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2023 Wisconsin Act 20 - The Right to Read Act
2023 Wisconsin Act 20 - The Right to Read Act
On July 19, 2023 Governor Tony Evers signed Assembly Bill 321, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 20. The bill relating to literacy, drafted in coordination with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), makes several comprehensive updates to literacy instruction in the state designed to help improve reading and literacy outcomes for K-12 students.
2023 Wisconsin Act 20:
Creates an Office of Literacy to be known as the Wisconsin Reading Center at DPI;
Creates the Council on Early Literacy Curricula, which will include nine members nominated by the state superintendent, speaker of the Assembly, and the senate majority leader and will meet annually to make recommendations to DPI that are then submitted to the Joint Committee on Finance for passive review;
Creates a literacy coaching program through which the Office of Literacy would assign 64 contracted literacy coaches to traditional public schools, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in the choice program to provide support to administrators, school-based literacy coaches, principals, and teachers;
Creates grants to cover 50 percent of the costs of purchasing approved curriculum and instructional materials;
Prohibits the use of instruction or materials that contain the “three-cueing” method of literacy instruction, defined as any model that teaches a student to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues or memory, beginning in the 2024-25 school years;
Increases the frequency of screening and diagnostic reading assessments and prescribes specific interventions, including the creation of personal literacy plans that identify specific skill deficiencies, provide goals and benchmarks of progress, and describe additional services; and
Requires changes in how educators are prepared to teach reading, including prohibiting the state superintendent from approving a teacher preparatory program unless the program prepares a teacher to teach using science-based early literacy instruction and does not incorporate three-cueing and requiring certain educators to take the Lexia Learning Systems LLC, Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) or another program endorsed by the Center for Effective Reading Instruction and that is offered by the Leadership in Literacy Institute or a provider that meets specified criteria.
The 2023-25 biennial budget includes $50 million in the Joint Committee on Finance’s supplemental appropriation for efforts to improve reading and literacy outcomes for K-12 students, including those included in 2023 Wisconsin Act 20
(1:18) WisEye Morning Minute: Improving Literacy in Wisconsin 4/25/23
Full Program | Newsmakers: Improving Literacy in Wisconsin – A Conversation with Rep. Kitchens and Thomas McCarthy
2018 Wisconsin Legislative Council Study Committee on the Identification and Management of Dyslexia
2018 Wisconsin Legislative Council Study Committee on the Identification and Management of Dyslexia
The primary responsibility Joint Legislative Council establish committees to study major issues and problems identified by the Legislature, mostly during the interim in the even-numbered years.
In 2018, there was a Legislative Council Study Committee on the Identification and Management of Dyslexia chaired by Representative Kulp and Senator Schactner.
(1:34) Morning Minute: WI Legislative Council Study Committee on Dyslexia, 7/11/2018
National Dyslexia Legislation
National Dyslexia Legislation
The First Step Act was passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Trump on December 21, 2018. Public Law 115-391 provides a definition of dyslexia:
"The term 'dyslexia' means an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly cause by a difficulty in the phonological processing (the application of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell."
In addition, the First Step Act includes a dyslexia screening provision. Dr. Cassidy, a Senator from Maryland stated in a press release, “Having treated patients in prisons, I learned that illiteracy often leads someone to turn to a life of crime. Dyslexia is a leading cause of illiteracy, so to address illiteracy and incarceration, we must better address dyslexia” (Cassidy, 2018).
The First Step Act was informed by a study published in the Texas Medical Journal which found that approximately 80% of prison inmates are functionally illiterate, with poor single word decoding (the chief feature of dyslexia) accounting for a significant percentage of that rate (Moody et al., 2000).
According to the National Center on Improving Literacy, currently 48 states have passed one or more bills that address dyslexia as it related to K-12 education. State legislation addressed a number of related issues including requirements for screening, pre-service teacher training, in-service teacher training, and intervention.
WI - 43rd State to Pass Dyslexia Legislation
WI - 43rd State to Pass Dyslexia Legislation
In 2018, the WI legislature began learning about the impact of dyslexia with the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Identification and Management of Dyslexia, which resulted in multiple Joint Legislative Council Recommendations to the 2019-20 Legislature:
2019 Assembly Bill 50 - Employing a Dyslexia Specialist at the Department of Public Instruction
2019 Assembly Bill 110 - Developing a guidebook related to dyslexia and related conditions
The “Dyslexia Bill,” 2019 Wisconsin Act 86, required the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to collaborate with an advisory committee comprised of individuals representing the Wisconsin Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (WIBIDA) and the Wisconsin State Reading Association (WSRA) to create an informational guidebook about dyslexia and related conditions. As required by Act 86, the guidebook contains:
Screening processes and tools available to identify dyslexia and related conditions
Interventions and instructional strategies that have been shown to improve academic performance of pupils with dyslexia and related conditions
Resources and services related to dyslexia and related conditions
The informational guidebook will be updated every three years, is shared on DPI’s website, and must be linked on every Wisconsin school district's website.
National Dyslexia Screening Legislation
National Dyslexia Screening Legislation
As of January 2022, the National Center on Improving Literacy reported that 39 states have legislation that requires dyslexia screening, including all the states that border Wisconsin.
Map of States with Legislation Requiring Screening for Dyslexia
Map of States with Legislation Requiring Screening for Dyslexia
Figure 1. From National Center on Improving Literacy (2022).
Wisconsin Foundational Reading Skills & Dyslexia Screening Legislation
Wisconsin Foundational Reading Skills & Dyslexia Screening Legislation
"The Reading Readiness Roadmap", 2021 - SB454, mirrored evidence-aligned legislation in other states and gained bi-partisan support in the Wisconsin legislature.
(1:21) WisEye Morning Minute: Requiring Additional Literacy Screenings for K-2 Students, 9/15/21
(1:47) WisEye Morning Minute: Assembly Education Committee on Reading Readiness Assessments, 10/22/21
(1:40) Sen. Kathy Bernier discusses Roadmap to Reading Success, Senate GOP Weekly Radio Address, 12/10/21
On November 5, 2021 Governor Evers vetoed SB454 in its entirety.
On January 11, 2022, Senator Kathy Bernier and Representative Joel Kitchens introduced an amendment to the Roadmap to Reading Success - Assembly Amendment 2, to Assembly Bill 446.
On April 8, 2022 Governor Evers vetoed AB446 in its entirety,
States that are demonstrating improvement in student performance on the NAEP assessment of reading have legislation in the following areas:
Florida: Screening, pre-service, in-service, and intervention
Massachusetts: Screening
Mississippi: Screening and intervention
Literacy and ESSER III Funding
Literacy and ESSER III Funding
The Joint Finance Committee took up the Department of Public Instruction's (DPI) request for approval of a plan for the receipt of federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in May 2021.
DPI ARPA Plan was modified with the adoption of Motion 57 on November 4, 2021. On January 13, 2022, DPI submitted a modified ESSER III plan to the Joint Finance Committee which updated the Reading Program timelines in Motion 57 and is summarized in a January 19, 2022 Memorandum to the Joint Finance Committee. Once approved by the Committee, the proposal is subject to final approval by the federal United States Department of Education. The plan was determined to be complete by the Co-Chairs on January 19, 2022. Upon approval from the Federal Government, Wisconsin's ESSER Funding plan will include:
Item 8a (NEW proposed deadline December 1, 2022; waiver could be requested to award funds through 2023)
Reimbursement of up to $4,000.00 to school districts and CESAs for direct course costs for staff to attend literacy training, including:
Center for Effective Reading Instruction Accredited Independent Teacher Training Program
International Dyslexia Association Accredited Independent Teacher Training Programs
Lexia Learning, (formerly Voyager Sopris) Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS)
Item 8b (NEW proposed timeline 2021-2022 or 2022-2023 school year)
Grants of up to $25,000 for CESAs that hosts professional development for principals and administrators in early literacy, evidence-based reading instruction, and systems. Specific qualifications are outlined in item 8b. Example providers may include:
AIM Institute Pathways to Literacy Leadership
Lexia Learning (formerly Voyager Sopris) LETRS for Administrators
Schools Cubed Leadership in Literacy Institute
Item 8c (NEW proposed deadline July 31, 2022)
Grants of up to $75,000 to expand evidence-based literacy training at CESA 8 Literacy Center and CESA 9 Academy of Foundational Literacy.
Item 8d
Competitive grants of up to $65,000.00 for CESAs to provide evidence-aligned early literacy audits, adoption of comprehensive evidence-aligned systems and structures, and evidence aligned training and coaching in structured literacy.
Item 8e (NEW timeline - DPI request for bids/proposals by May 1, 2022 and retain an organization by June 1, 2022)
$600,000.00 for independent landscape analysis of teacher preparation programs.
Item 8f (NEW - requires DPI to request a waiver to ensure that funds could be awarded through 2023)
Up to $100,000 to UW system teacher preparation programs participating in the landscape analysis under 8e to address and implement recommendations from the report within 24 months.
Item 8g
Funds unused within 1 year can be used for reimbursement to schools and CESA for direct course costs (Item 8a) and CESAs to expand evidence-based literacy audits, instruction, and coaching (Item 8d).
Podcasts & Videos ESSER Funding
Podcasts & Videos ESSER Funding
Maximizing Equity & ESSER III Funds: Smart Decision-Making for Districts to Accelerate Learning for ALL Students, EDVIEW360, John Hummell & Brittany Martin, COMING 2/22/2022
Why ESSA-Rated Solutions Are Needed to Address Equity Gaps, EDVIEW360, Pam Austin, 6/1/21
Education Funding Series Part 1: The CARES Act, EDVIEW360, John Hummell, 7/26/2021
Education Funding Series Part 2: Understanding ESSA and Other Funding Options, EDVIEW360, Victoria Akosile, SIIA, 9/1/2021
The Courts and Dyslexia
The Courts and Dyslexia
10/12/21 - Rogich et al v. Clark County School District
The Clark County School District violated the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act “both substantively and procedurally” by failing to ensure that the student received instruction using a specific teaching method developed for students with dyslexia.
The district was ordered to reimburse the family $456,990.60 for private school tuition and transportation costs.
7/8/2021 - Student A. et al. v. Berkeley Unified School District Class Action Settlement Agreement
Class action lawsuit filed by four current and former Berkeley Unified School District (“BUSD”) students with reading disorders, including dyslexia
Claimed that BUSD discriminates against and fails to provide students with reading disabilities a Free Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”), to which they are entitled to under federal and state law
The settlement reached requires BUSD to work collaboratively with nationally recognized outside consultants to develop and implement a Literacy Improvement Plan to improve reading and language arts achievement for all students, and especially those with or at risk for reading disabilities, including:
Provide professional development for all staff and administrators.
Identify students at risk for reading disabilities through universal screening.
Use universal screening to inform early intervention.
Implement a grades K-8 system of fall, winter and spring reading benchmark assessments including, but not limited to, letter-sound correspondence, diagnostic surveys of print knowledge, phoneme awareness, phonics, word reading, spelling, written expression, and reading fluency.
Align Tier 2 and Tier 3 reading interventions with the International Dyslexia Association’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading and prohibit the use of Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention or Reading Recovery except in “exceptional circumstances,”
Transition from using the severe discrepancy model to use of the Pattern of Strengths and Weaknesses Model Weaknesses for specific learning disability eligibility.
Monitor implementation with quarterly reports to the school board.
Pay $350,000 in attorney’s fees.
3/01/21 - Minnetonka Public Schools, Independent School District No. 276 v. M.L.K.
Upheld a lower court's ruling that the Minnetonka Schools were in violation of civil rights education law
"The District's failure to identify Student's dyslexia prevented the District from designing an appropriate remedy for his lack of learning progress and thereby deprived Student of educational benefits." - Federal Judge Donovan Frank
7/22/21 - Minnetonka Public Schools (District 276 - Minnetonka, Minnesota) filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit
12/15/21 - Oral arguments heard by a panel of three federal judges
3/11/2020 - Preciado v Board of Education of Clovis Municipal Schools
Upheld finding that the District violated the IDEA's requirement that a parent be an important member of the IEP team by failing adequately to explain Student's Istation scores to Parent
Affirmed orders for the District to:
Either forgo reliance on Istation in future IEPs, or come to IEP meetings ready to explain how Student's Istation results affect her IEP.
Hire a facilitator for future IEP meetings.
Pay for an advocate to appear at the meetings on Parent's behalf.
Upheld finding that District denied Student a free appropriate public education ("FAPE") under the IDEA by:
(1) Relying on Istation scores to gauge her academic progress,
(2) Failing to provide Student with proper, specialized instruction in important reading programs like Orton-Gillingham,
(3) Improperly decreasing the expectations in Student's IEP to make it easier for Student to meet the IEP's goals, and
(4) Failing to follow the IEP requirements that Student receive 300 minutes in special-education reading instruction and 150 minutes in special-education writing instruction per week.
Affirmed the following remedies:
(1) The District must maintain Student in special education through at least the conclusion of sixth grade;
(2) The District must give Student compensatory education in reading, writing, and spelling in the form of 1/1 time with a licensed special-education teacher trained in Orton-Gillingham or similar programs;
(3) Student must receive an independent assistive technology evaluation, including to determine whether she should receive audiobooks; and
(4) The next IEP meeting must be a facilitated IEP, with Parent receiving adequate information to meaningfully participate in it.
Upheld finding that District violated the IDEA by failing to evaluate whether Student required audio versions of assigned text to make appropriate progress.
The Court does not find that Student's absences prevented her from receiving a FAPE.
8/29/ 2011 - Ohio Department of Education Complaint #CP-0130-2011, Letter of Findings
Upper Arlington Schools was in violation of federal and state law when it came to promptly and properly identifying students with learning disabilities and finding them eligible for special education.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
In Ohio, parents demand change for dyslexic kids, AMP Reports, Emily Hanford
CCSD loses another lawsuit over special education program, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Julie Wootton-Greener
Educational Equity for Dyslexic Students: Leveraging a watershed MN court case to drive change, Dyslexia Advocates
Monthly Legal Updates, University Professor Emeritus of Education and Law at Lehigh University, Perry A. Zerkel
Images
Images
Figure 1. National Center on Improving Literacy. (2022). Map of states with legislation requiring screening for dyslexia [Infographic]. State of Dyslexia | National Center on Improving Literacy. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://improvingliteracy.org/state-of-dyslexia
References
References
2019 Wisconsin Act 86, 2019 A. B. 110 (Wis. 2020). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2019/related/acts/86
2023 Wisconsin Act 20, 2023 A.B. 321 (Wis.2023). https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2023/related/acts/20
Cassidy, B., M. D. (2018, December 17). Cassidy announces dyslexia screening provision included in new criminal justice reform bill | U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana [Press release]. https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-announces-dyslexia-screening-provision-included-in-new-criminal-justice-reform-bill
Decoding Dyslexia CA. (2021, July 24). Breaking news: Federal class action dyslexia lawsuit settlement reached against a CA school district! [blog]. Decoding Dyslexia CA. https://decodingdyslexiaca.org/blog/breaking-news-federal-class-action-dyslexia-lawsuit-settlement-reached-against-a-ca-school-district
First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115–391, 115th Cong. (2018). https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ391/PLAW-115publ391.pdf
Markovich, A. (2021, August 2). Berkeley Unified will settle suit claiming it failed students with reading disorders. Berkeleyside. https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/07/30/berkeley-unified-school-district-lawsuit-settlement-agreement-reading-dyslexia-services
Minnetonka Public Schools, Independent School District No. 276 v. M.L.K., No. 0:2020cv01036 - Document 32 (D. Minn. 2021). https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/bb2f5bc8-d1d1-4900-b5d6-a0b05aac25a7/District%20Court%20Memorandum%20Opinion%20and%20Order.pdf
Moody, K. C., Holzer, C. E., 3rd, Roman, M. J., Paulsen, K. A., Freeman, D. H., Haynes, M., & James, T. N. (2000). Prevalence of dyslexia among Texas prison inmates. Texas medicine, 96(6), 69–75.
National Center on Improving Literacy. (2022). State of dyslexia | National Center on Improving Literacy. Retrieved January 9, 2022, from https://improvingliteracy.org/state-of-dyslexia
Preciado v. Bd. of Educ. of Clovis Municipal Sch., 443 F. Supp. 3d 1289 (2020). https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20200312c08
Student A v. Berkeley Unified School District, No. 3:17-cv-02510-JST (2020). https://dredf.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Class-Action-Settlement-Agreement.pdf
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2021). Motion # 57: Modify DPI ARPA Plan. https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/policy-budget/pdf/JCF_motion_57_ESSER_III.pdf
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