23.0362.03000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1231
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Strinden, J. Johnson, Pyle, Satrom, Schatz
Senators Cleary, Davison, Kreun, Myrdal
1 A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact sections 15.1-32-25 and 15.1-32-26 of the North
2 Dakota Century Code, relating to mandatory dyslexia screening and the dyslexia screening and
3 intervention program; and to provide for a legislative management report.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
5 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 15.1-32-25 of the North Dakota Century Code is
6 amended and reenacted as follows:
7 15.1-32-25. ReadingDyslexia screening.
8 Each public elementary school shall include in the developing and processing of
9 assessments and screening of reading,administer universal screening for dyslexia which
10 includes the core components of phonetic awareness, decoding, and spelling and which is
11 approved by the superintendent of public instruction. The screening also must be offered if
12 requested by a parent, legal guardian, or teacher.
13 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 15.1-32-26 of the North Dakota Century Code is
14 amended and reenacted as follows:
15 15.1-32-26. Dyslexia screening and intervention - Pilot program - Report to legislative
16 management - Professional development.
17 1. For purposes of this section:
18 a. "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and
19 characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent recognition of words and poor
20 spelling and decoding abilities, independent of the individual's general
21 intelligence level.
22 b. "Specialist trained in dyslexia" means an individual who:
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1 (1) Has expertise providing training in phonological and phonemic awareness,
2 sound and symbol relationships, alphabet knowledge, rapid naming skills,
3 and encoding and decoding skills;
4 (2) Is fluent in the dyslexia intervention process; and
5 (3) Has training in identifying dyslexia.
6 2. Beginning with the 2019-20 school year and continuing through the 2022-23 school
7 year, theThe superintendent of public instruction shall establish and operate a pilot
8 program to provide guidance and recommendations regarding proven strategies and
9 early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia,
10 including low phonemic awareness.
11 3. To be eligible to participate in the program, aEach school district, regional education
12 association, or and special education unit must submit an application to the
13 superintendent whichshall:
14 a. Identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic awareness and other
15 risk factors for dyslexia;
16 b. Provides for the enrollment of children identified as having risk factors for
17 dyslexia in a reading program staffed by specialists trained in dyslexia and
18 multisensory structured language programs; and
19 c. Includes a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program on the
20 identified risk factors of the child.
21 4. Each grantee selected to participate in the program shall:
22 a. Provide low phonemic awareness and other dyslexia risk factor screenings for
23 children under seven years of age through a reading program established under
24 subsection 3;Provide screening for low phonemic awareness and other dyslexia
25 risk factors for children under seven years of age which must be provided by staff
26 trained in dyslexia and multisensory structured language programs;
27 b. Include a process to further evaluate identified risk factors;
28 c. Describe the intervention services for the identified dyslexia risk factors;
29 b.d. Provide reading intervention services to students identified as having
30 dyslexiawith dyslexia characteristics;
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Legislative Assembly
1 c.e. Administer assessments, approved by the superintendent of public instruction, to
2 determine the effectiveness of the programintervention services in improving the
3 reading and learning skills of children enrolled in the programthe child; and
4 d.f. Provide professional development on dyslexia identificationcharacteristics and
5 interventions to grant participants appropriate personnel of the school district and
6 special education unit.
7 5. The board of each participating grantee shall report annually to the superintendent of
8 public instruction regarding the operation, results, and effectiveness of the pilot
9 program in a manner prescribed by the superintendent. Before July 1, 20212024, the
10 superintendent of public instruction shall compile the information andprovide a report
11 to the legislative management with a recommendation whether to continueregarding
12 the pilot program beyond the 2022-23 school year.
Page No. 3 23.0362.03000
Statutes affected: INTRODUCED: 15.1-32-25, 15.1-32-26
Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Representative Schreiber-Beck: 15.1-32-25
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 15.1-32-26, 15.1-32-25
Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Senator Beard: 15.1-32-25
Enrollment: 15.1-02-04, 15.1-13-35.1, 15.1-32-26, 15.1-32-25