MISSION
- To raise dyslexia awareness
- To empower families and communities to support children with reading difficulties and dyslexia
- To inform policy-makers on best practices to identify, educate and support students with dyslexia in Maryland public schools.
Guiding Principles
Policy Goals 2019
UNIVERSAL READING SCREENING: PREVENTING READING FAILURE
Require EARLY screening to determine which students are at risk for reading difficulties and/or disabilities before they begin to fall behind. The preventative framework to support reading and writing literacy is called Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and is also known as Response to Intervention (RtI). Universal screening is the first step in a multi-level prevention framework or model that aims to prevent students from falling behind in reading.
The Ready to Read Act of 2019 will require that students in PK-1 are screened to determine if they are at risk for reading failure. Those students determined to be at risk will be further assessed and provided instruction and intervention in their area/s of need for as long as needed. Last year's bill is linked and the 2019 version is not yet ready. See HB 910 & SB 548, 2018 General Assembly
IN-SERVICE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Require schools to provide in-service professional development to teachers on dyslexia, foundational reading instruction, appropriate evidence-based interventions for dyslexia and screening/identification for dyslexia.
BEST PRACTICES FOR READING INSTRUCTION
Require dyslexia intervention programs that are evidence-based and teach foundational reading and language skills that can be accessed by both general and special education populations.
Instruction and interventions must be structured, explicit, systematic, and cumulative and be designed to promote understanding, memory, recall, and use of spoken and written language. Instruction must also include components that focus on phonological skills, phonics and word analysis, spelling, word recognition and oral reading fluency, grammar and syntax, text comprehension, writing, and study skills. Structured Literacy defined
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES & ACCOMMODATIONS
Ensure access to appropriate accommodations including “assistive technologies” in the public school setting to SUPPORT students with dyslexia. See recommendations Dyslexia Task Force Report & Recommendations 2016
TEACHER CERTIFICATION IN READING
On July 19th, 2019, Maryland will require a separate reading test for initial certification of Early Childhood, Elementary Education, ESOL, and Special Education Teachers (birth-grade 3, grades 1-8, and grades 6-12).
About Teaching Reading: Elementary Education, 5205 (ETS)
The Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary Education test focuses on the knowledge and skills a teacher must have to support reading development at
the elementary level. It reflects the five essential components of effective reading instruction as identified by the National Reading Panel and included in ESSA, Sec. 2221, U.S.C. 20: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, along with other foundational reading skills students must develop, such as word recognition and the application of print concepts.
In addition, the test assesses the individual’s knowledge of how to support developing literacy as an integrated skill, starting with oral language development and building to include developing writing skills in parallel with reading development. Test questions call on the individual’s knowledge of research-based reading practices as well as the ability to apply knowledge and principles to instructional situations. The test taker will be required to analyze and respond to situations involving both classes and individual students at the grade levels from kindergarten through grade six, including students with diverse needs.
The Maryland State Board of Education voted unanimously to support this requirement on December 4, 2018. The requirement will take effect on July 19, 2019.
Expected Outcomes: Requiring reading certification should have a domino effect on teacher preparation institutions. The coursework and certification assessment should also align with the revised Reading Course Work Standards developed by a working group of educators and higher education representatives. Students in classrooms with new teachers or teachers new to Maryland will have the benefit of an educator with the knowledge and practice to teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills to all students. New teachers will also have the benefit of a one year practicum and supervised mentoring/coaches to help ease their transition.
Next Steps: If local school districts find that teachers continue to arrive in-service without the skills and knowledge to teach reading, a closer look at higher education institutions and their reading courses will be needed. Teacher preparation institutions may also be required to report their pass/fail rates annually on their website.
DEFINE DYSLEXIA
A common thread among dyslexia advocates is to establish a universal definition and understanding of “dyslexia” in the state education code. In Maryland, there is not a statutory definition of dyslexia; however, the Technical Assistance Bulletin on SLD: Focus on Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia, 2016/MSDE defines these three common learning disabilities.
- Decoding Dyslexia Maryland supports public education and the work of our teachers and educators. Educators are the most valuable asset of a school system and we support the work of the Kirwan Commission to pay teachers more and professionalize the industry.
- We work closely with policy makers to ensure that all students receive evidence based reading instruction -- instructional equity -- no matter their race, ethnicity, country of origin, dialect, disability, access to books, poverty, or other potentially limiting social, linguistic, environmental, ethnic or cultural factor.
- Schools of higher education & local education agencies must provide educators with the knowledge and skills they need to systematically and explicitly teach reading/writing, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency & comprehension.
- There can be no equity, no access, no learning if READING INSTRUCTION does not teach a student how to manipulate sounds of language (phonemic awareness) before they learn to read and then to match sounds to letters while learning to read (phonics/decoding).
Policy Goals 2019
UNIVERSAL READING SCREENING: PREVENTING READING FAILURE
Require EARLY screening to determine which students are at risk for reading difficulties and/or disabilities before they begin to fall behind. The preventative framework to support reading and writing literacy is called Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and is also known as Response to Intervention (RtI). Universal screening is the first step in a multi-level prevention framework or model that aims to prevent students from falling behind in reading.
The Ready to Read Act of 2019 will require that students in PK-1 are screened to determine if they are at risk for reading failure. Those students determined to be at risk will be further assessed and provided instruction and intervention in their area/s of need for as long as needed. Last year's bill is linked and the 2019 version is not yet ready. See HB 910 & SB 548, 2018 General Assembly
IN-SERVICE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Require schools to provide in-service professional development to teachers on dyslexia, foundational reading instruction, appropriate evidence-based interventions for dyslexia and screening/identification for dyslexia.
BEST PRACTICES FOR READING INSTRUCTION
Require dyslexia intervention programs that are evidence-based and teach foundational reading and language skills that can be accessed by both general and special education populations.
Instruction and interventions must be structured, explicit, systematic, and cumulative and be designed to promote understanding, memory, recall, and use of spoken and written language. Instruction must also include components that focus on phonological skills, phonics and word analysis, spelling, word recognition and oral reading fluency, grammar and syntax, text comprehension, writing, and study skills. Structured Literacy defined
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES & ACCOMMODATIONS
Ensure access to appropriate accommodations including “assistive technologies” in the public school setting to SUPPORT students with dyslexia. See recommendations Dyslexia Task Force Report & Recommendations 2016
TEACHER CERTIFICATION IN READING
On July 19th, 2019, Maryland will require a separate reading test for initial certification of Early Childhood, Elementary Education, ESOL, and Special Education Teachers (birth-grade 3, grades 1-8, and grades 6-12).
About Teaching Reading: Elementary Education, 5205 (ETS)
The Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary Education test focuses on the knowledge and skills a teacher must have to support reading development at
the elementary level. It reflects the five essential components of effective reading instruction as identified by the National Reading Panel and included in ESSA, Sec. 2221, U.S.C. 20: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, along with other foundational reading skills students must develop, such as word recognition and the application of print concepts.
In addition, the test assesses the individual’s knowledge of how to support developing literacy as an integrated skill, starting with oral language development and building to include developing writing skills in parallel with reading development. Test questions call on the individual’s knowledge of research-based reading practices as well as the ability to apply knowledge and principles to instructional situations. The test taker will be required to analyze and respond to situations involving both classes and individual students at the grade levels from kindergarten through grade six, including students with diverse needs.
The Maryland State Board of Education voted unanimously to support this requirement on December 4, 2018. The requirement will take effect on July 19, 2019.
Expected Outcomes: Requiring reading certification should have a domino effect on teacher preparation institutions. The coursework and certification assessment should also align with the revised Reading Course Work Standards developed by a working group of educators and higher education representatives. Students in classrooms with new teachers or teachers new to Maryland will have the benefit of an educator with the knowledge and practice to teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills to all students. New teachers will also have the benefit of a one year practicum and supervised mentoring/coaches to help ease their transition.
Next Steps: If local school districts find that teachers continue to arrive in-service without the skills and knowledge to teach reading, a closer look at higher education institutions and their reading courses will be needed. Teacher preparation institutions may also be required to report their pass/fail rates annually on their website.
DEFINE DYSLEXIA
A common thread among dyslexia advocates is to establish a universal definition and understanding of “dyslexia” in the state education code. In Maryland, there is not a statutory definition of dyslexia; however, the Technical Assistance Bulletin on SLD: Focus on Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia, 2016/MSDE defines these three common learning disabilities.
- Dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin for a definition: Dyslexia TAB
- Dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia "drop-down" menu on the e-IEP form
- Dyslexia Task Force Report & Recommendations 2016