A new act could mean all the difference for students who are struggling with literacy, and the teachers trying to help them.
If passed, the newly-developed “Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act” will offer federal money to support instruction, intervention, and professional development for teachers and support personnel working with students who are at risk for literacy failure: struggling readers, English language learners, economically-disadvantaged youth, dyslexic students, and students with specific learning disabilities.
The act will ensure students have the skills demanded in the 21st century: the ability to read for knowledge, to write for understanding, and to think critically about what is read.
The International Dyslexia Association is taking charge, urging Congress to pass the act. The Association has drafted a model language for state literacy law to assist states in accessing the funds once the act is passed, and to establish a set of standards to determine which educational entities will receive the federal grants.
“The LEARN Act and model language for state literacy law are products of the IDA’s goal to implement a set of ‘gold’ standards in education, so that parents know the institutions and professionals to whom they entrust their children are providing them with the best possible chance to succeed,” said Cinthia Haan, member of the Association board, and chair of the Government Affairs Committee. “It’s a goal that is reflected in most all of the work we do to highlight literacy and education as the Civil Right of the new century.”
The act, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), authorizes federal literacy funds to be used for Multi-tier System of Supports to help struggling readers all through school. While the act authorizes federal funds for Multi-tier System of Supports, the Association’s law will ensure those funds go to institutions that utilize the proven Multi-tier System of Supports. The law will make sure funding goes to the most highly-qualified educational institutions.
The model language for state literacy law will further require all those teaching reading to have the skills necessary to utilize the scaffolding of these support systems with diverse student populations. The goal is to have federal funds directly available to the states, to ensure that both teachers and students receive the supports they need to ensure that all children become literate by the third grade.
“The fact is that fourth-grade students not proficient in reading are all too likely to become the nation’s least-skilled, lowest-income, least-productive, and most-costly citizens of tomorrow,” according to Haan. “In 2007, 6.2 million young people ages 16- to 24-years-old [16 percent] had dropped out of high school and will cost our society an estimated $260,000 each in lost earnings, taxes and productivity. America’s high school dropout rate has become a national crisis.”
The passage of the act and the utilization by the states of the Association’s model language for state literacy law will further the Association’s mission of providing the most comprehensive range of information and services that address the full scope of dyslexia and related difficulties in learning to read and write.
“The International Dyslexia Association has been tireless in its effort to promote literacy for all students and ensure that all learners receive the support needed to achieve their full potential,” said Stephen Peregoy, executive director of the Association. “The introduction of the LEARN Act and our model language for state literacy law puts us one step closer to our goal of strengthening individual learning abilities and tearing down social, educational and cultural barriers to language acquisition.”
The International Dyslexia Association is a non-profit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of dyslexia as well as related language-based learning differences. It operates 46 branches throughout the United States and Canada and has global partners in 13 countries, including Australia, Brazil, England, Germany, Ireland, and Japan.
