An Act To Ensure That Schoolchildren with Dyslexia Receive the Assistance Needed
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0231
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: MORRISON, MILLETT, BATTLE, FARNSWORTH, HARLOW, MAKER, MONAGHAN, VEROW, GRATWICK
Amends: 20-A MRSA §7001, 20-A MRSA §7202-A, 20-A MRSA §7211

Legislative Document 
No. 231 
H.P. 163 
House of Representatives, February 3, 2015 
An Act To Ensure That Schoolchildren with Dyslexia Receive the 
Assistance Needed 
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative MORRISON of South Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator MILLETT of Cumberland and 
Representatives: BATTLE of South Portland, FARNSWORTH of Portland, HARLOW of 
Portland, MAKER of Calais, MONAGHAN of Cape Elizabeth, VEROW of Brewer, Senator: 
GRATWICK of Penobscot. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §7001, sub-§1-D is enacted to read: 
1-D.  Dyslexia. "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is neurological in 
origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by 
poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the phonological 
component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and 
to the provision of effective classroom instruction and the secondary consequences of 
which may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience 
that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §7202-A is enacted to read: 
§7202-A.  Dyslexia screening 
A school administrative unit shall annually screen students from kindergarten to 
grade 2 for dyslexia, except that, for the 2016-2017 school year, the school administrative 
unit shall screen students from kindergarten to grade 3 for dyslexia.  The students 
screened must include students who have not previously been screened and have 
transferred from outside the State.  A school administrative unit shall screen students in 
grades 3 to 12 who have difficulty, as noted by a classroom teacher, in an area described 
in subsections 1 to 6.  The screening of a student must include an evaluation of the 
student's: 
1.  Phonological and phonemic awareness.  Phonological and phonemic awareness; 
2.  Sound-symbol recognition.  Sound-symbol recognition; 
3.  Alphabet knowledge.  Alphabet knowledge; 
4.  Decoding skills.  Decoding skills; 
5.  Rapid naming skills.  Rapid naming skills; and 
6.  Encoding skills.  Encoding skills. 
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §7211 is enacted to read: 
§7211.  Dyslexia consultant 
There is created within the department the position of dyslexia consultant to assist the 
department in complying with the provisions of this chapter and chapters 301 and 305 as 
they pertain to students with dyslexia.  The dyslexia consultant must be a professional 
highly trained in dyslexia with a minimum of 3 years of field experience in screening, 
identifying and treating dyslexia.  The dyslexia consultant shall serve as the primary 
source of information and support for school administrative units addressing the needs of 
students with dyslexia and shall provide school administrative units dyslexia professional 
awareness training including training on the indicators of dyslexia and the science behind 
teaching a student with dyslexia.  The dyslexia professional awareness training must 
include courses specifically designed to prepare educators to provide structured language 
intervention techniques and strategies needed for students with dyslexia, including the 
following specialized skills:  phonology and decoding skills, handwriting, composition, 
reading fluency and comprehension, writing mechanics and spelling and learning 
strategies and study skills.  Dyslexia professional awareness training may be provided 
online, at a venue provided by a school administrative unit or at another venue approved 
by the department and may also be provided through published programs that meet the 
criteria outlined in this section and that have been selected by the dyslexia consultant. 
Sec. 4.  Appointment of dyslexia consultant. The Commissioner of Education 
shall appoint a dyslexia consultant pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, 
section 7211 by July 1, 2016. 
SUMMARY 
This bill defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurological in 
origin.  It requires school administrative units to conduct screenings of students from 
kindergarten to grade 2 for dyslexia, except that, for the 2016-2017 school year, school 
administrative units must screen students from kindergarten to grade 3.  It requires school 
administrative units to screen certain transfer and older students.  It also creates the 
position of dyslexia consultant within the Department of Education and provides for the 
dyslexia consultant to provide school administrative units with dyslexia professional 
awareness training.