LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Complaints regarding dyslexia and reading instruction in the Clark County School District have officially been settled.
In December, attorneys for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (LACSN) filed more than 20 due process complaints against the district, claiming the district was violating state and federal education disability law by failing to adopt an intensive literacy program for dyslexic students and denying them basic literacy instruction.
WATCH | CCSD, Legal Aid Center settle complaints over dyslexia and literacy instruction
"Fifty years after the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, foster children with disabilities in Clark County still do not have access to the basic instruction the law promised them," Marina Dalia-Hunt, the team chief of the LACSN Education Advocacy Program, said in a December press release. "These children deserved better from all of us. Literacy is not a luxury. It is the foundation for every other opportunity in life."
Marina Dalia-Hunt leads Legal Aid's Education Advocacy Program.
She said the 23 due process filings were on behalf of students in third grade all the way up to 12th grade.
"Each of these is an emergency. A kid who can’t read in 10th grade is an emergency," Dalia-Hunt explained.
"We went to the school district, drafted a demand letter and basically outlined what we were seeing for our kids in care, suggested strategies to help and address this together as a community partner, and even potentially save money," she added. "But meet the kids where they were and get them the literacy supports that they needed. They [CCSD] didn’t do that."
On Wednesday, a Legal Aid Center press release stated they have finalized a settlement with the district that strengthens dyslexia and reading supports across the district and expands services for students in foster care.
"Currently, only around 50% of CCSD students in foster care graduate from high school," said Barbara Buckley, executive director of LACSN. "Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada appreciates that CCSD shares our goal and commitment to changing outcomes for our most vulnerable youth. We are grateful to the School District for working with us to reach an outcome ensuring that students have access to literacy so that they can thrive in the future."
So what does that settlement look like?
Students who score below established benchmarks on the district's interim reading assessments will receive additional screening and diagnostic assessment, including for indicators of dyslexia.
CCSD agreed to launch, and is already rolling out, a districtwide structured literacy program through 95 RAP, which is reading intervention software for students who need additional support.
"It facilitates teacher-led, small-group instruction by using diagnostic data to automate lesson paths and monitor progress in foundational skills like phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency," the district's website states.
Students with disabilities who show deficits in basic reading skills will receive reading intervention regardless of their special education eligibility category, with progress monitored and shared with families on a regular basis.
CCSD is also updating its Special Education Procedures Manual and IEP team training so that teams consistently consider whether a student has dyslexia and connect them with appropriate support.
What about for students in foster care?
According to the settlement, CCSD will allocate existing positions to the District's Foster Care Department and Student Services Division. The employees in those positions will coordinate support and remove barriers facing foster care students enrolled in CCSD.
"Foster care students move schools frequently and this additional support will ensure these students receive consistent, individualized support," the LASN press release reads in part.
CCSD will also complete a comprehensive audit of academic plans for students in foster care, provide training to schools, and ensure compliance with Nevada law before the 2026-2027 school year.
The district will "no longer seek to waive three-year special education re-evaluations for students in foster care."
Nevada law has special protections in place for foster care students and their education.
And finally, to address the individual needs of the 23 students identified in the complaints, $1.5 million will be allocated over a period of four years for "educational, social-emotional, and/or behavioral services, including intensive academic programs."
Senior Reporter Mary Kielar asked, "Do you worry that even with these resources, they will not even scratch the surface for the17- and 18-year-olds where so much damage has already been done because they haven’t had what they needed?"
"Yes,that’s why we asked for more for the older kiddos," explained Dalia-Hunt.
LACSN officials say that in addition to the settlement, CCSD has invested in Project RISE, which is a reading intervention program designed to assist students who struggle to learn to read.
If CCSD fails to provide what’s outlined in the settlement, they could face more legal action in federal court. Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada hopes it doesn’tever come to that.
Channel 13 did reach out to CCSD, and the communications office acknowledged receipt of our request for comment.
They responded late Wednesday afternoon in writing.
Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jesse Welsh said “The Board of School Trustees and I are grateful to have worked collaboratively with Legal Aid of Southern Nevada to review our support of students in foster care and implement system-wide changes that will improve literacy for students in foster care as well as for students who are struggling with reading.”
Last month, anchor Justin Hinton spoke with Dr. Jesse Welsh, CCSD's Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, about Project RISE and how community organizations and parents can play a role in improving literacy.
WATCH: CCSD's Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning addresses community concerns
The complaints filed by LACSN are not the first ones against the district regarding dyslexia instruction.
In December 2021, CCSD had to pay the Rogich family $500,000 after a judge said the district violated federal law by not providing services to their daughter, who has dyslexia. The family claimed the district discriminated against their daughter by repeatedly refusing to implement a widely accepted learning method into her individualized education program.
"It is not easy to raise a child who learns differently," Lori Rogich previously told Channel 13. "It's even harder when the school district fails to help you."
The Rogich family eventually removed their daughter from CCSD and placed her in private school.
A federal judge handed down a written statement with the judgment stating, "the district failed to provide any response to the specific needs of [the student] except to essentially say to the parents — trust us to provide her with what she needs. This is not sufficient."
2021: Las Vegas family scores legal victory over CCSD in learning disability discrimination case