Ask your legislators to support students with dyslexia in the following ways...
Support Bill S.338 "An act promoting high-quality literacy instruction in all Massachusetts schools."
The Literacy Launch makes grant money available for school districts to apply for to support the purchase of effective curriculum. However, rather than benefiting a few select districts, funds should be devoted to providing ALL Massachusetts schools with curriculum that will help struggling readers. Advocate for non-grant-based funding for all Massachusetts districts so that students will benefit regardless of whether their district takes the initiative to apply for grants.
Currently, the teacher preparation programs at public and private colleges throughout Massachusetts are not adequately preparing teachers for teaching structured literacy that will be effective in teaching students with dyslexia to read and could benefit all students. Changes in the licensing of these programs should be made to improve this.
Educating new teachers is only a part of the problem. Support funding of professional development for all current public school elementary teachers to understand both the why and the how of using a structured literacy approach to teaching reading. Advocate for mandatory professional development in the area of literacy for teachers to get relicensed (which happens every 5 years) so that all teachers can stay up-to-date on effective practices.
With the threat of federal laws regarding educating students with disabilities being weakened or abolished under the new administration, please protect our students at the state level!