Exploring the Impact of Dyslexia Policy on Educators of Multilingual Students in One Oregon District

• In Event: Educators’ Decision Making for Multilingual Learners With Disabilities

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose
Reading dis/abilities are a persistent and prevalent issue in U.S. schools, leading to lower student performance across all subjects and causing distress, anxiety, and depression (see for example, Carroll et al., 2005; Francis et al., 2019; Grills et al., 2022). While there are many factors which affect reading progress in students, recently many states have developed legislation to screen and intervene for dyslexia, a common reading dis/ability (e.g. Gearin et al., 2020). However, few of these laws discuss the specific needs of multilingual students (MLs) and even fewer discuss the specific needs of dually identified students. Dually identified students, or MLs with an identified or suspected dis/ability, require specific planning and support from teachers (Honigsfeld & Cohan, 2024; Martínez-Álvarez, 2023).
This study explores how one school district with both monolingual (English) and dual language immersion elementary schools implemented the Oregon Dyslexia Policy, specifically analyzing the policy effects on MLs and their teachers to answer the following research question: Looking at policy discourse alignments and conflicts, what are the policy effects for teachers in one Oregon school district?

Perspective(s)/Theoretical Framework
Policies can compromise rather than support MLs by hindering school districts’ abilities to provide opportunities to learn (Sampson, 2019). Drawing from Ball’s (1993) analytic toolbox, this paper utilizes critical policy analysis to examine the policy as text, policy as discourse, and policy effects of the distribution of power, resources, and knowledge in not only the Oregon Dyslexia Policy, but also at the district and classroom level in one school district, to examine how teachers of marginalized students, including MLs, were impacted by this policy.

Methods/Data Sources
This qualitative case study (Merriam, 2009) included analysis of 26 interviews with administrators, educators, and policymakers, as well as websites and policy documents, to explore how educators (including content teachers and reading specialists) integrated their knowledge of dyslexia and the Oregon Dyslexia Policy into their pedagogical practices for monolingual as well as dually identified students.
Data analysis consisted of in vivo coding and process coding (Saldaña, 2016) as patterns emerged. After coding all interviews and documents using the process codes, excerpts were analyzed which specifically fit into the policy effects category (Ball, 1993). Then I noted where practices align with and diverge from policy rhetoric and where the sociocultural and sociohistorical background influences policy and practice.

Results and Significance
Policymaker interviews and documents revealed that MLs were discussed during initial planning stages of policy development but were lacking in the final draft of the bill. Also, while educators were aware of the policy, many were unsure of how data compiled from policy-required screening could inform their pedagogy for monolingual and ML students. Rather than the required dyslexia screening providing valuable data to inform teacher decision making and instruction, teachers found the screening process to be confusing and time-intensive without clear data to drive instructional decisions. The study highlights challenges faced by educators in effectively implementing the dyslexia policy. Also, the study can inform future policy decisions and practices in supporting MLs with dyslexia.

Author

• Sara Wiger, Oregon State University