Legislative declaration

(1) The general assembly finds that various educational advocacy groups, including parents of children identified as having dyslexia, have voiced concerns related to the adequacy and effectiveness of the methods and tools for identifying students who have dyslexia and the adequacy of the educational supports for these students. While there have been various efforts at both the state and school district levels to address the issues related to effective identification and support for students with dyslexia, these efforts have not resulted in significant progress in educating these students. Therefore, the general assembly, recognizing the obligation of the state of Colorado to provide educational opportunities to all children that will enable them to lead fulfilling and productive lives, finds that it is necessary to create a working group of parents and educational experts to review the work of educational experts and local education providers in Colorado and in other states in the area of identification of and educational support for students with dyslexia and to use their findings to inform future efforts by the state and local education providers to identify and effectively support students with dyslexia. (2) The general assembly further finds that a pilot program through which the department of education works with a group of volunteer local education providers to use early literacy assessment results to identify markers of dyslexia and provide support to young students who may demonstrate the early markers for dyslexia will strengthen the ability of local education providers throughout the state to identify and effectively support students with dyslexia.