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10/29/2024
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Rep. O’Brien recognizes Dyslexia Awareness Month
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Celebrates success of Right to Read Act
STATE HOUSE – At a dyslexia awareness event held at the State House on Oct. 21, Rep. William W. O’Brien celebrated the success of the Right to Read Act, a law passed in 2019 and introduced by Representative O’Brien, that requires certain licensed public school teachers to be proficient in scientific and structured literacy reading instruction.
In 2022, another law introduced by Representative O’Brien extended the time table of the Right to Read Act by two academic years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As someone with dyslexia, I would like to thank Governor McKee, his wife and my colleagues in the legislature for recognizing October as Dyslexia Awareness Month. The event held at the State House showed that our state cares for its residents who live with dyslexia and to assure them that assistance and support are always available to help manage this condition in daily life,” said Representative O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence).
The law also requires all other licensed teachers to have a cursory knowledge of scientific and structured literacy reading instruction. Scientific and structured literacy reading instruction has proven extremely useful in the education of students with dyslexia and other related conditions.
“The Right to Read Act is proving to be an amazing success for Rhode Island’s students and teachers. Almost all of Rhode Island’s teachers have become certified in scientific and structured literacy reading instruction and it looks like every community in the state will meet the deadlines written into this law. The progress being shown in our schools is truly inspiring and our students, especially those with dyslexia, are thriving with this new model of reading instruction. I thank all my colleagues in the General Assembly for overwhelmingly supporting this law, and our teachers also deserve our thanks for embracing this method of teaching that his helping so many students achieve their potential,” concluded Representative O’Brien.
Scientific and structured literacy reading instruction is the teaching of how sounds relate to letters and words during reading instruction. It is based upon research regarding how the brain works while learning spoken and written language with an emphasis on phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, orthographic awareness, and comprehension strategies.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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