The 22-member work group assembled to help draft dyslexia guidelines for the State of California held its last meeting on March 24. Now committee members must wait, along with the general public, until August to see what the end product looks like. The Department of Education plans to post the final version of the guidelines in August at their website, as mandated by the law, so they can be available by the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.
The dyslexia guidelines work group was created to provide the input of teachers, school administrators, faculty members in teacher training programs, other educational professionals, medical professionals, and parents in formulating dyslexia program guidelines for the state. The law also mandated the hiring of a full-time education programs consultant to implement the provisions of AB1369. Richard Gifford, who has been selected to fill this position, will provide ongoing technical assistance to all stakeholders on the use and implementation of the dyslexia guidelines. He will also be responsible for maintaining and updating the guidelines on the California Department of Education website as new information and policies arise.
NCBIDA Advisory Board member Nancy Cushen White, EdD, represented IDA on the work group and wrote progress reports on their efforts in previous issues of this publication. She has many decades of experience in consulting with the California Department of Education, including serving on the content review panels for the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment and the STAR. Reflecting back on the dyslexia work group process, she made these observations: “The work group felt very collaborative, for the most part. Members were willing to listen to each other.” She added that work group members were surprised to find out at the last meeting that they would not learn what will be included in the guidelines until their public release at the end of the summer. She remains optimistic that the final version will provide the supportive, evidence-based information parents and educators require to provide the best possible education for students with dyslexia.
NCBIDA has formed its own committee to help parents and educators access and interpret the guidelines when they are released. For more information check our website in late August, or send an email to norcal@dyslexiaida.org.