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��� �

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John O’Connor

greatinstruction@bellsouth.net

678.243.8957

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13 Big Ideas about SB 48 (regarding Dyslexia) and the

Georgia Early Literacy Act

© John O’Connor

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A Little about Me

  • Served in public education for almost 30 years
    • Special Education Teacher
    • Georgia Department of Education
    • Local Districts
      • Assistant Director
      • Executive Director
      • Assistant Superintendent
      • Director
    • Co-Chair of Georgia Dyslexia Collaborative
    • Retired!!!

©John O’Connor

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Now, a little about you…

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  • Teachers
  • Principals
  • Assistant Principals
  • Instructional Coaches
  • Central Office Leaders
  • Others?

©John O’Connor

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All of your roles are critically important for this work

©John O’Connor

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Thank You!!!

Thank You!!!

Thank You!!!

©John O’Connor

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A Little History

  • Historically, schools and districts did not use the term dyslexia, even though the term is in the IDEA legislation
  • May 2019 – Georgia Senate Bill 48 became law.
    • Requires school systems to identify those students who have characteristics of dyslexia (in grades K-3) and provide effective instructional services (also requires much more).
    • This law can be a VERY GOOD THING
    • Implementation is required during the 2024-2025 school year
  • Last year, the Georgia Board of Education passed the Dyslexia Rule

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©John O’Connor

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Now, a little pre-quiz -�Please complete by yourself�(Only #1-7, not #8)

©John O’Connor

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Share with your colleagues – pens down

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Based on your conversations, adjust your answers

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Debrief

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Read #1-6. Mark anything that seems important to you. There are no wrong answers.

©John O’Connor

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Discuss with your partners

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What percentage of your faculty members fully understand those things?

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Debrief

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SB 48 (Dyslexia) and State Rule Requirements

  • Beginning in 24-25, districts must provide a screener for dyslexia at least once per year for students in K-3rd grade. (There are a few exceptions.)
  • Districts must notify (not seek permission) prior to the screener.
  • If additional screeners are conducted (for select students) parental permission is required.
  • If the screener information AND additional information support that a student has characteristics of dyslexia, begin or continue interventions
    • Monitor student progress at least once per month (or more often as necessary as determined by school personnel).
    • Must provide parents with resources (i.e. the GDOE Dyslexia Handbook)

©John O’Connor

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SB 48 (Dyslexia) and State Rule Requirements (cont.)

  • Annual Reporting Requirements
    • Number of students in K-3rd who were identified as having characteristics of dyslexia
    • The number of students newly identified as having characteristics of dyslexia
    • Number of students who participated in additional screening
    • The number of students who participated in interventions
    • The process or tool used to evaluate student progress
    • The number of trained LEA personnel or licensed professionals used to administer the screener.

©John O’Connor

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©John O’Connor

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List of GDOE Approved Screeners

©John O’Connor

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There are many misconceptions

  • “Dyslexia is seeing letters backwards” - WRONG
  • “We just need to screen students for characteristics of dyslexia and do something different for them.” – WRONG
  • “This law just expands IDEA.” - WRONG
  • “The Special Education Department will handle this.” - WRONG

©John O’Connor

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We must start with improving Tier 1 ELA/Reading instruction for all students

©John O’Connor

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You can’t intervene or �“special ed” your way out of ineffective Tier 1 instruction

©John O’Connor

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The Science of Reading

  • In all of K-12 education, one topic has been researched more than any other topic – by a long shot
    • Teaching children to read (K-3)
  • Among researchers in a wide variety of fields, there is great consensus
  • Students need explicit, systematic instruction in the 5 Domains of Reading
  • We must provide this to all students

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5 Domains of Reading

  • Vocabulary/Language
  • Phonological Awareness through Phonemic Awareness
  • Phonics
  • Oral Reading Fluency
  • Reading Comprehension

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©John O’Connor

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Important!

  • Written expression and the other ELA areas are equally important, but we are not going to address them today.

©John O’Connor

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My quick descriptions

  • Language/Vocabulary: Expressive/receptive oral skills including understanding depth/ breadth and connections of words and terms
  • Phonological Awareness through Phonemic Awareness: Sound discrimination, no print, up through phonemes
  • Phonics: Decoding and reading letters and letter combinations to decipher words

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©John O’Connor

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More quick descriptions

  • Oral Reading Fluency: Reading aloud with accuracy, the appropriate rate/speed, and expression (prosody)
  • Reading Comprehension: Understanding what you read including drawing conclusions and “reading between the lines” even when information is not directly in the text. Connecting to what you already know.

©John O’Connor

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Additional Elements that must be Taught

  • Morphology
  • Syllables
  • Syntax
  • Semantics
  • Of course, we haven’t touched on written expression (handwriting, composition, conventions, etc.) today which is equally important

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Those are elements that MUST be taught

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How should they be taught?

  • Instruction must be:
    • Explicit
    • Systematic
    • Cumulative
    • Diagnostic

©John O’Connor

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Unfortunately, many schools and districts have been implementing “balanced literacy” rather than “structured literacy” (based on the science of reading)

©John O’Connor

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Go back to this and answer #8

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Share with your partners

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Add one thought to your list

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Hold your thoughts

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Continuum of Education/Reading Instructional Philosophies (including Tier 1 reading/ELA instruction)���(and this may make some of us uncomfortable)

© John O’Connor

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Constructivism-

Students “construct”

their own knowledge.

Teachers guide students,

but do not provide

clear models or provide

direct feedback. Instruction

is implicit, not explicit.

Specific skills (i.e., phonics)

are not taught in isolation, but

in full context. Examples:

Whole language, personalized

learning, the teacher is the

“guide on the side”

Explicit and systematic instruction: Teachers provide clear models and teach skills in isolation and then put them in the larger context (i.e., teaching phonological awareness skills and phonics skills in a systematic order. Then students read decodable text.) Direct feedback is provided.

Whole Language

National Reading Panel (2000) stated that research indicated that students needed explicit and systematic instruction in the 5 Domains of Reading

Around 2005:

Balanced Literacy

Around 2015:

Many districts supplemented

their balanced literacy approach

with a phonics program

Structured Literacy

©John O’Connor

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Did you notice that merely adding a phonics program to a balanced literacy approach is insufficient?

©John O’Connor

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Constructivism vs. �Explicit, Systematic Instruction

How many of you have a pilot’s license?

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Read #7- 9. Mark anything that seems important to you. There are no wrong answers.

©John O’Connor

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How many of you have listened to �Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong?

By Emily Hanford

APM Reports

© John O’Connor

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Hallmarks of Balanced Literacy (that are not effective for MANY students)

  • Evaluating students based on a level characterized by letters A through Z
  • Guided Reading: students are grouped on those levels and work with the teacher on reading mini-books from that level
  • The “three cueing system”
  • Lots of activities, but instruction is not:
    • Explicit
    • Systematic
    • Cumulative
    • Diagnostic

©John O’Connor

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Elements of Structured Literacy�(based on the Science of Reading)

  • What should be taught
    • Language/Vocabulary
    • Phonological Awareness through Phonemic Awareness
    • Phonics
    • Oral Reading Fluency
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Morphology
    • Syntax
    • Semantics
    • Syllables

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  • Instruction should be:
    • Explicit
    • Systematic
    • Cumulative
    • Diagnostic

© John O’Connor

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The Good News – there is now a law that requires us to provide Structured Literacy in K-3 in Georgia –�HB 538 – Georgia Literacy Act

©John O’Connor

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HB 538 – �Georgia Early Literacy Act�(Deadlines – all based on the Science of Reading & Structured Literacy)

  • Jan. 1, 2024: GBOE will approve instructional materials
  • July 1, 2024: GBOE will approve universal screeners, including a free one for districts
  • Aug. 1, 2024:
    • Districts provide screeners 3x per year
    • Districts develop tiered intervention plans for students with significant deficiencies in reading
  • Dec. 1, 2024: Local BOE approves instructional materials (from GBOE list)
  • July 1, 2025: DECAL shall require training
  • July 1, 2025: All K-3 teachers complete reading training developed or procured by GDOE

©John O’Connor

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Let’s get back to students with characteristics of dyslexia

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Read #10-13

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Debrief

©John O’Connor

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On the back of your paper, write two things that are banging around your head the most

©John O’Connor

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Thank You!!!

Thank You!!!

Thank You!!!

©John O’Connor