LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Michigan public schools may soon be required to screen children for signs of dyslexia. That’s according to a bill passed last week, just waiting on a signature from the Governor.
In young children, dyslexia can look like the typical difficulties reading and writing. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can also cause issues with attention, taking directions, and organization. Without early intervention, tutoring, or a specialized education program, the combination can cause major issues for students starting school.
New legislation first introduced by state Senator Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) will add screening tools to the benchmark reading tests that students already take. Those tests will then allow teachers to get students connected to special education and other experts in dyslexia and learning differences.
Once signed into law, teaching programs will also be required to include instructional materials for students with dyslexia and the Department of Education will be ordered to research and provide evidence-based reading curricula shown to improve literacy. The bill will provide professional development for teachers to help them learn how best to support students and require teacher prep institutions to have coursework on the characteristics of dyslexia.
“It is dyslexia screening legislation, but it also requires that we use the reading curriculums that actually help dyslexic kids and all kids read most effectively,” Polehanki said. “This is going to encourage educators to make that shift back to a phonics-based approach and I do believe this is going to help increase literacy scores overall over time.”
The National Dyslexia Association reports 15 – 20% of the population is impacted, that’s equivalent to 1 in every 5 people who deal with some form of dyslexia.
Senator Polehanki said in her 20 years as a high school teacher, she didn’t know what signs to look for in her students and wanted to create a way to get teachers those resources without giving them an extra burden.
“It was very important to me that this would require very little to any additional testing. I wanted that for teachers and kids.” Polehanki said. “It should not be an intensive extra burden for teachers. I was very cognizant when we crafted this legislation to make sure that it wasn’t going to be a ton of extra work.”
The governor is expected to sign the bills into law, and the new programs will take immediate effect with a grace period for schools to begin implementing the new requirements.
Polehanki said she hopes students across Michigan will now have the resources to succeed in school with their learning differences, instead of in spite of them.
