Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students with Dyslexia; standardize reference to approved therapy training programs.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) England

SENATE BILL NO. 2492

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-173-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO STANDARDIZE REFERENCES TO ORTON-GILLINGHAM BASED DYSLEXIA 2
THERAPY TRAINING PROGRAMS APPROVED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF 3
EDUCATION FOR PURPOSES OF THE MISSISSIPPI DYSLEXIA THERAPY 4
SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED 5
PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 37-173-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
37-173-1. As used in this chapter, the following words and 10
phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless 11
the context clearly indicates otherwise: 12
(a) "Board" means the State Board of Education. 13
(b) "Department" means the State Department of 14
Education. 15
(c) "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability 16
that is neurological in origin, characterized by difficulties with 17
accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and 18
decoding abilities, which typically result from a deficit in the 19
phonological component of language that is often unexpected in 20
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relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of 21
effective classroom instruction, and secondary consequences which 22
may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading 23
experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background 24
knowledge. 25
(d) "Dyslexia therapy" means an appropriate specialized 26
dyslexia instructional program that is delivered by a Mississippi 27
Department of Education licensed dyslexia therapist which is 28
scientific, research-based, Orton-Gillingham based, and is offered 29
in a small group setting to teach students the components of 30
reading instruction which include: 31
(i) Phonemic awareness to enable students to 32
detect, segment, blend and manipulate sounds in spoken language; 33
(ii) Graphophonemic knowledge (phonics) for 34
teaching the letter-sound plan of English; 35
(iii) The entire structure of the English language 36
that encompasses morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics; 37
(iv) Linguistic instruction directed toward 38
proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that 39
words and sentences are carriers of meaning; and 40
(v) Strategies that students use for decoding, 41
encoding, word recognition, fluency and comprehension. 42
These components shall be taught using instructional 43
approaches that include explicit, direct instruction which is 44
systematic, sequential and cumulative, following a logical plan of 45
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presenting the alphabetic principle commensurate with the 46
students' needs, with no assumption of prior skills or language 47
knowledge; individualized to meet the specific learning needs of 48
each individual student in a small group setting; intensive, 49
highly concentrated instruction that maximizes student engagement 50
and uses specialized methods and materials; meaning-based 51
instruction directed toward purposeful reading and writing, with 52
an emphasis on comprehension and composition; and multisensory 53
instruction that incorporates the simultaneous use of two (2) or 54
more sensory pathways during teacher presentations and student 55
practice. 56
(e) "AA license" means a certification issued by the 57
department to educators who hold a master's degree, indicating 58
their eligibility to teach in specific academic settings within 59
the State of Mississippi. 60
(f) "Qualified Instructor of Certified Academic 61
Language Therapists" means a professional who is certified in 62
instructor competency through a nationally recognized 63
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy organization or 64
Orton-Gillingham based academic language therapy organization and 65
has: 66
(i) Experience in Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia 67
therapy situations that include remediating students of various 68
severity levels, ages and group sizes not exceeding six (6) 69
students; 70
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(ii) Completed a minimum of fourteen hundred 71
(1400) clinical therapy hours; 72
(iii) Completed a minimum of two (2) curriculum 73
therapy cycles remediating students; 74
(iv) Trained in a minimum of two (2) 75
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy curriculum programs; 76
(v) Assisted in training educators through an 77
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy program under a Qualified 78
Instructor of Certified Academic Language Therapists; and 79
(vi) A master's degree or higher level of 80
education. 81
(g) "Department of Education licensed dyslexia 82
therapist" means a professional: 83
(i) Who has completed training in a 84
department-approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy 85
training program attaining a AA license in dyslexia therapy; or 86
(ii) Holding or currently participating in a 87
master's degree that leads to an AA license and a 88
department-approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy 89
training program; or 90
(iii) Holding a standard five-year license or 91
administrator license and a master's degree having completed a 92
department-approved Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy 93
training program; or 94
(iv) Holding: 95
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1. A national certification for 96
Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy or Orton-Gillingham based 97
academic language therapy from a nationally recognized 98
professional organization; 99
2. College transcripts as proof of a master's 100
degree or greater level of graduate education; and 101
3. Current membership in a national 102
certifying organization for Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia 103
therapy or Orton-Gillingham based academic language therapy as 104
proof of maintenance of professional continuing education 105
standards. 106
(h) "Department-approved Orton-Gillingham based 107
dyslexia therapy training program" means a program accredited by 108
the International Multisensory Structured Language Education 109
Council (IMSLEC) and includes: 110
(i) A minimum of two hundred (200) hours of 111
coursework and seven hundred (700) hours of clinical work, 112
observed and monitored by a Qualified Instructor of Certified 113
Academic Language Therapists; and 114
(ii) A reading-science competency examination, 115
including multisensory structured language, administered by a 116
nationally recognized organization with authority to issue 117
national certification. 118
(i) "Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for 119
Students with Dyslexia Program" means a scholarship to provide the 120
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ST: Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship for Students
with Dyslexia; standardize reference to approved
therapy training programs.
option to attend a public school other than the one to which 121
assigned, or to provide a scholarship to a nonpublic school of 122
choice, for students in Grade 1 through Grade 12 diagnosed with 123
dyslexia in order to receive comprehensive multisensory dyslexia 124
therapy delivered by holders of an appropriate license in dyslexia 125
therapy issued by the department. 126
(j) "School" means any public or state-accredited 127
nonpublic special purpose school that provides a specific learning 128
environment that provides comprehensive dyslexia therapy 129
instruction delivered by dyslexia therapists licensed by the 130
department providing highly qualified education and intervention 131
services to children diagnosed with the primary learning 132
disability of dyslexia. 133
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 134
and after its passage. 135