Dyslexia Supports
New Changes to Ohio’s Dyslexia Support Laws
House Bill 33 of the 135th General Assembly included several important updates to Ohio’s dyslexia support laws.
Professional Development (Ohio Revised Code 3319.077)
The following dyslexia professional development requirements apply to teachers in grades K-3 and special education teachers in grades K-12 who are employed by a city, local or exempted village school district, community school or STEM school.
- Teachers hired before April 12, 2021, who provide instruction to students in the following grade bands must complete the required professional development in accordance with the following timeline:
- By the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year: Teachers of grades K-1, including special education teachers.
- By Sept. 15 of the 2024-2025 school year: Teachers of grades 2-3, including special education teachers.
- By Sept. 15 of the 2025-2026 school year: Special education teachers of students in grades 4-12.
- Teachers hired after April 12, 2021, who provide instruction to students in the grade bands outlined above must complete the required professional development by the later of the aforementioned dates or two calendar years after the hiring date (unless the teacher completed the professional development while employed by a different district or school).
Dyslexia Screening (ORC 3323.251)
A district or school is not required to administer a tier one dyslexia screening measure to a student in grades K-6 who transfers into the district or school midyear if the student’s records indicate a screening was administered to the student by the district or school from which the student transferred during that year.
Additional updates for screening transfer students can be found on the
Dyslexia Screening webpage.
The 2023-2024 List of Approved Universal Dyslexia Screeners is now available
The list and detailed information are available at the List of Approved Assessments page on the Department’s website.
A streamlined list of approved assessments that meet the requirements of tier 1 dyslexia screening and/or the K-3 diagnostic can be found here.
Administering Literacy Assessments for students with Low incidence disabilities and complex communication needs
This document provides resources and recommendations for accommodations and scaffolds districts may use when administering district wide literacy screenings and benchmarks or reading diagnostics. These can be used when administering the required tier 1 dyslexia screener, as well as the reading diagnostic required under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee and other district assessments. The purpose of these is to ensure these assessments provide proper data related to the reading abilities of students with complex communication need and low incidence disabilities. The document can be found here.
Literacy Assessment SelEction Tool K-6 now available
This document describes the different skills that should be assessed by tier 1 and tier 2 dyslexia screeners and will assist districts and schools with choosing screeners. The document can be found here.
Ohio’s Introduction to Dyslexia, Kindergarten-Grade 3 course is available through the learning management system
Questions can be sent to
Dyslexia@education.ohio.gov. If you need additional account support
after consulting the linked support documents above, please contact OH|ID Profile Help at
Profile.Help@education.ohio.gov for OH|ID assistance. If you are in the LMS application and need additional support, please contact LMS Support at
LMSSupport@education.ohio.gov.
OHIO’S INTRODUCTION TO DYSLEXIA, Grade 4-12 COURSE IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Questions can be sent to Dyslexia@education.ohio.gov. If you need additional account support after consulting the linked support documents above, please contact OH|ID Profile Help at Profile.Help@education.ohio.gov for OH|ID assistance. If you are in the LMS application and need additional support, please contact LMS Support at LMSSupport@education.ohio.gov.
Helpful Resources for Districts and Families
Ohio's Dyslexia Guidebook
The Department is pleased to announce Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook is available. As required by Ohio law, Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook contains best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies. Districts and schools should use the guidebook to access critical information for successful implementation of Ohio's dyslexia support laws.
The Department will develop additional resources and guidance to support schools and districts. The FAQ page will be updated as needed.
For questions about Ohio’s Dyslexia Guidebook or Ohio’s dyslexia support laws, please contact Dyslexia@education.ohio.gov.
Helpful Resources
Federal Funding Guidance: This document contains federal funding guidance for districts and schools to use federal Title funds, IDEA Part B School-aged Special Education funds (ages 3-21) and IDEA Part B Early Childhood Special Education funds (ages 3-5) to implement Ohio’s Dyslexia Support laws.
House Bill 436 mandated a cost analysis report to ascertain the potential financial costs incurred by school districts to implement Ohio's dyslexia support laws. The final Cost Study Analysis is now available to download as well as the accompanying Appendix with detailed information.
On January 9, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed a set of laws strengthening dyslexia supports for Ohio’s children. The new dyslexia support laws establish dyslexia screening measures (ORC 3323.251), professional development for identifying dyslexia and instructing students with dyslexia (ORC 3319.077), a structured literacy certification process for teachers (ORC 3319.078) and the Ohio Dyslexia Committee (ORC 3323.25). The following is a summary of the new set of laws:
- Requires the Ohio Department of Education to establish the Ohio Dyslexia Committee consisting of 11 members;
- Requires the Ohio Dyslexia Committee to develop a dyslexia guidebook for screening, intervention and remediation for children with dyslexia or displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies;
- Requires the Ohio Dyslexia Committee to prescribe the number of clock hours of dyslexia-related professional development required for teachers;
- Permits the Ohio Dyslexia Committee to make recommendations regarding ratios of students to teachers who have received certification in identifying and addressing dyslexia, the school personnel who should receive the certification and whether professional development requirements should include completing a practicum;
- Requires the Department, in collaboration with the Ohio Dyslexia Committee, to identify screening and intervention measures that evaluate the literacy skills of students using a structured literacy program;
- Requires school districts and other public schools to administer annual dyslexia screenings beginning in the 2022-2023 school year;
- Phases in over three years dyslexia-related professional development requirements for public school teachers;
- Requires school districts and other public schools, beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, to establish a structured literacy certification process for teachers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ohio's Rule for Phonics
Last Modified: 4/19/2024 4:16:18 PM