Education Laws and Regulations

Notice of Public Comment on the Proposed Amendment to 603 CMR 28.03(1), Special Education, School District and Personnel Regulations

Pursuant to its authority under M.G.L. c. 69, § 1B, and in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, M.G.L. c. 30A, § 3, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) is soliciting public comment on the proposed amendments to 603 CMR 28.03(1), Special Education, School District Administration and Personnel Regulations.

In 2018, the Massachusetts Legislature passed An Act Relative to Students with Dyslexia, which required the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department), in consultation with the Department of Early Education and Care, to "issue guidelines to assist districts in developing screening procedures or protocols for students that demonstrate 1 or more potential indicators of a neurological learning disability including . . . dyslexia." The Department issued the Guidelines in 2021 after an extensive process that engaged experts and stakeholders and built on recommendations from an expert literacy panel created by the Legislature in 2012. Consistent with the Guidelines' emphasis on the need for early identification of reading difficulties, the proposed amendment to 603 CMR 28.03(1) would require elementary schools to assess each student's reading ability and progress in foundational skills from kindergarten through at least third grade at least twice per year, using a screener approved by the Department.

Copies of the proposed amendment are available on the Department's website or by calling 781-338-6642. Written comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted by mail to Jamie Camacho, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148, by fax to: 781-338-3371 or by e-mail to: specialeducation@doe.mass.edu . The deadline for submission of public comment is August 19, 2022. The Board is expected to vote on the proposed amendments at its regular monthly meeting scheduled for September 20, 2022.