Responding to communications from parent, advocacy groups, and national disability organizations, The US Department of Education (USDOE) has issued a “Dear Colleague” letter on the unique educational needs of children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia ̶ conditions that could qualify a child for services under IDEA. The purpose of the letter was to clarify that the terms can be used in IDEA evaluation, eligibility, and IEP documents.
The 4-page memo lays out guidance for stakeholders to address the needs of students with specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and reminds State and local education agencies of previous guidance on issues such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and timely evaluations.
USDOE writes, “There is nothing in IDEA that would prohibit the terms dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia from being used in IEP documents. Therefore, there could be situations where the child’s parents and the team of qualified professionals responsible for determining whether the child has a specific learning disability would find it helpful to include information about the specific condition (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia) in documenting how that condition relates to the child’s eligibility determination.”
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-dyslexia-10-2015.pdf
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