The resistance also continues in our schools reluctancy to diagnose children who are Neurodiverse; Autism, ADHD and learning difference as well with mental health issues. Why the cost of doing competent evaluations and implementing an IEP.

Incentives.

SB237 was "Sponsored by Decoding Dyslexia and Edvoice, the bill had a long list of supporters including literacy and education experts such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (California), the California Association of School Psychologists and the California Federation of Teachers. It was a high priority issue for the California State PTA and despite outreach by PTA parents asking that the bill be heard, it was not scheduled.

The California Teachers Association notified the Education Committee that it opposed the bill in late June, after unsuccessfully seeking amendments in meetings with the sponsors and the author’s staff. The CTA felt the bill was unnecessary, leads to overidentifying dyslexia in young students, mandates more testing and jeopardizes limited instructional time. Also opposing the bill were the California School Boards Association and Californians Together." Web Link

RELATED: "There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended." Web Link

Dyslexia was discussed at the 1/30/18, 10/9/18, 6/19/19, 11/19/19, 1/19/21, and 1/18/22 PAUSD Board meetings. PAUSD's 2018 Action: "Board acknowledge[s] dyslexia has significant educational implications that must be addressed and establish a commitment to the work that must be done at the District and site level. It is further recommended the Board approve the Dyslexia Resolution certifying the commitment to supporting educators and families in addressing the needs of students with dyslexia." Web Link
PAUSD's 2018 approved plan included Universal Screening for Dyslexia risk, which is currently being done but not codified in Board Policy or state law. Web Link

On 4/22/2022, the Board Policy Review Committee asked that, in a future BPRC meeting, staff either bring a proposed draft to BPRC for discussion or make an official recommendation to not create a PAUSD-only policy. On 10/14/2022, BPRC asked staff to review resolution, draft policy, and state guidelines and make a recommendation. On 11/18/2022, BPRC agreed that staff would bring a detailed recommendation to the Board as a Discussion item. Dyslexia will be removed from the BPRC Matrix (and added back if Board requests it). Web Link

It's not just English learners. Some childing are eager to learn to read while other kids lack the desire. I can see why the Teacher's Union is concerned about identifying children as dyslexic when there might be something else going on.

I think pediatricians should do the screening. They know the family history, and they're not in the business of education which could easily skew the equation.