MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia; revise eligibility beginning with kindergarten.

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To: Education;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Byrd

HOUSE BILL NO. 948

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-173-1, 37-173-3 AND 37-173-15, 1
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXPAND THE ELIGIBILITY FOR THE 2
MISSISSIPPI DYSLEXIA THERAPY SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDENTS WITH 3
DYSLEXIA PROGRAM TO INCLUDE STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 4
12; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 37-173-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
37-173-1. As used in this chapter, the following words and 9
phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless 10
the context clearly indicates otherwise: 11
(a) "Board" means the State Board of Education. 12
(b) "Department" means the State Department of 13
Education. 14
(c) "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability 15
that is neurological in origin, characterized by difficulties with 16
accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and 17
decoding abilities, which typically result from a deficit in the 18
phonological component of language that is often unexpected in 19
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relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of 20
effective classroom instruction, and secondary consequences which 21
may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading 22
experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background 23
knowledge. 24
(d) "Dyslexia therapy" means an appropriate specialized 25
dyslexia instructional program that is delivered by a Mississippi 26
Department of Education licensed dyslexia therapist which is 27
scientific, research-based, Orton-Gillingham based, and is offered 28
in a small group setting to teach students the components of 29
reading instruction which include: 30
(i) Phonemic awareness to enable students to 31
detect, segment, blend and manipulate sounds in spoken language; 32
(ii) Graphophonemic knowledge (phonics) for 33
teaching the letter-sound plan of English; 34
(iii) The entire structure of the English language 35
that encompasses morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics; 36
(iv) Linguistic instruction directed toward 37
proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that 38
words and sentences are carriers of meaning; and 39
(v) Strategies that students use for decoding, 40
encoding, word recognition, fluency and comprehension. 41
These components shall be taught using instructional 42
approaches that include explicit, direct instruction which is 43
systematic, sequential and cumulative, following a logical plan of 44
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presenting the alphabetic principle commensurate with the 45
students' needs, with no assumption of prior skills or language 46
knowledge; individualized to meet the specific learning needs of 47
each individual student in a small group setting; intensive, 48
highly concentrated instruction that maximizes student engagement 49
and uses specialized methods and materials; meaning-based 50
instruction directed toward purposeful reading and writing, with 51
an emphasis on comprehension and composition; and multisensory 52
instruction that incorporates the simultaneous use of two (2) or 53
more sensory pathways during teacher presentations and student 54
practice. 55
(e) "AA license" means a certification issued by the 56
department to educators who hold a master's degree, indicating 57
their eligibility to teach in specific academic settings within 58
the State of Mississippi. 59
(f) "Qualified Instructor of Certified Academic 60
Language Therapists" means a professional who is certified in 61
instructor competency through a nationally recognized 62
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy organization or 63
Orton-Gillingham based academic language therapy organization and 64
has: 65
(i) Experience in Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia 66
therapy situations that include remediating students of various 67
severity levels, ages and group sizes not exceeding six (6) 68
students; 69
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(ii) Completed a minimum of fourteen hundred 70
(1400) clinical therapy hours; 71
(iii) Completed a minimum of two (2) curriculum 72
therapy cycles remediating students; 73
(iv) Trained in a minimum of two (2) 74
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy curriculum programs; 75
(v) Assisted in training educators through an 76
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy program under a Qualified 77
Instructor of Certified Academic Language Therapists; and 78
(vi) A master's degree or higher level of 79
education. 80
(g) "Department of Education licensed dyslexia 81
therapist" means a professional: 82
(i) Who has completed training in a department 83
approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy training program 84
attaining a AA license in dyslexia therapy; or 85
(ii) Holding or currently participating in a 86
master's degree that leads to an AA license and a 87
department-approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy 88
training program; or 89
(iii) Holding a standard five-year license or 90
administrator license and a master's degree having completed a 91
department-approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia training 92
program; or 93
(iv) Holding: 94
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1. A national certification for 95
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy or Orton-Gillingham based 96
academic language therapy from a nationally recognized 97
professional organization; 98
2. College transcripts as proof of a master's 99
degree or greater level of graduate education; and 100
3. Current membership in a national 101
certifying organization for Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia 102
therapy or Orton-Gillingham based academic language therapy as 103
proof of maintenance of professional continuing education 104
standards. 105
(h) "Approved dyslexia therapy training program" means 106
a program accredited by the International Multisensory Structured 107
Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and includes: 108
(i) A minimum of two hundred (200) hours of 109
coursework and seven hundred (700) hours of clinical work, 110
observed and monitored by a Qualified Instructor of Certified 111
Academic Language Therapists; and 112
(ii) A reading-science competency examination, 113
including multisensory structured language, administered by a 114
nationally recognized organization with authority to issue 115
national certification. 116
(i) "Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for 117
Students with Dyslexia Program" means a scholarship to provide the 118
option to attend a public school other than the one to which 119
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assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a nonpublic school of 120
choice, for students in * * * kindergarten through Grade 12 121
diagnosed with dyslexia in order to receive comprehensive 122
multisensory dyslexia therapy delivered by holders of an 123
appropriate license in dyslexia therapy issued by the department. 124
(j) "School" means any public or state-accredited 125
nonpublic special purpose school that provides a specific learning 126
environment that provides comprehensive dyslexia therapy 127
instruction delivered by dyslexia therapists licensed by the 128
department providing highly qualified education and intervention 129
services to children diagnosed with the primary learning 130
disability of dyslexia. 131
SECTION 2. Section 37-173-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 132
amended as follows: 133
37-173-3. The Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for 134
Students with Dyslexia Program is established to provide the 135
option to attend a public school other than the one to which 136
assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a nonpublic school of 137
choice, for students with a diagnosis of dyslexia. Students 138
in * * * kindergarten through Grade 12 who have been properly 139
screened and diagnosed with dyslexia shall be eligible to receive 140
scholarship assistance under this program. 141
SECTION 3. Section 37-173-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 142
amended as follows: 143
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37-173-15. (1) (a) Each local school district shall adopt 144
a policy to ensure that students will be screened by a screener 145
approved by the State Board of Education in the * * * fall of 146
kindergarten and the fall of Grade 1. The component of the 147
screening must include: 148
(i) Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness; 149
(ii) Sound symbol recognition; 150
(iii) Alphabet knowledge; 151
(iv) Decoding skills; 152
(v) Encoding skills; and 153
(vi) Rapid naming. 154
(b) If a student fails the screener, the parent or 155
legal guardian will be notified of the results of the screener. 156
Subsequent dyslexia evaluations may be administered by licensed 157
professionals, including: 158
(i) Psychologists, licensed under Chapter 31, 159
Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972; 160
(ii) Psychometrists, licensed by the Mississippi 161
Department of Education, and in accordance with Chapter 31, Title 162
73, Section 27, Mississippi Code of 1972; or 163
(iii) Speech Language Pathologists, licensed under 164
Chapter 38, Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972. 165
(c) If a student fails the screener, the school 166
district, in its discretion, may perform a comprehensive dyslexia 167
evaluation, such evaluation must be administered by any of the 168
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ST: MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for
Students with Dyslexia; revise eligibility
beginning with kindergarten.
licensed professionals identified under paragraph (b) of this 169
subsection. 170
(d) If a parent or legal guardian of a student who 171
fails the dyslexia screener exercises the option to have a 172
subsequent evaluation performed, such evaluation shall be 173
administered by any of the licensed professionals identified under 174
paragraph (b) of this subsection, and the resulting diagnosis of 175
the subsequent evaluation must be accepted by the school district 176
for purposes of determining eligibility for placement within a 177
dyslexia therapy program within the current school or to receive a 178
Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for placement in a 179
dyslexia program in another public school or nonpublic school. 180
(2) The screening of all compulsory-school-age children 181
enrolled in each local public school district for dyslexia 182
required by subsection (1)(a) of this section shall in no manner 183
nullify or defeat the requirements of the pilot programs adopted 184
by the State Department of Education to test certain students 185
enrolled or enrolling in public schools for dyslexia under Section 186
37-23-15. 187
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 188
and after July 1, 2026. 189