A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the screening of every KINDERGARTEN student for dyslexia.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑83.6(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Kindergarten, first, second, and third grade students shall be assessed with valid, reliable, formative, and diagnostic reading assessments made available to local school administrative units by the State Board of Education pursuant to G.S. 115C‑174.11(a). Every kindergarten student shall be screened for dyslexia as part of the kindergarten reading assessment required by this section. For the purposes of this subsection, "dyslexia" means a brain‑based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read, typically at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence, and includes common characteristics such as difficulty with phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds), spelling, and rapid visual‑verbal responding.
Difficulty with reading development identified through administration of formative and diagnostic assessments shall be addressed with instructional supports and services. Parents or guardians of first and second grade students demonstrating reading comprehension below grade level as identified through assessments administered pursuant to this subsection shall be encouraged to enroll their student in a reading camp provided by the local school administrative unit. Parents or guardians of a student identified as demonstrating reading comprehension below grade level shall make the final decision regarding a student's reading camp attendance."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies beginning with the 2017‑2018 school year.