The budget approved last week by the Missouri legislature includes some money for screening children for dyslexia while they are in kindergarten through the third grade. Those screenings are required under a bill the legislature approved two years ago.
That bill, House Bill 2379, was sponsored by Cape Girardeau Republican Kathryn Swan. It required those screenings to begin in the coming school year and created a task force to develop recommendations for how they should be conducted.
The budget includes $250,000 that would help some schools pay for those screenings.
Students who have dyslexia often struggle in every subject in school, can fall behind their peers, and even be victims of ridicule because of their struggling. Swan said beginning to screen all students for dyslexia will reveal earlier which students have it and need to be educated differently so that they don’t have those struggles.
Swan said identifying earlier in life those who have dyslexia and then helping them deal with it could also save the state money in the long run in a number of ways, not the least of which being to keep some of those students off a path that often leads to prison.
Swan said she would like to have seen more than $250,000 go toward dyslexia screenings, but was grateful that the state could provide any money toward that purpose. She also said the fact that there is now a line in the budget to support screenings increases the likelihood that the state will spend more toward them in future years.
Swan has spent several legislative sessions working on issues related to dyslexia. She said after realizing that one in five people must deal with that condition, she saw that those people need help.
“We had to do something not only to help the quality of life for people, we had to do something because of the impact it has on our prisons and the rest of society, because that does impact the rest of society,” said Swan. “So it just became critical and we had to do something, and I felt as the educational community we were not being responsible if we were not addressing this need because it is such a significant need.”
HB 2379 also required additional training for teachers so that they can recognize the signs of a possible dyslexia diagnosis.
“We’re going to screen grades K-3, so if there’s a student outside that – maybe there’s a student that transfers in – so we want teachers to have the knowledge in order to be able to determine, ‘You know, there might be something going on here, I think we need to screen this student,’ or, ‘Let’s try moving him or her closer to the board,’ or, ‘Let’s not make them read aloud in a round-robin,’ or, ‘Let’s give them more time for their test,’ or, ‘Let’s give them an oral test,’” said Swan. “We’ve got to help arm the teachers with information so they know some simple things they can do in the classroom to help.”
The House and Senate agreed last week on a $28.3-billion spending proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That plan will next go to the governor for his consideration.
Earlier stories:
Task Force on Dyslexia issues recommendations for dyslexia screenings of Missouri students
Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia holds first hearing, Rep. Swan selected as chair