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Budget, Education & City Services
Resolution 1027-2016, authored by Councilmember Cabrera, calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.4330/S.5439
WHEREAS, Resolution 1027-2016, authored by Councilmember Cabrera, calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.4330/S.5439, legislation regarding the certification or training of teachers, administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and related disorders;
WHEREAS, Addressing the needs of students with dyslexia and related language-based learning disabilities is an important objective; and
WHEREAS, There is currently no concrete data on the number of New York City students with dyslexia, as the DOE does not track the number of students with dyslexia; and
WHEREAS, Federal education law does not classify dyslexia as a separate disability; and
WHEREAS, Nonetheless, it is estimated that 10-15% of the US population has dyslexia; and
WHEREAS, Training or certification of instructors is needed to better identify and serve students with dyslexia; and
WHEREAS, It is not clear what this proposed legislation would mean for the classification of students who are identified as dyslexic and whether they would be required to attend special needs education classes; and
WHEREAS, Unfunded mandates should not be placed on city agencies; and
WHEREAS, While students with dyslexia need special attention, we have questions and concerns about how aspects of this legislation would be carried out; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five supports the training or certification of instructors to better identify and serve students with dyslexia and strongly urges the City Council to fully vet the funding and clarify other fundamental aspects of this legislation.