Rule 160-4-2-.40. Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Requirements

1. (1) DEFINITIONS

   1. (a) Characteristics of Dyslexia - persistent weaknesses in one or more areas of foundational reading skills and inadequate response to targeted intervention that indicates a need for more intensive intervention.
   2. (b) Center - the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy.
   3. (c) Council - the Georgia Council on Literacy.
   4. (d) Dyslexia - a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate or 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 the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
   5. (e) Foundational literacy skills - phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, phonics, oral reading fluency, spelling, vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral language, and rapid automatized naming.
   6. (f) High-quality instructional materials - instructional materials aligned to the science of reading that instruct students in foundational literacy skills and grade-appropriate English language arts and reading standards approved by the board. Instructional materials that feature or promote the use of the three-cueing system shall not constitute high-quality instructional materials.
   7. (g) Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) - the state agency charged with the fiscal and administrative management of certain aspects of K-12 public education, including the implementation of federal and state mandates.
   8. (h) Local Board of Education (LBOE) - a county or independent board of education exercising control and management of a local school system pursuant to Article VIII, Section V, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution.
   9. (i) Local Educational Agency (LEA) - local school system pursuant to local board of education control and management.
   10. (j) Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) - a systemic, continuous-improvement framework in which data based problem-solving and decision making is practiced across all levels of the educational system with the goal of supporting students' needs at multiple levels.
   11. (k) Reading intervention - evidence-based strategies frequently used to remediate reading deficiencies that include, but are not limited to, individual and small-group instruction that targets specific reading skills and abilities.
   12. (l) Science of reading - the body of research that identifies evidence-based approaches of explicitly and systematically teaching students to read, including foundational literacy skills that enable students to develop reading skills required to meet state standards in literacy.
   13. (m) Significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency - a kindergarten through third grade student's foundational literacy skills, as measured by scores on a universal reading screener and other quantitative and qualitative data, indicate that the student is at high risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency.
   14. (n) State Board of Education (SBOE) - the constitutional authority which defines education policy for the public K-12 education agencies in Georgia.
   15. (o) Structured literacy - an evidence-based approach to teaching oral and written language aligned to the science of reading founded on the science of how children learn to read and characterized by explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic instruction in phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics. An approach to teaching oral and written language that features or promotes the three-cueing system shall not constitute structured literacy. 'Three-cueing system' means any model for teaching students word reading based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues. Such models are also referred to as 'MSV.'
   16. (p) Tiered reading intervention plan - a plan that describes the evidence-based reading intervention services a student will receive to support the student in reaching grade level proficiency in foundational literacy skills.
   17. (q) Universal reading screener - a uniform tool that screens and monitors a student's progress in foundational literacy skills that is administered to students multiple times during the school year.

2. (2) REQUIREMENTS.

   1. (a) Universal Screening

      1. 1. Universal reading screeners must meet the following criteria:

         1. (i) Capable of providing relevant information to assist teachers with targeting instruction based on student needs;
         2. (ii) Capable of measuring foundational literacy skills;
         3. (iii) Capable of identifying students who are significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency, including, but not limited to, identifying students with characteristics of dyslexia;
         4. (iv) Prescribed parameters on the time required to administer a universal reading screener with the primary objective of such prescription being to minimize impacts on instructional time; and
         5. (v) Capable of progress monitoring.

      2. 2. Three times each school year, each public school and LEA shall administer a universal reading screener to each student in kindergarten through third grade, with the first administration occurring within 30 school days of the beginning of the school year.

         1. (i) Each public school or LEA shall be authorized to administer a free universal reading screener provided by the department or a universal reading screener approved by the SBOE.
         2. (ii) Universal reading screeners approved by the SBOE also function as dyslexia screeners.

      3. 3. After each administration of a universal reading screener each public school or LEA shall report the results to:

         1. (i) Parents and guardians of students who participated in the administration; and
         2. (ii) GaDOE for analysis.
      4. 4. The results of the universal reading screeners administered to students shall not be used as part of any education assessment accountability program provided for in Article 2 of Chapter 14 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

   2. (b) Reading Interventions

      1. 1. Public schools and LEAs shall implement tiered reading support plans for public school students in kindergarten through third grade who, at any time during the school year, are determined to be significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency as measured by performance on an approved universal reading screener and other qualitative and quantitative data.
      2. 2. Each tiered reading support plan shall be implemented no later than 30 school days after such determination has been made.
      3. 3. The tiered reading support plan shall describe the evidence-based reading intervention services the student will receive to address the student's difficulties and ensure the student becomes proficient in foundational literacy skills.
      4. 4. Tiered reading support plans should be incorporated into and included as part of the school's existing multitiered system of supports.
      5. 5. Each student who has been determined to be significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency shall receive intensive reading intervention until such student is determined to no longer be significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency.
      6. 6. If a student does not make adequate progress toward grade level reading despite receiving evidence-based reading interventions and supplemental instructional services and supports, additional quantitative (e.g., diagnostic assessments) and qualitative data shall be collected and examined in conjunction with universal reading screener data to identify whether the student may have characteristics of dyslexia. Parental consent is required for the administration of additional, individual diagnostic assessments.

   3. (c) Parent Notification

      1. 1. Significantly At Risk of Not Attaining Grade Level Reading Proficiency

         1. (i) The parent or guardian of any student in kindergarten through third grade who at any time during the school year has been determined to be significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency shall be notified in writing by the student's school no later than 15 school days after such determination has been made. This written notification shall include:

            1. (I) That the student has been determined to be significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency;
            2. (II) That a tiered reading support plan will be implemented by an educator at the student's school;
            3. (III) Results of the student's performance on the universal reading screeners administered to date and other data used to make such determination;
            4. (IV) A description of the proposed evidence-based reading interventions and supplemental instructional services and supports to be provided to the student that are designed to remedy the identified area or areas in which the student is significantly at risk of not attaining grade level reading proficiency to ensure the student becomes proficient in foundational literacy skills;
            5. (V) Notification that the parent or guardian will be informed in writing of the student's progress toward grade level reading; and
            6. (VI) Strategies for parents and guardians to use at home to help their child succeed in reading.

      2. 2. Characteristics of Dyslexia

         1. (i) The parent or guardian of any student in kindergarten through third grade who at any time during the school year is identified as having characteristics of dyslexia shall be notified in writing by the student's school no later than 15 school days after the identification. This written notification shall include:

            1. (I) That the student has been identified as having characteristics of dyslexia;
            2. (II) That a support plan for students with characteristics of dyslexia will be implemented by the student's teacher;
            3. (III) A description of the qualitative and quantitative data used to make the identification, including the student's rate of progress toward grade level reading with prior intervention support;
            4. (IV) A description of the proposed changes or additions to the evidence-based reading interventions and supplemental instructional services and supports to be provided to the student that are designed to ensure the student becomes proficient in foundational literacy skills;
            5. (V) Notification that the parent or guardian will be informed in writing of the student's progress toward grade level reading;
            6. (VI) Information and resource materials regarding dyslexia;
            7. (VII) Strategies for parents and guardians to use at home to help their child succeed in reading; and
            8. (VIII) A statement that the parent or guardian shall have the right to elect, in writing, that the student not receive the interventions outlined in the characteristics of dyslexia support plan and instead continue to receive the interventions described in the student's tiered reading support plan.

   4. (d) Training and Instructional Support for Teachers

      1. 1. All kindergarten through third grade teachers shall complete a training program approved by the department on the science of reading, structured literacy, foundational literacy skills, and evidence-based decision making. Completing this training as part of a Georgia Professional Standards Commission-approved program satisfies this requirement.

      2. 2. Each public school and LEA shall provide instructional support for kindergarten through third grade teachers that includes:

         1. (i) Onsite teacher training on the science of reading, structured literacy, foundational literacy skills, and evidence-based decision making;
         2. (ii) Demonstrated lessons and prompt feedback for improving instruction.
      3. 3. The GaDOE shall provide technical and other guidance to public schools and LEAs in identifying local, state, federal, and private funding sources to provide instructional support.

   5. (e) Dyslexia Informational Handbook

      1. 1. The GaDOE shall publish on its public website and distribute by July 15 each year by electronic means to each local school system and public school in this state a dyslexia informational handbook that includes guidance, technical assistance, and training to assist all schools in the implementation of evidence-based practices for instructing students with characteristics of dyslexia.

   6. (f) Reporting

      1. 1. Beginning April 1, 2026, GaDOE shall provide an annual report on the impacts of the implementation of the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-153.1, including, but not limited to, reporting the results by school and LEA of:

         1. (i) The comprehensive summative assessment program for third grade students provided for in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-281(a); and
         2. (ii) The formative reading assessments for first and second grade students provided for in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-280. The administration of a separate formative assessment is at the discretion of the LEA.

      2. 2. High Quality Instructional Materials

         1. (i) Each LBOE shall certify by August 1 each year to GaDOE that its locally approved instructional materials and content, as defined in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1017(a), constitute high-quality instructional materials.

      3. 3. Universal Screening and Tiered Reading Support Plans

         1. (i) Three times per year LBOEs shall report the results of the screener to GaDOE for analysis.

      4. 4. Professional Learning

         1. (i) By August 1 of each year, LBOEs and public-school governing bodies shall report to GaDOE:

            1. (I) The percent of K-3 teachers fully trained in a state-approved literacy training program; and
            2. (II) The percent of K-3 teachers in process of completing a state-approved literacy training program

      5. 5. Characteristics of Dyslexia

         1. (i) By August 1 of each year, LBOEs and public-school governing bodies shall:

            1. (I) Report to GaDOE the total number and percentage of students in kindergarten through third grade who were identified during the previous school year as having characteristics of dyslexia, including, but not limited to, total numbers and percentages by grade level; and
            2. (II) Certify in writing to GaDOE that a copy of the dyslexia informational handbook provided for in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-153.1(c)(5) has been distributed by electronic means to each school administrator, teacher, and other school personnel employed by such local school system or public school.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-153.1, 20-2-280.

History. Original Rule entitled "Georgia Early Literacy Requirements" adopted. F. Jan. 19, 2024; eff. Feb. 8, 2024.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Requirements" adopted. F. Sept. 25, 2025; eff. Oct. 15, 2025.