As used in this part:

1. (1) "Alphabet knowledge" means the ability to automatically recognize and name the twenty-six (26) lowercase and twenty-six (26) uppercase letters with ease and accuracy;
2. (2) "Decoding" means to translate words, word parts, or nonwords into their corresponding pronunciation;

3. (3) “Dyslexia” means a specific learning disability that is:

   1. (A) Neurological in origin;
   2. (B) Characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities that typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language; and
   3. (C) Often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities;

4. (4) “Dyslexia interventionist” means a school district or public school employee trained in a dyslexia program, such as a:

   1. (A) Dyslexia therapist;
   2. (B) Dyslexia specialist;
   3. (C) Reading interventionist;
   4. (D) Certified teacher; or
   5. (E) Tutor or paraprofessional working under the supervision of a certified teacher;

5. (5) “Dyslexia program” means explicit, direct instruction that is:

   1. (A) Systematic, sequential, and cumulative and follows a logical plan of presenting the alphabetic principle that targets the specific needs of the student without presuming prior skills or knowledge of the student;
   2. (B) Systematic, multisensory, and research-based;

   3. (C) Offered in a small group setting to teach students the components of reading instruction, including without limitation:

      1. (i) Phonemic awareness to enable a student to detect, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds in spoken language;
      2. (ii) Graphophonemic knowledge for teaching the letter-sound plan of English;

      3. (iii) The structure of the English language that includes:

         1. (a) (a) Morphology;
         2. (b) (b) Semantics;
      4. (c) (c) Syntax; and
      5. (d) (d) Pragmatics;
      6. (iv) Linguistic instruction directed toward proficiency and fluency with the patterns of language so that words and sentences are carriers of meaning; and

      7. (v) Strategies that students use for:

         1. (a) (a) Decoding;
         2. (b) (b) Encoding;
      8. (c) (c) Word recognition;

      9. (d) (d) Fluency; and

         1. (e) (e) Comprehension; and

   4. (D)

      1. (i) Delivered with fidelity.
      2. (ii) “Fidelity” means the intervention is done as the author of the program intended;

6. (6)

   1. (A) “Dyslexia specialist” means a professional at each education service cooperative or school district who has expertise and is working towards an endorsement or certification in dyslexia.

   2. (B) A dyslexia specialist shall:

      1. (i) Be fluent in the Response to Intervention (RTI) process; and

      2. (ii) Provide training in administering screenings, analyzing and interpreting screening data, and determining appropriate interventions that are:

         1. (a) (a) Systematic;
         2. (b) (b) Multisensory; and
      3. (c) (c) Evidence-based;
7. (7) “Dyslexia therapist” means a professional who has completed training and obtained certification in dyslexia therapy from a dyslexia therapy training program defined by the Department of Education;
8. (8) “Dyslexia therapy” means an appropriate specialized reading instructional program specifically designed for use in a dyslexia program that is delivered by a dyslexia interventionist;

9. (9) "Early signs consistent with characteristics of dyslexia" means the clearest early indicators of dyslexia observed as early as kindergarten including difficulties:

   1. (A) Acquiring phonemic awareness;
   2. (B) Learning letter/sound correspondences; and
   3. (C) Learning to decode print using phonemic decoding strategies;
10. (10) "Encoding" means to translate spoken language into print;
11. (11) "Language comprehension" means the ability to understand both spoken and written language, including vocabulary and listening knowledge;
12. (12) "Oral reading fluency" means the ability to read grade level text with an appropriate rate to support comprehension, self-correcting as necessary;
13. (13) "Phonemic awareness" means the ability to recognize and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken language;

14. (14) "Phonological awareness" means the ability to hear and manipulate the spoken parts of words including:

    1. (A) Syllables;
    2. (B) Onset-rime; and
    3. (C) Phonemes;

15. (15) “Response to Intervention (RTI)” is the practice of:

    1. (A) Screening students to identify those needing extra support;
    2. (B) Providing high-quality instruction and appropriate interventions matched to student needs;
    3. (C) Closely monitoring progress to assess both the learning rate and the level of performance of individual students; and
    4. (D) Basing instructional decisions about the intensity and duration of interventions on assessment data and individual student response to intervention;
16. (16) "Sound symbol recognition" means to automatically produce sounds or grapheme names, that is grade level letters or letter clusters, during recognition, production, or writing tasks; and

17. (17) "Substantial reading deficit" means:

    1. (A) A score at the lowest achievement level or benchmark on the screening or progress monitoring when using a high quality, evidence-based screener approved by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education; or
    2. (B) Evidence of minimum skill levels for reading competency in one (1) or more of the areas of phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, oral language skills, reading fluency, and reading comprehension documented on consecutive formative assessments or documented in teacher observation data.