BOISE — It was smooth sailing Wednesday for legislation seeking to strengthen Idaho’s efforts to help students with dyslexia.
Senate Bill 1280 passed the Senate 33-0 and now heads to the House for further action.
The bill requires all students in kindergarten through fifth grade to be assessed for characteristics of dyslexia when they first enroll in school. Additional screening would then be provided for students who have dyslexia, to identify the best options for helping them.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in accurately or fluently recognizing words, and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
Sens. Robert Blair, R-Kendrick, and Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville, co-sponsored SB 1280.
During Wednesday’s debate on the Senate floor, Blair noted that his father suffered from dyslexia.
“When he was in school, he was labeled stupid, dummy, a problem child,” Blair said. “Even though that was 80 years ago, the stigma of dyslexia is still alive in Idaho.”
Although his father was gifted in many ways, Blair said, the one thing that terrified him was having to read in public.
“SB 1280 can help today’s students not be afraid,” he said. “I wonder what my father could have been and what he could have achieved if he’d been diagnosed early and provided specific education for his learning disability. I wonder what future generations of Idaho students can achieve by passing SB 1280.”
Crabtree noted that an estimated 20% of Idaho students suffer from dyslexia or related reading disorders. He also said Idaho is the last state in the nation to adopt legislation specifically addressing the condition.
“This legislation gets Idaho up to speed with the rest of the nation,” he said. “We work so much on literacy, but we’ve been neglecting perhaps 20% of our students, saying they’re unable to learn when in fact they simply can’t read because they haven’t been diagnosed properly.”
SB 1280 doesn’t include any additional funding for conducting the reading assessments or for professional development. Crabtree said the State Department of Education has enough funding to handle the necessary work initially. He wants to see what they can do with the existing funds before appropriating more money.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra introduced an alternative dyslexia bill Tuesday. It requests $97,000 for a dyslexia coordinator and $2 million for professional development and other resources, adding that “additional funding (would be needed) to expand training for educators.”
House Education Committee Chairman Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, is co-sponsoring Ybarra’s bill. When SB 1280 gets to the House, he’ll determine if the legislation gets a public hearing.
Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.
