On January 9, 2021, Gov. DeWine signed into law HB 436 which created a number of requirements to support educating dyslexic students. A Dyslexia Committee was established. Three of the tasks of the Committee are to:

· prescribe the number of clock hours of dyslexia-related professional development required for teachers;

· Phases in over three years dyslexia-related professional development requirements for public school teachers

· Develop a Guidebook to support districts in implementing quality instruction of dyslexic students

Click here for more information, including the details of the definition, the charge of the committee, and answers to questions about what is required of educators.

An initial draft of the Guidebook was issued in December and a limited amount of feedback was taken and presented back to the committee which resulted in the “final draft” of the Guidebook which is now available for feedback from the public.  The Department invites the education community to provide input on the draft found in this hyperlink Ohio Dyslexia Guidebook. Please note that this is a draft and not the final version.

Here is the questionnaire to provide feedback. The questionnaire will remain open until January 19^th, 2022.

When you review the questionnaire, you will notice that the handbook is broken into sections and you will be asked how useful the section is.  Then there is a box for elaboration on points you may find important to make.  Do not feel you have to limit your feedback to the usefulness of the Guidebook.  Feel free to comment on any aspect of the section you believe needs changing, clarity, or reinforcement.

One big difference between the initial draft and this final draft is the elimination of the PD requirements as part of the Guidebook.  In the initial draft there was a very detailed outline of the 18 hours the committee is recommending. ODE has indicated that the PD requirements were dropped from the Guidebook because it is not required to be in it.  The Guidebook needs approval of the State Board, but the PD recommendations do not.   If you are concerned about the 18-hour PD requirement, I would advise that in the box with question 12 that deals with certification, you indicate that you understood there is an 18-hour PD requirement being recommended by the committee. Then if you are concerned about the amount or content of PD or the logistics, you should include it in that box.

Attached below are the recommended PD requirements.

It is imperative we, in the field, give feedback on this draft.  I encourage you to read the draft in its entirety, but, because the draft is very lengthy, I am highlighting some of the areas in each section to which you may want to pay particular attention. You may be more interested in one area over another.  Hopefully, this delineation will allow you to focus on your area of interest.

To be clear, keep in mind that “The purpose of this Guidebook is to provide the best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention, and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies using a multi-sensory structured literacy program.” (page 6)

Pages 7-16 – Best Practices in Reading Instruction

Pay particular attention to the chart that delineates structured literacy vs “not structured literacy.”  It clearly suggests that structured literacy is the best approach to instruction.

It seems to suggest one is good and one is not.  Would you agree that this is appropriate?  Why?  Why not?

Also pay attention to the chart that talks about the three tiers of prevention/instruction that starts on page 11.  In this section it discusses the decision making process and the role of the different levels of making decisions in a district (DLT,BLT, TBT, etc.)

Pages 17-26 – Methods of Universal Screening

This section outlines what screening needs to accomplish, particularly at the different tiers.  On page 23 it talks about the importance of progress monitoring and the frequency.  How does this fit into your normal instructional process?

Pages 27-45 - Methods for Intervention and Remediation

This section needs to be scrutinized. There is an outline of the problem-solving method beginning with identifying the problem to evaluating the plan implemented to solve the problem. As you look at what is expected as best practice:

Is it workable within the structure of your school day?

Is the approach outlined possible with the reading program you are currently using?

This section focuses on the structured literacy approach.  Do you already use this approach?  Will implementing it need PD or new resources that are not currently available in your school?

Do the suggestions seem prescriptive? Are there approaches you currently use that would need to change?

Pages 46-48 – Certification in Multisensory Structured Literacy

This section outlines the requirements to become certified in dyslexia instruction.  It should be noted that not all teachers will be required to become certified.  However, for those who do become certified, the section talks about what are the acceptable programs and then what the role of the certified instructor is.  For anyone interested in this, are you in the middle of a program and will it be accepted? 

The rest of the document is made up of resources and does not need to be reviewed.  If you have questions or would like to discuss this, do not hesitate to contact Mark Baumgartner.

Recommended PDandTimeAllotment.docx