84 |
| (2) A guardian, but not the state if the child is a ward of | 85 |
| the state; | 86 |
| (3) An individual acting in the place of a natural or | 87 |
| adoptive parent, including a grandparent, stepparent, or other | 88 |
| relative, with whom the child lives, or an individual who is | 89 |
| legally responsible for the child's welfare; | 90 |
| (4) An individual assigned to be a surrogate parent, provided | 91 |
| the individual is not prohibited by this chapter from serving as a | 92 |
| surrogate parent for a child. | 93 |
| (J) "Preschool child with a disability" means a child with a | 94 |
| disability who is at least three years of age but is not of | 95 |
| compulsory school age, as defined under section 3321.01 of the | 96 |
| Revised Code, and who is not currently enrolled in kindergarten. | 97 |
| (K) "Related services" means transportation, and such | 98 |
| developmental, corrective, and other supportive services | 99 |
| (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, | 100 |
| interpreting services, psychological services, physical and | 101 |
| occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic | 102 |
| recreation, school nurse services designed to enable a child with | 103 |
| a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as | 104 |
| described in the individualized education program of the child, | 105 |
| counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, | 106 |
| orientation and mobility services, school health services, social | 107 |
| work services in schools, and parent counseling and training, and | 108 |
| medical services, except that such medical services shall be for | 109 |
| diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to | 110 |
| assist a child with a disability to benefit from special | 111 |
| education, and includes the early identification and assessment of | 112 |
| disabling conditions in children. "Related services" does not | 113 |
| include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the | 114 |
| replacement of such device. | 115 |
| (L) "School district" means a city, local, or exempted | 116 |
| village school district. | 117 |
| (M) "School district of residence," as used in sections | 118 |
| 3323.09, 3323.091, 3323.13, and 3323.14 of the Revised Code, | 119 |
| means: | 120 |
| (1) The school district in which the child's natural or | 121 |
| adoptive parents reside; | 122 |
| (2) If the school district specified in division (M)(1) of | 123 |
| this section cannot be determined, the last school district in | 124 |
| which the child's natural or adoptive parents are known to have | 125 |
| resided if the parents' whereabouts are unknown; | 126 |
| (3) If the school district specified in division (M)(2) of | 127 |
| this section cannot be determined, the school district determined | 128 |
| under section 2151.362 of the Revised Code, or if no district has | 129 |
| been so determined, the school district as determined by the | 130 |
| probate court of the county in which the child resides. | 131 |
| (4) Notwithstanding divisions (M)(1) to (3) of this section, | 132 |
| if a school district is required by section 3313.65 of the Revised | 133 |
| Code to pay tuition for a child, that district shall be the | 134 |
| child's school district of residence. | 135 |
| (N) "Special education" means specially designed instruction, | 136 |
| at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a | 137 |
| disability. "Special education" includes instruction conducted in | 138 |
| the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in | 139 |
| other settings, including an early childhood education setting, | 140 |
| and instruction in physical education. | 141 |
| (O) "Student with a visual impairment" means any person who | 142 |
| is less than twenty-two years of age and who has a visual | 143 |
| impairment as that term is defined in this section. | 144 |
| (P) "Transition services" means a coordinated set of | 145 |
| activities for a child with a disability that meet all of the | 146 |
| following: | 147 |
| (1) Is designed to be within a results-oriented process, that | 148 |
| is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of | 149 |
| the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement | 150 |
| from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary | 151 |
| education; vocational education; integrated employment (including | 152 |
| supported employment); continuing and adult education; adult | 153 |
| services; independent living; or community participation; | 154 |
| (2) Is based on the individual child's needs, taking into | 155 |
| account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; | 156 |
| (3) Includes instruction, related services, community | 157 |
| experiences, the development of employment and other post-school | 158 |
| adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of | 159 |
| daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation. | 160 |
| "Transition services" for children with disabilities may be | 161 |
| special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, | 162 |
| or may be a related service, if required to assist a child with a | 163 |
| disability to benefit from special education. | 164 |
| (Q) "Visual impairment" for any individual means that one of | 165 |
| the following applies to the individual: | 166 |
| (1) The individual has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in | 167 |
| the better eye with correcting lenses or has a limited field of | 168 |
| vision in the better eye such that the widest diameter subtends an | 169 |
| angular distance of no greater than twenty degrees. | 170 |
| (2) The individual has a medically indicated expectation of | 171 |
| meeting the requirements of division (Q)(1) of this section over a | 172 |
| period of time. | 173 |
| (3) The individual has a medically diagnosed and medically | 174 |
| uncorrectable limitation in visual functioning that adversely | 175 |
| affects the individual's ability to read and write standard print | 176 |
| at levels expected of the individual's peers of comparable ability | 177 |
| and grade level. | 178 |
| (R) "Ward of the state" has the same meaning as in section | 179 |
| 602(36) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education | 180 |
| Improvement Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1401(36). | 181 |
| Sec. 3323.25. (A) The superintendent of public instruction | 182 |
| shall establish a pilot project to provide early screening and | 183 |
| intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia, | 184 |
| including low phonemic awareness. The state superintendent shall | 185 |
| select three school districts to participate in the pilot project, | 186 |
| one of which shall be located in an urban setting, one of which | 187 |
| shall be located in a suburban setting, and one of which shall be | 188 |
| located in a rural setting. Any school district selected to | 189 |
| participate in the pilot project may establish a partnership with | 190 |
| a regional library or library system for purposes of the pilot | 191 |
| project. To be considered for the pilot project, a school district | 192 |
| shall submit a proposal to the state superintendent that | 193 |
| identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic | 194 |
| awareness and other risk factors for dyslexia, provides for the | 195 |
| enrollment of children identified as having risk factors for | 196 |
| dyslexia in a reading program staffed by teachers trained in | 197 |
| multisensory structured language programs, and includes a | 198 |
| methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program on | 199 |
| the children's identified risk factors. The pilot project shall | 200 |
| operate for three full school years, beginning with the school | 201 |
| year that begins at least three months after the effective date of | 202 |
| this section. | 203 |
| The goal of the pilot project shall be to demonstrate and | 204 |
| evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs | 205 |
| for children with risk factors for dyslexia and to evaluate | 206 |
| whether those programs can reduce future special education costs. | 207 |
| The state superintendent shall apply for private and other | 208 |
| nonstate funds, and shall use available state funds appropriated | 209 |
| to the department of education for the pilot project. | 210 |
| The state superintendent shall establish guidelines and | 211 |
| procedures for the pilot project. | 212 |
| The state superintendent shall consult with the international | 213 |
| dyslexia association or any other nationally recognized | 214 |
| organization that specializes in multisensory structured language | 215 |
| programs for the treatment of dyslexia in establishing and | 216 |
| operating the pilot project. | 217 |
| (B) Under the pilot project, each participating school | 218 |
| district, through early childhood reading instruction and reading | 219 |
| assistance programs, shall screen children six years of age or | 220 |
| younger for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate reading | 221 |
| intervention services for those children suspected of having | 222 |
| dyslexia, and administer assessments, approved by the state | 223 |
| superintendent, to ascertain whether the intervention services | 224 |
| improve those students' reading and learning. When a child is | 225 |
| suspected of having dyslexia, the district shall notify the | 226 |
| child's parent or guardian of that fact and that the child, as | 227 |
| part of the pilot project, is eligible to receive reading | 228 |
| intervention services to measure the effectiveness of early | 229 |
| reading assistance programs. The district shall require the parent | 230 |
| or guardian to indicate in writing that the parent or guardian | 231 |
| voluntarily and knowingly consents to the child's participation in | 232 |
| the pilot project for the provision of reading intervention | 233 |
| services. Each district shall provide to the parents of children | 234 |
| suspected of having dyslexia information about the learning | 235 |
| disability, recommended multisensory treatments, and possible | 236 |
| services under this chapter. | 237 |
| Each participating school district also shall report annually | 238 |
| to the state superintendent data about the operation and results | 239 |
| of the pilot project, as required by the superintendent in the | 240 |
| manner prescribed by the superintendent. | 241 |
| (C) Not later than the thirty-first day of December of the | 242 |
| third school year in which the pilot project is operating, the | 243 |
| state superintendent shall submit a report to the general | 244 |
| assembly, in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code, | 245 |
| containing the superintendent's evaluation of the results of the | 246 |
| pilot project and legislative recommendations whether to continue, | 247 |
| expand, or make changes to the pilot project. | 248 |
| (D) As used in this section, "dyslexia" means a specific | 249 |
| learning disorder that is neurological in origin and that is | 250 |
| characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent | 251 |
| word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities not | 252 |
| consistent with the person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory | 253 |
| capabilities, which difficulties typically result from a deficit | 254 |
| in the phonological component of language. | 255 |
| Section 2. That existing section 3323.01 of the Revised Code | 256 |
| is hereby repealed. | 257 |