IT’S BREAK TIME, LOYAL DAILY DAWG READERS. AFTER TODAY’S DAWG POST THERE WILL BE NO DAILY DAWGS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. ENJOY THE 4TH OF JULY! THE DAWG WILL BE BACK ON MONDAY, JULY 10.

Today we look at one more section of HB 3928, our new law addressing how we serve students with dyslexia. Section Three of the bill is about Child Find. As Loyal Daily Dawg Readers know, finding all of the students who need special education services due to dyslexia has been a flash point for conflict between Texas and the federal Department of Education. The DOE’s investigation of Texas dating back to 2016 uncovered significant problems which the state continues to address. This bill should help. The relevant provision says:

If a district suspects or has a reason to suspect that a student may have dyslexia, including after evaluation or use of a reading diagnosis under Section 28.006 or 38.003, and that the student may be a child with a disability under the IDEA, the district must: (Emphasis added).

I don’t want to regurgitate all that comes after “the district must” but suffice it to say that it requires fulfillment of the Child Find duty. The district must inform the parents of their rights under IDEA, and proceed with evaluation activities that conform with federal and state law.

I hope this provision will be helpful, but it’s also unnecessary. It says nothing that is not already required by federal law. However, it’s a major improvement from an earlier version of 3928. The earlier version of the bill did not include the portion I put in bold above. It would have required districts to seek parental consent for an IDEA evaluation upon a suspicion of dyslexia, regardless of any indication of a need for special education services. There may be some who think that the version actually passed is the same. It’s not. The language in bold incorporates the requirement for an educational need. This is because the child cannot be “a child with a disability under IDEA” unless there is a need for “specially designed instruction” a.k.a. “special ed.”

We’ll have much more to say about this one and all the rest of the new legislation at the annual Back to School tour this fall. Hope to see you there.

I’m outta here for a bit, folks. Taking a two-week break from Dawg Bones and all. So I hope you enjoy some time off for yourselves, and the Dawg will bark again on July 10th.

DAWG BONE: CHILD FIND DUTIES CONTINUE.

Got a question or comment for the Dawg? Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com.