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MN 2023 Legislative Session
Visit our Take Action page for updates.
MN 2022 Legislative Session
SESSION UPDATE:
5-23-2022 End of Session:
MN 2021 Legislative Session - LETRS
Happy News!
The Governor signed into law our LETRS bill with funding for the next 2 years! It was part of the 2021 Omnibus education policy and finance bill HF2/SF23.
The tide will begin to change on literacy in Minnesota. In 2001, the National Reading Panel appointed by US Congress recommended reading instruction based upon the science of reading. Like Mississippi, Tennessee and a handful of other states, Minnesota is placing a priority on evidence-based literacy instruction. With this bill, over 1,500 MN Educators will now begin to receive critically needed professional development based on the science of reading. We will begin to see equity in education happening within our educational environments as our students will receive evidence-based lessons in literacy within their classrooms.
Thank You to our entire community of support, the board at Decoding Dyslexia Minnesota, our Coalition partners, The Reading Center/Dyslexia Institute of MN, International Dyslexia Association - Upper Midwest Branch, Groves Academy, our lobbyist team at Apparatus, and our legislative champions Senator Roger Chamberlain & State Representative Heather Edelson!
2021 bills:
LETRS grants (SF244 / HF288) $3M was appropriated for LETRS!
Strike "balanced" (SF702 / HF743) This bill was not included in the 2021 education omnibus bill.
MN 2020 Legislative Session
DDMN worked on 2 bills this session. The update to the Dyslexia screening was in the 2020 education omnibus bill signed by Governor Walz on June 23, 2020. In it was an update to dyslexia screening in the "Read Well by Third Grade" statute (120B.12). The Dyslexia Screening from the 2019 session will still go into effect starting in the 20-21 school year
MN 2019 Legislative Session
DDMN's Dyslexia screening and mandatory dyslexia instruction in teacher preparation programs passed and are effective July 1, 2020. Also, the term "balanced" was deleted from the teacher preparation reading instruction requirement and replaced with "structured".
"Students identified as not reading at grade level by the end of kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 must be screened, in a locally determined manner, for characteristics of dyslexia." "Students in grade 3 or higher who demonstrate a reading difficulty to a classroom teacher must be screened, in a locally determined manner, for characteristics of dyslexia, unless a different reason for the reading difficulty has been identified."
Teacher preparation (SF196 / HF1494):
"Board-approved teacher preparation programs for teachers of elementary education must require instruction in applying comprehensive, scientifically based or evidence-based, and structured reading instruction programs that...."
"Board-approved teacher preparation programs for teachers of elementary education, early childhood education, special education, and reading intervention must include instruction on dyslexia, as defined in section 125A.01, subdivision 2. Teacher preparation programs may consult with the Department of Education, including the dyslexia specialist under section 120B.122, to develop instruction under this paragraph. Instruction on dyslexia must be modeled on practice standards of the International Dyslexia Association,
See our slide show of how the bills gained support and move through the legislature.
MN 2018 Legislative Session - Govorner vetoed the entire Education Omnibus bill that the bills were in.
SF2455/HF3013 (vetoed) Teacher Professional development for 5-year recertification
SF3572/HF3692 (vetoed) Mandatory K-2 dyslexia screening
MN 2017 Legislative Session
DDMN's Dyslexia Specialist Bill has passed!!
The bill states: "The department must employ a dyslexia specialist to provide technical assistance for dyslexia and related disorders and to serve as the primary source of information and support for schools in addressing the needs of students with dyslexia and related disorders. The dyslexia specialist shall also act to increase professional awareness and instructional competencies to meet the educational needs of students with dyslexia or identified with risk characteristics associated with dyslexia."
See here for a summary of updates from the K-12 Education Bill that Gov. Dayton signed.
Here is a slide show of how our bills gained support and moved through the House and Senate during session.
MN 2016 Legislative Session
MN 2016 Statutes have been updated with the 2016 session outcomes. MN Statute 120B.12 - Reading Proficiently No Later Than The End Of 3rd Grade has the new dyslexia amendment (found in Subd 2). The language states:
- The district must annually report a summary of the district's efforts to screen and identify students with dyslexia to the commissioner by July 1.
- (b) A student identified under this subdivision must be provided with alternate instruction.
Please help us educate Minnesota schools of the new statute for students with dyslexia!! Together we are ensuring that the needs of our children with dyslexia are visible in the eyes of MN educators.
MN 2015 Legislation Session
Definition of Dyslexia Statute (125A.01) states: "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent recognition of words and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Students who have a dyslexia diagnosis must meet the state and federal eligibility criteria in order to qualify for special education services.
How does a bill become a law?
Here is a link to understand the process of how an idea gets drafted into a bill in MN, and the steps it takes to become a MN law.
Senator Roger Chamberlain (38-R), who has been a champion for students with dyslexia, addressed the Senate Floor on dyslexia during the 2015 legislative session.