Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions:
A Summary

Wisconsin’s Informational Guidebook on Dyslexia and Related Conditions(2021) and can be found at https://dpi.wi.gov/reading/dyslexiaguidebook. The Guidebook provides information about improving reading outcomes for learners with dyslexia and related conditions. It was created to fulfill the requirements of 2019 Wisconsin Act 86.

Purposes of the Guidebook

This guidebook can be used to:

• help learners, families, and educators understand the characteristics of dyslexia and related conditions and how they can be identified;
• share characteristics of instruction that can effectively serve students with dyslexia and related conditions so that all Wisconsin students get the instruction/interventions they need when they need it;
• help families understand what information to request and questions to ask to better understand their child’s strengths and needs as a learner;
• help families understand how their child’s needs as a reader are, or can be, addressed;
• help families understand educational language related to reading, including common terms related to assessment, instruction, and intervention;
• help families understand the universal instruction and/or interventions educators and educational systems use and how to effectively meet the needs of readers with dyslexia or related conditions; and
• support educational systems in considering how their system addresses assessment, screening, instruction, and intervention for all readers, including those with dyslexia and related conditions and those who struggle for other reasons.

Requirements Related to the Guidebook

Per 2019 Wisconsin Act 86, school districts must post a link to the guidebook on their website.

DPI believes that the Guidebook can be one part of district conversations about meeting students’ needs as readers. Specifically, the Guidebook can support conversations about how a local equitable multi-level system of support (E-MLSS) serves learners when they struggle with reading, including those with characteristics of dyslexia and related conditions. Guidance about convening and engaging in these conversations can be found at https://dpi.wi.gov/reading/dyslexiaguidebook.

Contents of the Guidebook

Per Act 86, the Guidebook contains information about:

• screening processes and tools available to identify dyslexia and related conditions;
• interventions and instructional strategies that have been shown to improve academic performance of pupils with dyslexia and related conditions; and
• resources and services related to dyslexia and related conditions.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, August 2021