For nearly 10 years, the Connecticut State Department of Education has promoted the legal requirement that all school districts in Connecticut use one of the state-approved literacy screening measures to identify students in kindergarten through grade three who are at-risk for reading failure. 

However, during the more recent multi-million dollar Right to Read initiative, funded by our tax dollars, CSDE disregarded this requirement.

Decoding Dyslexia-CT raised concern with the CSDE regarding its sudden pivot on its long-standing requirement for districts to use an approved universal literacy screener. The CSDE responded in an email saying the law “…does not itself expressly require districts to do so, thereby creating an ambiguity…” and the implementation deadline of July 1, 2023 was a “full four months after the February 28, 2023, deadline by which districts that were seeking waivers were required to apply.” 

These statements are in direct contradiction to CSDE’s long history of upholding the law by requiring districts to select an approved K-3 literacy screener since 2014.  CSDE’s response is an attempt to gaslight literacy advocates!

Why does this matter?

Universal literacy screening, using valid and reliable assessments, is integral to identifying students who may be at risk for reading failure. The use of unapproved, invalid, unreliable assessment measures can mask reading problems and in turn, make it appear as if poor reading programs are working. In 2012 a law was enacted wherein our Connecticut State Board of Education has since 2014 approved literacy screeners compiled on a “menu” required for use by all local school districts.

A flawed process.

The Center for Literacy Research and Reading Success (Center) at the CSDE, during the Right to Read waiver process, invited districts to submit K-3 reading screening data from any measure they chose, even if the measures were unapproved or previously deemed inappropriate by CSDE. This means screening measures used by districts that have not been approved for use may have no ability to reliably identify students at risk for reading failure.

CSDE gives lip service to valuing parent voices. 

An approved menu has been required since 2014. CSDE has amended, referenced, outlined and communicated, across departments (select sampling: Talent Office, Bureau of Special Education and Academic Office) the requirement of using an approved screening measure to all districts via emails, guidance, policy documents, and practices. Until a new menu goes into effect, in this case July 2023, the existing October 2019 Approved Menu governs.

It’s only during the Right to Read waiver process that The Center begins to reframe the CSDE’s position concerning the timeline and position associated with the requirement for districts to utilize a screener from the approved menu. During the November 2022 SEEK Meeting for example, the following was stated:

• “We as a state department over the last I don’t know how many years have been identifying the universal screeners . . . this is going to be the first year that ALL (emphasis added) districts MUST (emphasis added) have an approved assessment in place by July 2023 (Hickey).” FACT: K-3 literacy screening has been required since 2014. 
• “There were two pieces of legislation, one is the dyslexia legislation and the other is the Right to Read bill. By putting those together it comes up with this requirement that all districts MUST (emphasis added) have one of these assessments in place (Hickey).” FACT: The dyslexia and Right to Read legislation did not create the literacy screening requirement, the initial law from 2012 did. This is NOT new!
• “…this is for ALL (emphasis added) districts not just a subset of districts and for all learners K through 3 (Parisi)” BINGO!

Advocates for student literacy are outraged by communication from the Center’s Director, Melissa K. Wlodarczyk Hickey, which implies that pressure from districts out of compliance with the K-3 screening requirement is behind this shift.

Hickey states during the Nov. 14 Reading Leadership Implementation Council meeting for example, that “there was a request from districts that they could then send in the data they are currently using from the assessments they are currently using, so we allowed that to happen”. Further, in an email dated Nov. 30 to Decoding Dyslexia-CT from Hickey states: “If a district did not have data, or equivalent information, it may have had a difficult time satisfying the two criteria upon which the Commissioner must base her decision.”

Decoding Dyslexia-CT raised these concerns with the center, the commissioner, and legal and governmental affairs. Sadly, responses do not take into consideration the long-standing position of the CSDE and instead make way for districts who did not utilize a screener from the approved menu prior to submitting a Right to Read waiver application to have their K-3 reading curriculum reviewed and potentially, approved.

The Right to Read legislation and district wishes do not supplant Connecticut’s long-standing requirement for districts to utilize an approved, reliable, valid K-3 reading screening measure.

Connecticut taxpayers and families with children at risk for reading failure deserve at the very least as much consideration as is being granted to districts. It appears, however, we will need to fight for our rights, fight to be recognized as valued stakeholders and fight for legal requirements to be upheld. 

We ride at dawn!

Allison Quirion is founder of Decoding Dyslexia – CT.