Parents press Albany board to adopt structured‑literacy screening and supports for students with dyslexia

Parents and advocates at Tuesday's Albany City School District meeting urged the board to make dyslexia screening and structured literacy a district priority.

Mary Nolan, speaking for the Albany Special Education Parent Advisory Council, commended the district’s move toward a science‑based general reading curriculum but told the board that students with dyslexia require intensive remediation delivered by teachers trained in Orton‑Gillingham and structured‑literacy methods.

"Teaching future students or future citizens to read is one of the main tasks of school," Nolan said. "Students with dyslexia need intensive evidence‑based remediation from teachers certified in OG principles."

Anne McGrath, a parent whose daughter has diagnosed dyslexia, described multiple unsuccessful interventions and called the situation "a policy failure" that disproportionately harms families who lack resources. McGrath quoted statewide figures during her remarks and urged the board to act on early identification and to ensure the district's new reading program includes sequential, explicit phonics.

Other public commenters asked the board to support early identification via universal screening, to ensure access to one‑to‑one or small‑group structured literacy for students identified at risk, and to verify that any new general‑education curriculum truly contains the components needed to remediate reading disorders.

Board members acknowledged the concerns and noted ongoing curriculum reviews and state legislative work on dyslexia identification; no formal policy change was adopted Tuesday, but several board members asked staff to provide evidence that the new reading program includes extensive daily, sequential phonics and to return with implementation details.

The meeting record shows strong public concern on dyslexia and literacy supports and a request that the district prioritize evidence‑based remediation and transparent documentation of curriculum selection and training for staff.