INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosier students with dyslexia will be able to use screen readers during state testing if Senate Bill 390 wins the support of state lawmakers and is signed into law.
One in five Indiana students is dyslexic. According to Cheryl Clemens, leader of Decoding Dyslexia, current state policy does not allow these students to use screen readers or other text-to-speech devices during statewide exams.
Clemens told WISH-TV’s Katie Wisley that students in grades three through eight are denied screen readers for the reading comprehension portion of the ELA test. Screen readers are also not allowed for Indiana’s Graduation Qualifying Exam, according to Clemens.
This would change if Senate Bill 390 and its amendment on screen readers is approved by state lawmakers.
If approved, it would ensure that students who receive voice-to-text, screen reader, and human reader accommodations during classroom instructions or as part of an individual education program would receive the same accommodations during statewide exams.
WISH TV’s Katie Wisley contributed to this story.
(PHOTO: WISH-TV)
(WISH-TV: Katie Wisely)
