(a) As used in this chapter:(a) “Accommodations” means measures taken to allow a student to complete the same assignment or test as other students, but with a change in the timing, formatting, setting, scheduling, response, or presentation. Accommodation is provided for both testing and instruction and changes the way students access information and demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities without lowering learning or performance expectations and without changing academic standards or what is being measured. The purpose is to ensure equal access to the full school experience for students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Accommodation does not change the content of instruction, give students an unfair advantage, or change the skills or knowledge that a test measures.(b) “Comprehensive dyslexia evaluation” is the process of gathering information to identify factors contributing to a student’s difficulty learning to read and spell. An evaluation encompasses identification, screening, testing, diagnosis, and all the other information-gathering involved when the student, his or her family, and a team of professionals work together to determine why the student is having difficulty.(c) “Content-area teacher” includes all subject-area teachers.(d) “Department” means the State Department of Education.(e) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.(f) “Dyslexia diagnosis” means a clear diagnostic statement included in a written evaluation report to document the presence of dyslexia. The evaluation is conducted by a professional psychologist, psychometrist, or speech-language pathologist.(g) “Dyslexia screening” is a brief assessment measuring critical skills and identifying potential risks and is a predictor of future reading success.(h) “Educator preparation program” or “EPPs” means any program that prepares individuals for certification as educators, school administrators, or other school personnel.(i) “Evidence-based” references instructional strategies or practices with clear and convincing proof from scientifically based research studies which have been peer-reviewed.(j) “High-quality instructional materials” or “HQIMs” means instructional curricula and intervention programs, including, but not limited to, textbooks, teacher guides, and supplemental materials, that are grounded in the science of reading and evidenced-based research approaches that help all students achieve grade-level learning goals. HQIMs incorporate best practices for building skills essential to reading, follow a sequential order of lessons that are explicit, systematic, and cumulative, contain challenging texts that build student background knowledge, support academic language development and critical thinking skills across core content areas, and are aligned to a state’s academic standards. These materials are rigorous, comprehensive, and regularly reviewed and updated to align to research and best practices. They also provide curriculum-specific professional development that prepares teachers to effectively plan and prepare lessons and assessments, differentiate instruction, and monitor student progress.(k) “Individual reading plan” or “IRP” means an individually designed reading intervention for a student required under Section 37-197-7.(l) “English Language Learner” or “ELL” means a student identified in accordance with federal law as entitled to English as a second language or bilingual services on the basis of the student’s English language proficiency.(m) “Multi-tiered system of support” or “MTSS” means a framework for supporting and increasing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for all students.(n) “Reading intervention” includes evidence-based strategies from scientifically based reading research frequently used to improve reading where deficiencies exist and includes, but is not limited to, individual instruction, multisensory approaches, dyslexia therapy, tutoring, mentoring, or the use of technology that targets specific reading skills and abilities.(o) “Science of reading” means the large body of evidence that informs how proficient reading and writing develop, why some students have difficulty, and how educators can most effectively assess, teach, and improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties.(p) “Scientifically based reading research” applies rigorous, systematic, and objective methods to gain knowledge from multiple disciplines to understand how children learn to read, together with strategies and methods that can be used to teach children to read and how they can overcome reading difficulties.(q) “Structured literacy” is an evidence-based approach to teaching oral and written language aligned to the science of reading. It is based on the science of how kids learn to read and is characterized by direct, explicit, systematic, sequential, cumulative, and diagnostic instruction in phonology, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics.(r) “System of assessments” means a comprehensive system for use in a school district or charter school that provides screening, diagnostic, and summative assessments of key indicators of reading success, including word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.(s) “Three-cueing system” means a largely antiquated and ineffective style of teaching students to read based on “MSV”: meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues.(t) “Universal screener” means an assessment that is administered three (3) times per year (beginning, middle, and end) to identify or predict students who may be at risk for reading failure and is typically brief and conducted with all students at a particular grade level.
(a) “Accommodations” means measures taken to allow a student to complete the same assignment or test as other students, but with a change in the timing, formatting, setting, scheduling, response, or presentation. Accommodation is provided for both testing and instruction and changes the way students access information and demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities without lowering learning or performance expectations and without changing academic standards or what is being measured. The purpose is to ensure equal access to the full school experience for students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Accommodation does not change the content of instruction, give students an unfair advantage, or change the skills or knowledge that a test measures.
(b) “Comprehensive dyslexia evaluation” is the process of gathering information to identify factors contributing to a student’s difficulty learning to read and spell. An evaluation encompasses identification, screening, testing, diagnosis, and all the other information-gathering involved when the student, his or her family, and a team of professionals work together to determine why the student is having difficulty.
(c) “Content-area teacher” includes all subject-area teachers.
(d) “Department” means the State Department of Education.
(e) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
(f) “Dyslexia diagnosis” means a clear diagnostic statement included in a written evaluation report to document the presence of dyslexia. The evaluation is conducted by a professional psychologist, psychometrist, or speech-language pathologist.
(g) “Dyslexia screening” is a brief assessment measuring critical skills and identifying potential risks and is a predictor of future reading success.
(h) “Educator preparation program” or “EPPs” means any program that prepares individuals for certification as educators, school administrators, or other school personnel.
(i) “Evidence-based” references instructional strategies or practices with clear and convincing proof from scientifically based research studies which have been peer-reviewed.
(j) “High-quality instructional materials” or “HQIMs” means instructional curricula and intervention programs, including, but not limited to, textbooks, teacher guides, and supplemental materials, that are grounded in the science of reading and evidenced-based research approaches that help all students achieve grade-level learning goals. HQIMs incorporate best practices for building skills essential to reading, follow a sequential order of lessons that are explicit, systematic, and cumulative, contain challenging texts that build student background knowledge, support academic language development and critical thinking skills across core content areas, and are aligned to a state’s academic standards. These materials are rigorous, comprehensive, and regularly reviewed and updated to align to research and best practices. They also provide curriculum-specific professional development that prepares teachers to effectively plan and prepare lessons and assessments, differentiate instruction, and monitor student progress.
(k) “Individual reading plan” or “IRP” means an individually designed reading intervention for a student required under Section 37-197-7.
(l) “English Language Learner” or “ELL” means a student identified in accordance with federal law as entitled to English as a second language or bilingual services on the basis of the student’s English language proficiency.
(m) “Multi-tiered system of support” or “MTSS” means a framework for supporting and increasing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for all students.
(n) “Reading intervention” includes evidence-based strategies from scientifically based reading research frequently used to improve reading where deficiencies exist and includes, but is not limited to, individual instruction, multisensory approaches, dyslexia therapy, tutoring, mentoring, or the use of technology that targets specific reading skills and abilities.
(o) “Science of reading” means the large body of evidence that informs how proficient reading and writing develop, why some students have difficulty, and how educators can most effectively assess, teach, and improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties.
(p) “Scientifically based reading research” applies rigorous, systematic, and objective methods to gain knowledge from multiple disciplines to understand how children learn to read, together with strategies and methods that can be used to teach children to read and how they can overcome reading difficulties.
(q) “Structured literacy” is an evidence-based approach to teaching oral and written language aligned to the science of reading. It is based on the science of how kids learn to read and is characterized by direct, explicit, systematic, sequential, cumulative, and diagnostic instruction in phonology, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
(r) “System of assessments” means a comprehensive system for use in a school district or charter school that provides screening, diagnostic, and summative assessments of key indicators of reading success, including word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.
(s) “Three-cueing system” means a largely antiquated and ineffective style of teaching students to read based on “MSV”: meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues.
(t) “Universal screener” means an assessment that is administered three (3) times per year (beginning, middle, and end) to identify or predict students who may be at risk for reading failure and is typically brief and conducted with all students at a particular grade level.