Category: Advocacy

Community Collaboration on Implementing the CA Dyslexia Guidelines

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On October 20th, over 100 participants gathered in Berkeley, CA famous Ed Roberts Campus to discuss Dyslexia and AB 1369:  School and Community Partnerships & Critical Next Steps. (To access a list of dyslexia resources that were provided at the event click here.)

This community collaboration had 36 unique school districts represented.  Over 20 school administrators, 40 educators and 40 parents & guardians came together for an interactive discussion on how California school districts are implementing the California Dyslexia Guidelines.  Discussions centered around the progress various school districts have accomplished to date and the need to address the identified challenges ahead.

Featured panelists included Elementary School Teachers, a SELPA Special Education Director, a District-Level Literacy Instructional Coach, Adjunct Faculty from CSUEB and the Decoding Dyslexia CA State Director.

Participants were able to experience first-hand what it feels like to be a student with dyslexia by participating in the IDA NorCal Experience Dyslexia®simulation.  Live demonstrations were provided by Learning Ally, The Center for Accessible  Technologyand Precision Learning Center.

A helpful 2-page summary of the California Dyslexia Guidelines can be found here.

Literacy Lawsuit against the State of California

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Decoding Dyslexia CA feels it is important to keep its members updated on trending issues regarding literacy in California. We also closely follow litigation as it relates to students with dyslexia. DDCA shared the news articles that came out in December 2017 regarding the Ella T. v. State of California lawsuit which named California Department of Education, State Board of Education and Tom Torlakson, as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that California has failed to follow up on its own report by state literacy experts that found there was a “critical need” to address the skills and development of students, particularly those who are learning English, have disabilities, are economically disadvantaged, or are African-American or Hispanic. For your further review, we are attaching the link to a New York Times article on this matter, a link to the 2012 Literacy Report referenced in the article, and the copy of the actual complaint that was filed in the CA Superior Court in Los Angeles. We will continue to monitor and update you as we learn more.

New York Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/california-literacy-lawsuit.html

2012 Literacy Report referenced in article (click on CA): https://www2.ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders-literacy/literacyprofiles.html

Copy of the Complaint filed: https://media2.mofo.com/documents/171205-ellla-t-v-california-complaint.pdf