Big Win in Dyslexia Case! Court Orders District to Reimburse Parents $456,990.60

 

by Peter W.D. Wright & Pamela Wright

Wrightslaw.com

In O.R. v. Clark County Schools, a federal judge determined that the school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabiliation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and ordered Clark County School District to reimburse the parents $456,990.60.

O.R. is a child with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Fifteen to twenty percent of all school children have dyslexia. Dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties. [What is Dyslexia?]

Although dyslexia makes learning to read more difficult, children with dyslexia can learn to read if they have the right instruction. Parents of children with dyslexia who seek the "right instruction" in public school programs are often stunned when they encounter major obstacles to their reasonable requests that the school teach their children to read.

Few parents know that many teachers, including special education teachers, were not trained to teach children, including children with dyslexia, to read. Few parents are aware that many programs used by public schools to teach children to read are not effective or research-based.

This case is noteworthy in several respects. The Court held that:..

https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/nv.or.clark.county.dyslexia.htm?fbclid=IwAR3AaCgdySyr2tKdPPSf_n0Hu2iRiEyhsbKJY9reT5J6uLMPmoJQhDXqAjs

Failure to diagnose dyslexia a problem in Maryland public schools

Some literacy experts believe that more than 60 percent of Maryland public school students are reading below grade level due, in part, to the failure of educators to diagnosis a learning disorder called dyslexia.

It's a message that grassroots organization Decoding Dyslexia Maryland has been trying share for years...

http://www.wbaltv.com/article/failure-to-diagnose-dyslexia-a-problem-in-maryland-public-schools/16768853

Whitman HS: Multiple English classes undergo curriculum changes. Fiction dropped.

The English department adapted the traditional AP Language and Composition and Honors English 12 curricula this year to fit new MCPS and Whitman standards.

AP Lang teachers returned to the basics of the curriculum, focusing strictly on argumentation and rhetoric. Changes include forgoing novels previously taught and replacing them with individual excerpts, Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” and famous 20th century speeches. Classes will still read the anthology “A World of Ideas.”

“It was the hardest thing to do, but we ended up dropping most of the fiction work we do,” English teacher Matthew Bruneel said. “This sense of using speeches, using essays, using political cartoons, using images all as rhetorical exercises, those are the real ideas of the course. AP Lang is just about rhetoric, about making good arguments, understanding what a good argument is and being able to have a voice in the world.”

Honors English 12 also underwent two major changes this summer. First, the curriculum no longer includes studying a core text. Instead, students will read books of their choice in literature groups relating to themes the class is studying, such as truth and perception, navigating colliding cultures and gender roles...

...The second change for English 12 is that Whitman no longer offers an on-level version of English 12; all English 12 classes are now honors courses. The county will eliminate the on-level course next year, but Whitman implemented it this year to coincide with the new curriculum...

...“Generally the data says that kids rise,” Leslie said. “When you are in a pool swimming with someone who’s a little faster than you, you get faster...

https://theblackandwhite.net/57327/news/multiple-english-classes-undergo-curriculum-changes/

Comment: 

OR YOU DROWN

The right to read: My dyslexic daughter got the help she needed. All kids should. #MCPS

...While not thrilled about the tutoring, Phoebe recognized that the sessions at the Lab School were “better” than the help she was getting at public school, even from reading specialists and special educators. Why was this? I believe it was because her tutor was using an Orton-Gillingham-based approach to help her remember phonics — the word sounds that “normal” readers can’t recall learning to recognize in print because their brains held on to that information like flypaper in first grade. Developed in the early 20th century, Orton-Gillingham emphasized explicit, sequential, multisensory instruction (hearing, saying, tracing and writing). For example, Phoebe and her tutor might spend a session on the letter combination “ow” and the different sounds it makes, then review letter combinations Phoebe had mastered earlier. The training and materials for programs based on Orton-Gillingham tend to be expensive and work best one-on-one or in small groups, which may explain why this particular intervention wasn’t available at her school...
...Maryland special education census data shows this lack of clout in private school placement: In 2016-17, white students, who are 37 percent of special education students in Maryland, secured 76 percent of parentally requested private placement at public expense, whereas African Americans, who make up 41 percent of special education students, secured 11 percent, and Latinos, who make up 14.5 percent of special education students, secured 5 percent...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/years-of-tutoring-helped-my-dyslexic-daughter-read-all-kids-deserve-such-support/2017/09/27/60a81e6a-9405-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html?utm_term=.87f12d315568#comments

Governor’s Task Force on the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program

If you live in Maryland and are the parent of a student with a reading difference like dyslexia, and your child has attended or now attends a Maryland public school, you are eligible to answer this survey.  Please forward and share this survey with other families.

We are writing to you on behalf of the Governor’s Task Force on the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program.  The Task Force includes professionals in the field of education, legislators, and parents who have been asked to respond to the requirements of House Bill 278.

Please distribute this survey to your parent outreach lists and/or complete the survey if you meet the criteria listed above. 

The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain data from parents of children with reading differences like dyslexia with regard to the identification and interventions for children with dyslexia and the educational services associated with such identification.

Responses to this questionnaire will help the Governor’s Task Force on the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program make recommendations to Governor Hogan and the Maryland General Assembly that will potentially change the education practices for students with reading difficulties and/or dyslexia in Maryland.

Please respond by November 30, 2015.  We apologize for the short time frame but recommendations are required by December 30, 2015 and the Task Force would like to include important parent feedback in the recommendations to the Governor.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to complete the survey.

https://surveyplanet.com/562f6f9e8535760f147234a0 

 

Sincerely,

Laura Schultz

Parent Task Force Member
Lisa Blottenberger
Decoding Dyslexia MD Task Force Member

Governor’s Task Force on the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program

Md State Dept. of Ed. Meeting on Dyslexia Education

MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
Subject:
Public Meeting
Date and Time:
October 23, 2015, 10 a.m. —1 p.m.; 
 and
November 6, 2015, 10 a.m. —1 p.m.
Place:
Center for Technology in Education,
6740 Alexander Bell Dr., Columbia, MD
Add'l. Info:
The Task Force to Study the
Implementation of a Dyslexia Education
Program (Task Force) was established
through the enactment of H.B. 278, Acts of
2015, by the Maryland General Assembly.
The Task Force is pleased to receive oral
public comments. Please contact Carmen
Brown at 410-767-7197 or via email at
carmen.brown1@maryland.gov at least 24
hours prior to the meeting to register to
speak. Registration will be accepted on a
first-come, first-served basis. To ensure
effective use of the time available for
public comment, speakers are encouraged
to provide multiple written copies of their
comments or any other documents
supporting their oral comments.
Appropriate accommodations for
individuals with disabilities will be
provided upon request. To allow time to
arrange accommodations, 8 business days’
notice prior to the meeting is requested.
This notice is provided pursuant to State
Government Article, §10-506(c),
Annotated Code of Maryland.
Contact:
Carmen Brown (410) 767-7197
[15-
21-16

See PAGE 1363

 http://www.dsd.state.md.us/MDR/4221.pdf