Committee hears bill to require two hours of dyslexia training for teacher renewal

The House Education Policy Committee on March 24 heard House File 60, a bill that would require a one-time, two-hour professional-development component on dyslexia to be included within an educator’s existing license-renewal requirements. The bill’s sponsor (identified in the transcript as Representative Party) told the committee the Department of Education would provide three no-cost training options, including free online courses, to support teachers.

Reading-interventionist Sarah for Key testified that the state’s REACH Act trainings teach the science of reading broadly but do not provide the in-depth, dyslexia-specific instruction teachers need to act on screening data. “Identification without corresponding educator training leaves a gap in the classroom,” Sarah for Key said, urging the panel to ensure teachers can respond to students flagged by screenings.

Kimberly Static, a member of the dyslexia coalition and a dyslexic parent and adult, described personal family struggles getting a diagnosis and said families often pay for private evaluations. “Right now 170,000 students need this in our state,” she told the committee; that figure was offered by the testifier and was not independently verified during the hearing.

Representative Cuellar, who identified themself as dyslexic, pressed whether the two-hour requirement would add to existing training burdens for teachers. Committee staff and Ms. Berger clarified the intent: the two-hour dyslexia module is designed to fit within the flexibility of the educator renewal period (one opportunity during an educator’s renewal cycle) and would follow initial REACH Act training so it would not be stacked on top of required pre-service training for new teachers.

Members praised the bill’s focus on teacher preparation and literacy. The committee adopted a department/author (DEA) amendment by voice vote and laid House File 60, as amended, over for future consideration; no final floor action occurred at the hearing.

The committee’s next procedural step is to reconvene debate when HF60 is called again; the amendment and the layover were recorded on the committee record.