BOISE, Idaho — On Thursday, Senate lawmakers unanimously approved new legislation that would direct funding for dyslexia-related educational support.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Senators Carl Crabtree and Richard Blair would direct $97,000 of state funding to improve educational resources for children with dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a language-learning disability estimated to impact 20% of the population. While dyslexia impacts individuals differently, it frequently causes people to struggle with reading, writing, and pronunciation.
Related: Dyslexia legislation passes House panel, families speak on experiences
Idaho currently does not have any dyslexia-specific educational services in public and public charter schools.
If passed, the State Department of Education would use the funding to:
- Administer statewide dyslexia screening to identify K-5 students with characteristics of dyslexia
- Provide professional development training for educators in multisensory-structured literacy approaches
- Create a handbook with intervention strategies to address students with characteristics of dyslexia
The bill now heads to the Senate floor for debate.
