Reading & Dyslexia Handbook Bill reintroduced by Delegate Eric Ebersole and Senator Katie Fry-Hester
On January 31, 2020, Delegate Eric Luedtke and Senator Katie Fry Hester introduced HB 718 and SB 575, the Reading and Dyslexia Handbook bills. The bill passed unanimously in the House Ways & Means Committee, but due to the pandemic and the shortened legislative session the bill did not advance to the Senate.
The Reading & Dyslexia Handbook legislation was reintroduced for the 2021 legislative session by Delegate Eric Ebersole under HB0237 and it is scheduled to be discussed in front of the House Ways & Means Committee on January 20th at 1:00 PM. The companion bill was sponsored by Senator Katie Fry-Hester and cross-filed under SB126; it is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Environmental, Health and Education (EHE) Committee on January 27th at 11:00 AM.
We are asking parents, educators, administrators and community partners to write their representatives in the Maryland General Assembly in support of this legislation. The DDMD Advocacy Tool-Kit provides a Step-by-Step guide to navigating the legislative process and how to engage with representatives.
If you are interested in submitting written / oral testimony and/or meeting with our Senators on the EHE Committee, please fill out our Interest Form so the DDMD Legislative Committee can coordinate with you.
The Reading & Dyslexia Handbook legislation was reintroduced for the 2021 legislative session by Delegate Eric Ebersole under HB0237 and it is scheduled to be discussed in front of the House Ways & Means Committee on January 20th at 1:00 PM. The companion bill was sponsored by Senator Katie Fry-Hester and cross-filed under SB126; it is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Environmental, Health and Education (EHE) Committee on January 27th at 11:00 AM.
We are asking parents, educators, administrators and community partners to write their representatives in the Maryland General Assembly in support of this legislation. The DDMD Advocacy Tool-Kit provides a Step-by-Step guide to navigating the legislative process and how to engage with representatives.
If you are interested in submitting written / oral testimony and/or meeting with our Senators on the EHE Committee, please fill out our Interest Form so the DDMD Legislative Committee can coordinate with you.
Maryland’s 2017 Legislative Dyslexia Task Force Report includes a recommendation to create a Dyslexia Handbook as a result of the findings from the Dyslexia Task Force. The Task Force found that administrators, educators, and parents would benefit from a resource on dyslexia that is electronically accessible to all (p. 52). The Recommendation says:
“This Handbook should reflect the neurobiological and operational definition of dyslexia provided in the dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin and mirrored in this document, and should include evidence-based practice guidelines for identification, assessment, and intervention, service delivery model(s), and progress monitoring strategies and tools. This is a legislative opportunity to establish and fund a Working Group or Dyslexia Advisory Committee to develop the handbook using the Best Practices document presented by the Task Force.”
The Maryland Ready to Read Act (2019, SB 734, Ch. 512), originally included language to create a Dyslexia Handbook. The final bill did not include the handbook language in order to shorten and tighten the bill. The recommendation to create a Dyslexia Handbook is an inexpensive means to provide supplemental information to Maryland’s 24 local control districts so they have access to the best practices to identify and address dyslexia in Maryland.
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