DISORDERS & DISABILITIES
House Bill 5531
Sponsor: Rep. Bob Brown
Committee: Education
Complete to 3-24-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5531 AS INTRODUCED 3-21-00
House Bill 5531 would amend the Revised School Code to require the board of a school district, or the board of directors of a public school academy, to screen every first grade student for reading problems within 30 days after starting school. The screening would include testing to diagnose reading disorders and disabilities. If a student were diagnosed as having a reading disorder and was therefore eligible for special education programs, then school officials would be required to notify the parent or legal guardian of the diagnosis and also about the nature of available services.
House Bill 5531 also would require the State Board of Education to include a course, or comparable training, in reading disorders among the continuing education requirements that a teacher must meet in order to maintain an elementary level teaching certificate.
Finally, when a special education student had been diagnosed as having reading disorders or reading disabilities, the bill specifies that the State Board of Education would require both that the pupil's individualized educational planning committee include an independent reading advocate who knows about reading disorders and instruction methods; and, that the advocate's recommendations be taken into account when developing the pupil's individualized education program.
House Bill 5531 specifies that the terms "individualized education program" and "individualized educational planning committee" would mean those terms as they are defined in rule 340.1701a of the Michigan Administrative Code. Further, under the bill the term "handicaps" would be expanded to include reading disorders or disabilities.
MCL 380.4
Analyst: J. Hunault