Ohio bill to create dyslexia-screening mandate lacks adequate state funding, superintendent says
Columbus Dispatch
An Ohio superintendent representing a large group of school administrators said Tuesday there is not enough money in a bill that would mandate dyslexia screening for young public school students.
Senate Bill 102 would require the screenings for children younger than 6 and create tailored educational programs for those who suffer from the learning disorder.
Dyslexia prevents some people from reading, writing or speaking properly. It affects 20% of the population and afflicts 80% to 90% of all those with learning disabilities, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity.
Kevin Miller, governmental relations director for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and superintendent of the Ottawa Hills school district, said the program would not provide enough funding to cover the testing of students and training for reading specialists to assist students who have dyslexia.
Miller said the screening test for dyslexia costs $1, but administering screenings is estimated to cost the state $177,000 annually.
The increased cost for the school districts stems from the training of the reading specialists, which could take longer than a year to complete.
“Before requiring districts to screen for dyslexia and serve those students, we need to establish the infrastructure necessary in order for districts to successfully meet the components of this legislation,” Miller said.
Sen. William Coley, R-Liberty Township, tested some of Miller’s assertions in a lengthy series of questions. When Coley asked how many school districts have similar dyslexia programs in place, Miller estimated 5% in Ohio.
“You guys are talking about this program — and color me skeptical — as to your number, I think it’s reliably off base on that,” Coley said. “You guys oftentimes will come in here and say, ‘oh, this is an unfunded mandate,’ but come next spring, I anticipate the three of you will be standing there again.”
Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering and a sponsor of Senate Bill 102, said she recalled when the Senate Education Committee worked six years ago to get dyslexia reclassified so the disorder came under special education.
“The fact is, we are not meeting the mandate we put on ourselves, that all children should learn how to read and like to read,” Lehner said. “I think this one of those things we all know is the right thing to do, we just have to have the will and the resources to do it.”
Cole Behrens is a fellow at the E.W. Scripps Statehouse News Bureau.
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