According to Arkansas Act 1294 of 2013, all school districts are required to meet the needs of children with the characteristics of dyslexia. The law defines dyslexia as a learning disability that is neurological in origin, characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition, poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from the phonological component of language. These characteristics are often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities. This definition of dyslexia was borrowed from the International Dyslexia Association.
The Arkansas law not only defines dyslexia, but also addresses required screening of students, intervention for identified students, and instructional approaches for teachers and dyslexia therapists.
The Dover School District uses the Phonics First program as the primary intervention for students identified with the characteristics of dyslexia. Phonics First is based on the principles of Orton-Gillingham methodology. Phonics First is a research based program that is explicit, structured, systematic, sequential, multisensory phonics. Research confirms that effective, multisensory reading instruction reorganizes the brains of struggling readers and engages a variety of learning pathways. Functional MRI brain imaging shows the impact on the brain is significant.
Arkansas Law requires that all school districts report the number of students identified with the characteristics of dyslexia and the number of students receiving dyslexia therapy during the school year. Information regarding students in the Dover School District is provided below.
School Year | Students Identified | Students Receiving Services |
2015-2016 | 16 | 16 |
2016-2017 | 26 | 42 |
2017-2018 | 11 | 46 |
2018-2019 | 15 | 62 |
2019-2020 | 25 | 67 |
2021-2020 | 24 | 80 |
2021-2022 | 22 | 89 |
2022-2023 | 28 | 115 |
This information has been provided by the Dover School District Dyslexia Interventionist, Suzanne Srader.