California PTA Board of Directors Vote to Support Portantino’s Dyslexia Screening Bill
For Immediate Release: April 28, 2023
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
California PTA Board of Directors Vote to Support Portantino’s Dyslexia Screening Bill
Sacramento, California – The California PTA Board of Directors has voted to co-sponsor SB 691, authored by Senator Anthony Portantino (D – Burbank). The bill, which earlier in the year passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee, is aimed at improving literacy outcomes for children by requiring early screening and intervention for students who are at risk for dyslexia. The bill is also co-sponsored by EdVoice and Decoding Dyslexia CA.
“I am ecstatic that the California PTA chosen to support SB 691, emphasizing the significance of early intervention to help students read,” stated Senator Portantino. “Screening is necessary to ensure that all children receive the support they need to develop crucial reading skills. This is one more tremendous signal that our collective work will help students at risk for dyslexia to obtain have the skills they need to thrive.”
The co-sponsorship by the California PTA highlights both the importance of early screening for dyslexia risk as a priority for parents, caregivers, and educators across the state and the urgency of passing this bill to ensure all children are on the path to literacy. Forty other states already require screening for risk of dyslexia, which is the most common learning disability.
California State PTA President Carol Green stated: “We understand the critical role reading plays in all learning and that reading gaps can be narrowed by early detection of risk and appropriate interventions for students on the dyslexia spectrum.”
At the California State PTA Convention, delegates also adopted the resolution: Equitable Literacy for All Students, which identifies multiple benefits to early detection of students who may be at risk of dyslexia.
The California PTA joins over 50 organizations that have registered formal support for the legislation. SB 691 also has thirty-three bipartisan co-authors.
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