The Georgia Dyslexia Pilot Program (SB 48) requires local school systems to begin screening all kindergarten students and certain students in grades 1-3 for characteristics of dyslexia beginning in the 2024-2025 school year. To prepare, the bill requires GaDOE to conduct a 3-year Dyslexia Pilot Program (2020-2023). City Schools of Decatur is one of the school systems participating in the pilot.

In 2019, the Georgia Assembly passed Senate Bill 48 into law. The bill required the State Board of Education, State Superintendent, GaDOE, and Georgia Professional Standards Commission to: 

• develop policies for referring certain elementary students for dyslexia screening, 
• create a dyslexia informational handbook to assist school districts, 
• provide professional development opportunities on dyslexia for teachers, 
• create a dyslexia endorsement for teachers, and 
• add instruction on dyslexia and response to intervention to existing standards for teacher preparation programs. 

International Dyslexia Association’s Definition of Dyslexia:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

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