Dyslexia Services

Special Education Overview

All students with disabilities living within Brownfield ISD shall be identified and evaluated in regard to their needs for special education services.  Brownfield ISD Special Education Department makes available to all students with disabilities (ages 3-those who have not yet reached their twenty-second birthday as of Sept 1 of the current year) a free and appropriate public education which includes special education and related services to meet the unique needs of each student.  A free and appropriate public education shall be available to students with visual or auditory disabilities from birth through age twenty-one.  The Federal regulations and State Board of Education rules assure that this education to students with disabilities will be provided in the least restrictive environment through the Admission, Review, and Dismissal, (ARD) process. 

Kathleen Crooks

Director of Special Education

806-637-8448

kcrooks@brownfieldisd.net

Dyslexia

Brownfield ISD is committed to providing students identified with dyslexia with appropriate research-based instruction and academic support to prepare them to be successful lifetime readers and writers.  Brownfield ISD has a district-wide plan that follows the guidelines and procedures set forth in the Dyslexia Handbook for the identification of, instruction for, and accommodations for students with dyslexia and related disorders

The Dyslexia Handbook 2024 Update

https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/special-education/texas-dyslexia-handbook.pdf

Manual Sobre Dislexia (The Dyslexia Handbook - Spanish)

The Dyslexia Handbook - Spanish version (Updated on October 2, 2024) is now available and includes the Dyslexia Handbook Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/special-education/texas-dyslexia-handbook-2024-spanish.pdf

Dyslexia Defined

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” Students suspected of having dyslexia are identified through a formal evaluation process in Brownfield ISD through a Full Individual Initial Evaluation, (FIIE), under IDEA. (2021 Update Dyslexia Handbook).  Following the completion of the evaluation, a written report is generated and reviewed by the ARD Committee.  Independent education evaluations for dyslexia will be considered. 

Elementary and Secondary campuses offer a continuum of services for students with dyslexia. Some students may only require instructional accommodation through IDEA, others may need direct intensive instruction in reading, and others may require the much more intensive supports and services of special education. Because dyslexia ranges from very mild to severe, it is crucial that individual needs are considered when planning for student success. 

If you have concerns that your child may have dyslexia, please contact your child's teacher, counselor, or principal to find out more about the Student Support Team process.

Information about IDEA, Dyslexia, MTSS, and 504:  

Texas Education Code Section 38.003

https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._educ._code_section_38.003

Instruction for Students with Dyslexia                                                                      
An ARD committee will make the decision whether the student has met the criteria for the disability of dyslexia. The ARD committee will then need to determine if the student will need one or all of the following:
· Accommodations based on the student’s individual needs for the disability of dyslexia.
· Interventions in reading based on the student’s individual needs for the disability of dyslexia.
Components of Instruction
The intervention program should be offered in a small class setting and include reading, writing, and spelling as appropriate for each student. The major instructional strategies should utilize individualized, intensive, and multi-sensory methods as appropriate.
Components of instruction, as appropriate for the reading needs of the student, include the following:
· Phonemic awareness instruction that enables students to detect, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds in spoken language;
· Graphophonemic knowledge (phonics) instruction that takes advantage of the letter-sound plan in which words carry meaning are made of sounds and sounds are written with letters in the right order. Students with this understanding can blend sounds associated with letters into words and can separate words into component sound for spelling and writing;
· Language structure instruction that encompasses morphology (the study of meaningful units of language such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots), semantics (ways that language conveys meaning), syntax (sentence structure), and pragmatics (how to use language in a particular context); 
· Linguistic instruction directed toward proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that words and sentences are the carriers of meaning;
· Strategy-oriented instruction in the strategies students use for decoding, encoding, word recognition, fluency, and comprehension that students need to become independent readers.
Instructional approaches, as appropriate to meet the instructional needs of the student to include: 
· Explicit, direct instruction that is systematic (structured), sequential, and cumulative. 
Instruction is organized and presented in a way that follows a logical sequential plan, fits the nature of language (alphabetic principal) with no assumption of prior skills or language knowledge, and maximizes student engagement. This instruction proceeds at the rate commensurate with students’ needs, ability levels, and demonstration of progress;
· Individualized instruction that meets the specific learning needs of each individual student in a small group setting;
· A reading curriculum that matches each student’s individual ability level and contains all of the components of instruction listed above; 
· Intensive, highly concentrated instruction that maximizes student engagement, uses specialized methods and materials, produces results, and weekly progress monitoring to ensure adequate progress and learning, appropriate setting outside the class designated by the school;
· Meaning-based instruction that is directed toward purposeful reading and writing, with an emphasis on comprehension and composition;
· Multi-sensory instruction that incorporates the simultaneous use of two or more sensory pathways (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile) during teacher presentations and student practice.

Helpful Resources

Parent's Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process

Guia Para Padres del Proceso do Admision, Repaso, y Retiro

Notice of Procedural Safeguards

Aviso Sore Procedimientos de Proteccion

Overview of Special Education for Parents

Información general para los padres sobre la educación ...

Dyslexia Program Awareness for Educators and Parents Brochure:

https://www.esc17.net/upload/page/0069/Parent%20Education%20Brochure%20English%20Updated%202021_2.pdf

Learning Ally Audiobooks Link:

Learning Ally | Texas Education - Print Disabilities - Audiobooks

Welcome Texas Schools. The Texas Education Agency has provided funding for K-12 public and charter schools to support their struggling readers with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution, including high quality, human-read audiobooks and a suite of educator resources. learningally.org

Legal Framework: 

http://framework.esc18.net/display/Webforms/ESC18-FW-LandingPage.aspx

Compensatory Services

https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Comp_Services_One_Pager_Sept_2021_ACC.pdf

https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/Comp_Services_One_Pager_Sept_2021_SPANISH_ACC.pdf

Talking Book Program

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/index.html

SPEDTEX

The Special Education Information Center (SPEDTex) provides resources and interactive features for increasing family awareness of disabilities and special education processes, with the goal of improving partnerships between schools and families.

Contact information:

Phone: 1-855-773-3839

Email: inquire@spedtex.org

Live Chat: www.spedtex.org