Dyslexia
The Arizona Department of Education is focused on the importance of teaching children to read. Progress in reading development begins with Arizona’s teachers implementing data-based, systematic, and explicit instruction in a multitude of contexts, with many levels of support, each and every day.
Dyslexia Videos
Dyslexia Legislation Guidance Video Series
Dyslexia Definition – Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) 15-701 (K)
“Dyslexia” means a specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
Dyslexia Resource Guides
Resources
External Agency Resources
Good Cause Exemptions to Retention
There are four good cause exemptions to retention for 3rd grade students who fail to meet the MOWR cut score. These apply if a student
- Is an English learner or a limited English proficient student and has had fewer than two years of English language instruction; OR
- Is in the process of a special education referral or evaluation and/or student has been diagnosed as having a significant reading impairment, including dyslexia; OR
- Has an identified disability and has an IEP and the IEP team (including parents) agrees that promotion is appropriate;
- OR Has demonstrated or subsequently demonstrates sufficient reading skills or adequate progress towards sufficient reading skills of the 3rd grade reading standards as evidenced through a collection of reading assessments approved by the State Board.
Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) §15-701
