House Bill 1193

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-173-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE DYSLEXIA EVALUATIONS AND PARENTS EXERCISING THE OPTION TO HAVE SUBSEQUENT COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL EVALUATIONS ARE ENTITLED TO REIMBURSEMENT OF THE COST OF SUCH AN EVALUATION WHICH RESULTS IN A DIAGNOSIS OF DYSLEXIA, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,000.00; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-173-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-173-15. (1) (a) Each local school district shall adopt a policy to ensure that students will be screened by a screener approved by the State Board of Education in the spring of kindergarten and the fall of Grade 1. The component of the screening must include:

(i) Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness;

(ii) Sound symbol recognition;

(iii) Alphabet knowledge;

(iv) Decoding skills;

(v) Encoding skills; and

(vi) Rapid naming.

(b) If a student fails the screener, the parent or legal guardian will be notified of the results of the screener. Subsequent dyslexia evaluations may be administered by licensed professionals, including:

(i) Psychologists, licensed under Chapter 31, Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972;

(ii) Psychometrists, licensed by the Mississippi Department of Education, and in accordance with Chapter 31, Title 73, Section 27, Mississippi Code of 1972; or

(iii) Speech Language Pathologists, licensed under Chapter 38, Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(c) If a student fails the screener, the school district, in its discretion, may perform a comprehensive dyslexia evaluation * * *,; such evaluation must be administered by any of the licensed professionals identified under paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(d) If a parent or legal guardian of a student who fails the dyslexia screener exercises the option to have a subsequent evaluation performed, such evaluation, which shall be a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation, shall be administered by any of the licensed professionals identified under paragraph (b) of this subsection, and the resulting diagnosis of the subsequent comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation must be accepted by the school district for purposes of determining eligibility for placement within a dyslexia therapy program within the current school or to receive a Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for placement in a dyslexia program in another public school or nonpublic school.

(2) The screening of all compulsory-school-age children enrolled in each local public school district for dyslexia required by subsection (1)(a) of this section shall in no manner nullify or defeat the requirements of the pilot programs adopted by the State Department of Education to test certain students enrolled or enrolling in public schools for dyslexia under Section 37-23-15.

(3) The cost of a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation conducted under paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section, which results in a diagnosis of dyslexia, must be reimbursed by the State Department of Education in an amount not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). The department shall develop policies and procedures to administer the reimbursement program established under this subsection and shall establish the criteria to be used in determining acceptable comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations and qualifying evaluators for which reimbursement is permitted.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.