Rep. Jackie Haas | Facebook
Rep. Jackie Haas | Facebook
A state representative hopes a bill she introduced in February would assist Illinois students with dyslexia, warning that the learning disorder can have a profound impact.
Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Kankakee) said in a state House GOP YouTube video about the caucus’s Reimagine Illinois platform that early identification of children with dyslexia is similar to identifying those with “any barriers to learning.”
“Dyslexia can have a profound impact on a student’s learning, their ability to read and write, and can result in lifelong educational, social, and emotional struggles, so the sooner we identify those barriers to any type of learning, the better. And that includes dyslexia,” Haas said.
LegiScan explains that House Bill 3324, or HB3324, “provides for dyslexia screening guidelines and rules, as well as requires the State Board of Education to provide technical assistance for specific learning disabilities to school districts.”
The bill also requires each school district to “screen students in grades kindergarten through second grade for the risk factors of dyslexia using a universal screener.”
Federal regulations define dyslexia as “a specific learning disability or a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language – spoken or written – that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.”
Haas introduced HB3324 on Feb. 19.
Rep. Keith Sommer (R-Morton) joined as a co-sponsor as did Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Morton Grove).
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