SRVUSD board to debate issuing support for dyslexia legislation

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The San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education is set to vote Tuesday on a letter outlining its support for proposed new state legislation that seeks to improve rates of identifying and providing interventions and support for students with reading difficulties including dyslexia.

The measure is coming to trustees at the request of Board President Rachel Hurd, who is asking that her colleagues vote to approve sending a letter in support of proposed Senate Bill 691 to its main author, State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Los Angeles).

If implemented, the bill would require local school districts to administer dyslexia risk screening annually to students in kindergarten, first grade and second grade, and to notify parents or caregivers no more than 45 days after the screening.

“SRVUSD already screens all of our students in kindergarten through second grade, in alignment with the bill, and are finding universal screening data for risk of reading difficulties to be an incredibly valuable component of our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS),” SRVUSD Superintendent John Malloy wrote in a staff report prepared for the meeting.

The letter drafted for trustees also points to SRVUSD’s existing practices for dyslexia screening and their results, and encourages requiring the annual screening for young students at districts across the state.

“It is incredibly promising to see legislation at the state level which aims to expand universal screening for all CA public school children,” according to the draft letter prepared by district staff.

They added that dyslexia is just one extreme on a wide range of reading difficulties of various levels that might interfere with students’ learning progress, and that early detection can prevent this before it starts.

“Children showing signs of reading difficulties, including dyslexia can be reliably identified before they experience school failure, which can help put them on the path to reading success,” SRVUSD staff wrote in the draft letter. “Early identification, as proposed in SB 691, makes early intervention possible, sparing children years of struggle with lasting academic, social, and emotional impacts.”

The SRVUSD board is set to convene for their next regular meeting on Tuesday (April 25) at 6 p.m. The agenda is available here.

In other business

* In a closed session ahead of their regular meeting, the board is set to discuss appointing a new assistant superintendent of human resources amid the departure of Keith Rogenski, who was first appointed to the role in 2015.

* The board will hear and discuss an informational report on the district’s “Shared Leadership” component of its strategic directions.

* The board will discuss and consider approving an audit report on its building fund under the 2012 general obligation bond Measure D.

* As an item on the consent agenda, the board will consider approving a resolution that would allow the district to seek a waiver for substitute teachers serving 30 days or less to pass the California Basic Skills Test (CBEST).

Correction: The board is set to discuss appointing Rogenski’s replacement in closed session, with no vote planned for the April 25 meeting. Embarcadero Media regrets the error.