North Carolina HB 947: Every Child Reads.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 947

Short Title: Every Child Reads. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cotham, Biggs, and Brockman (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H947-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR DYSLEXIA SCREENING AND INTERVENTIONS IN 2
SCHOOLS, TO REQUIRE DYSLEXIA TRAINING FOR TEACHERS, TO REQUIRE 3
LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS BE ALIGNED WITH THE 4
SCIENCE OF READING, AND TO TRANSFER THE NC PRE-K PROGRAM TO THE 5
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
PART I. DYSLEXIA SCREENINGS AND INTERVENTIONS 9
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 10
Article to read: 11
"Article 9D. 12
"Students with Dyslexia. 13
"§ 115C-150.20. Purpose. 14
It is the intent of the General Assembly that all students with dyslexia receive the necessary 15
and appropriate screenings, assessments, and special education services providing interventions 16
for learning difficulties with language, reading, and writing. To provide a common set of 17
professional standards and guidelines for the identification of and intervention for students with 18
dyslexia, the State Board of Education and local boards of education shall implement a screening 19
process, comprehensive assessment, and intervention strategies for these students in accordance 20
with the provisions of this Article and Article 9 of this Chapter. 21
"§ 115C-150.21. Definitions. 22
The following definitions apply in this Article: 23
(1) Disability. – As defined in G.S. 115C-106.3(2). 24
(2) Dyslexia. – A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes 25
involved in the understanding or in using language, spoken or written, 26
characterized by difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition, or both, 27
and by difficulty with spelling and decoding. 28
(3) Individualized education program or IEP. – As defined in 29
G.S. 115C-106.3(6). 30
(4) Science of Reading. – As defined in G.S. 115C-83.3(7a). 31
(5) Special education. – As defined in G.S. 115C-106.3(20). 32
"§ 115C-150.22. Screening, assessment, and intervention. 33
(a) The State Board of Education shall provide informational materials and screening 34
instruments developed in accordance with G.S. 115C-12(50) to local boards of education to 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 947-First Edition
identify students who exhibit potential indicators of dyslexia. Each local board of education shall 1
provide informational materials related to dyslexia to parents of students who exhibit potential 2
indicators of dyslexia on an annual basis. 3
(b) Local school administrative units shall screen every student in grades kindergarten 4
through three, grade six, and grade nine for dyslexia using the screening instrument adopted by 5
the State Board. 6
(c) If a screening instrument indicates that a student exhibits potential indicators of 7
dyslexia, the local school administrative unit shall administer a comprehensive assessment 8
adopted by the State Board to determine whether the student has dyslexia. A student identified 9
as having dyslexia shall be provided appropriate intervention strategies grounded in the Science 10
of Reading through the student's individualized education program in accordance with the rules 11
adopted by the State Board. 12
"§ 115C-150.23. Training for school personnel. 13
(a) All grades kindergarten through three, grade six, and grade nine teachers shall be 14
trained to administer the screening instruments provided by the State Board pursuant to 15
G.S. 115C-150.22. 16
(b) Ongoing professional development opportunities shall be made available to teachers 17
and other school personnel on the identification of and intervention strategies for students with 18
dyslexia." 19
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 115C-12 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 20
"(50) Informational Materials and Screening for Dyslexia. – The State Board of 21
Education shall develop informational materials to be shared with parents 22
regarding dyslexia. The State Board of Education shall adopt age-appropriate 23
screening instruments, a comprehensive assessment for students who exhibit 24
potential indicators for dyslexia, and appropriate intervention strategies 25
grounded in the Science of Reading for use by local boards of education." 26
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 115C-83.10(b) reads as rewritten: 27
"(b) Each local board of education shall report annually in writing to the State Board of 28
Education by September 1 of each year the following information on the prior school year: 29
(1) A description of all literacy interventions provided to students who have been 30
retained under G.S. 115C-83.7(a). 31
(1a) A description of the literacy interventions provided to (i)