Parents and advocates fought for years to get the state to recognize the rights of dyslexic students. Finally, in 2021, the state made changes to the handbook that helps educators understand how to evaluate students with dyslexia, making them eligible for the same federal protections given other students with learning difficulties.
It was an overdue step for many families who can recount stories similar to the one Angela Bolton Smith shared with the State Board of Education Committee as it was considering the new guidelines.
“My son began to gradually change during the school year, he was no longer happy to go to school,” Smith told the committee. “He began to hate school, and he began to give up on learning. Just imagine a 6-year-old child calling himself dumb daily.”
