What is House Bill 2543?

A bill making its way through the Iowa legislature process has the potential to revolutionise the experience of tens of thousands of children all over the state who have dyslexia or literacy differences. If passed, it could help pay for extra support in the classroom and in testing for students with identified dyslexia, and go much further as to making sure that the educational experience is accessible for all students within the state of Iowa.

House Bill 2543, if successfully passed, would allow schools to contract with third-party dyslexia service providers from both Iowa and out of state. As of the moment, the students in Iowa schools who qualify for support receive their services from the Area Education Agency that serves their school’s district, and these services are free as they are part of Iowa’s public school system. However some parents and guardians feel that these services don’t do enough to support students with reading differences, and aren’t working as a means of making sure that they achieve their potential.

The bill states that the service providers contracted as part of the new legislation are to be able to provide technical guidance and assistance, including professional development, strategies, and materials to the school district pertaining to the identification of and instruction for students with dyslexia. It also requires that these service providers are trained to a high degree, and have at least three full years of field experience in screening, identifying and supporting people with dyslexia and related conditions.

Speaking to news outlet KCRG, parent Wendy Kepford of Waverly, Iowa commented that the current level of support offered for her own three children with dyslexia simply falls short of what is needed to close the gap between them and their peers in the classroom.

“It’s just not enough. And that’s it, it’s just not enough… very specific interventions are what a kid needs. They need a structured literacy program. They need one-on-one instruction, or small group instruction.”

“…It takes a lot to have those kids close the gap. And it’s hard to fit everything that’s needed into the school day.”

Kepford is part of a large group of parents in the state of Iowa who have sought private tutoring to support their children with literacy differences and help them move through the curriculum with more ease and comfort. Many families who have children with dyslexia and literacy differences spend thousands of dollars a year on specialist tuition that can raise attainment and build the confidence that dyslexic learners need to help them succeed, however these options aren’t open to all parents. Those on low incomes or income support, or even those who simply have multiple children with dyslexia often find it difficult to budget for specialist assistance outside of school, as working regularly with these highly trained practitioners can often cost in excess of a thousand dollars every term.

Representative Megan Jones, a Republican state representative from northwest Iowa is a sponsor of the bill, and spoke candidly about how many times she has come across parents paying out-of-pocket for services to support children and young people with dyslexia in education. She comments that the goal of the bill is to “Find another avenue to help these families find the resources that they need, but also not just add another thing to a teacher’s plate.”Jones also mentions that whilst still at an early stage of the process, she’s ‘pretty optimistic’ that the bill would become law, which is a move likely to be met with some celebration from the parents of children with dyslexia within the state boundaries.

You can read the proposed bill in its entirety at The Iowa Legislature. You can also keep an eye on the bill’s progress here.

And if you're interested in taking a closer look at how we support learners with dyslexia and literacy differences in education, we've got something else coming up you might love to be a part of...

Succeed With Dyslexia would be delighted to welcome you to our Dyslexia Learning Festival 2022! Join us for a free virtual day of learning where we celebrate the knowledge that drives our global dyslexia community, and come together to encourage and inspire people with dyslexia and literacy differences the world over.

Our Learning Festivals are free online events where we explore the ways in which we can raise awareness of dyslexia and literacy differences in a learning environment, and transform the learning experience using the innovation that drives our community.

Our 2022 event is held on the 28th of April at the end of our DEAR for Dyslexia campaign, which is a global movement where we advocate reading equality and celebrate the different ways that we read. This virtual conference is where we consolidate all we’ve learned from a Springtime of reading, and ask the experts how we can foster a literacy landscape that everybody can be a part of. Anybody and everybody is welcome to drop in, from parents and students to educators and specialists, we’ve created a programme of round-table sessions and expert-led seminars that are guaranteed to get you thinking.

So join us for discussions about how to promote literacy in your school, find out how to best support students with literacy differences with brilliant resources, and bolster student mental wellbeing in a way that can help overcome anxiety and reading stress. Not only is this a festival of fantastic speakers and inspirational thinking, it's also a resource bank that parents and educators will love.

Sign up today to reserve your place!