California Dyslexia Screening Requirements and Parent Rights

California’s dyslexia screening requirements took full effect in the 2025–26 school year: every public school student in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade must be screened annually for the risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia, unless a parent opts out in writing or the child qualifies for a specific exemption. The rules come from Education Code Section 53008, and they govern which tool the school uses, how and when you’re notified, what the school owes your child if the screening flags a risk, and what rights you have at every step.¹

Who Gets Screened and When

The mandate covers all students in kindergarten through second grade at California public schools. Screening happens once per year in each of those grades, using an instrument the local district’s governing board selected from a state-approved list at a public meeting by June 30, 2025.¹

If your family moves and your child enrolls after the screening window has closed, the new district must screen them within 45 calendar days of enrollment. The one exception: if you can show documentation that your child was already screened for that grade at a previous school, the new district doesn’t have to repeat it.¹

Exemptions

With your written consent, your child can be exempted from screening in three situations:

Your child already has a current identification or diagnosis of a reading difficulty, reading disorder, or other disability.
Your child already has an IEP under IDEA or an active Section 504 plan.
Your child is currently being evaluated for special education or a 504 plan, and the diagnostic assessments already underway would make the screening redundant.

These exist so children with active support plans aren’t put through an unnecessary assessment.¹

Which Tool Your District Uses

The State Board of Education approved four instruments. Districts choose one or more from this list:

Amira (Amira Learning, distributed by HMH), K–2, English and Spanish.
mCLASS with DIBELS Edition 8 and mCLASS Lectura (Amplify Education), K–2, English and Spanish.
Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR) (Stanford University), first and second grade, English only.
Multitudes (UC San Francisco Dyslexia Center), K–2, English and Spanish.

Districts must select options that cover both English-speaking and non-English-speaking students where approved tools exist.²

If your child doesn’t have enough English to be screened in English, the district must use an approved screener in their primary language when one exists. Three of the four approved tools offer Spanish versions. When no approved screener exists in the child’s primary language, the district still can’t skip the child; it must evaluate reading risk through a review of developmental history, educational history, and literacy progress, incorporating any components of approved tools that don’t require English proficiency. One important limit: screening results cannot be used to reclassify a child’s English learner status or for any other high-stakes purpose. The screening identifies reading risk, and that’s all.³

Your Notice, Your Opt-Out, and Your Results

Schools must give you written notice at least 15 calendar days before administering the screening. That notice has to include the date of the screening and instructions for how to opt out.¹ Opting out requires a written request from a parent or guardian. The screening is universal by default, but it is not compulsory.

After the screening, the school has 45 calendar days to send you the results. The report must include guidance on how to interpret the scores and what the next steps are if your child was identified as at risk. If you don’t receive anything within that window, follow up in writing with the school and the district.

If Your Child Is Flagged as At Risk

A screening result does not diagnose dyslexia or any other condition. It identifies children who may need more support, and it triggers the school’s obligation to provide that support. Under Section 53008, interventions can include targeted, evidence-based literacy instruction focused on your child’s specific needs, regular progress monitoring, early intervention within the general education program, one-on-one or small-group tutoring, and further diagnostic evaluation if concerns persist.

The law describes screening as “part of a broader process that further evaluates student needs and progress, identifies support for classroom instruction, enables targeted individual intervention as needed, and allows for further diagnosis if concerns do not resolve.”⁴ An “at risk” result does not automatically start a special education referral. The school is expected to deliver intervention first and track how your child responds. If progress doesn’t come, that’s the point at which the process moves toward a formal evaluation.

Moving to a Special Education Assessment

When classroom interventions aren’t working and your child keeps showing signs of a reading disability, the district can initiate a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation. You don’t have to wait for the school to act. You can request an evaluation in writing at any time.

Before the evaluation begins, the district must give you a proposed assessment plan and obtain your informed, written consent. You have at least 15 days from receiving the plan to decide.⁵ Once you consent, the district has 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation. That deadline is firm. Missing it is a compliance violation, and it happens more often than it should.

Your Rights During the Assessment Process

Federal law (IDEA) and California’s Education Code give you substantial protections during the evaluation and any special education process that follows. The district must give you a copy of your Procedural Safeguards, which spell those rights out in full. The ones that matter most in day-to-day practice:

You can inspect and review all of your child’s educational records without unnecessary delay, including before any IEP meeting or due process hearing. The district must provide access and copies within five business days of your request.⁶
You must be given the opportunity to participate in every decision-making meeting about your child’s identification, assessment, and educational placement.
If you disagree with the district’s assessment, you can request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. You’re entitled to one IEE at district expense each time the district conducts an evaluation you disagree with.⁶
You can request an impartial due process hearing on your child’s identification, assessment, placement, or the provision of a free appropriate public education. The filing deadline is two years from the date you knew or should have known about the issue.

When you request an IEE, the district has two choices: pay for the independent evaluation, or file for a due process hearing to prove its own assessment was appropriate. The district cannot stall, require you to explain your objections, or impose unreasonable delays. Most districts fund the IEE rather than litigate, but knowing the rule matters if you meet resistance.

IEP or Section 504 Plan After Identification

If the evaluation confirms a specific learning disability like dyslexia, what your child receives next depends on how much support they need. A student who requires specialized academic instruction to make meaningful educational progress receives an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is legally binding, sets specific measurable annual goals, and spells out the specialized instruction the school will provide, often an evidence-based approach like Structured Literacy that explicitly teaches phonological awareness, decoding, and fluency.

A student who has a disability that substantially limits a major life activity like learning, but who doesn’t need that level of specialized instruction, may instead receive a Section 504 Plan. A 504 plan focuses on accommodations within the general education setting, such as extended time on tests, preferential seating, audiobooks, or assistive technology, to remove barriers and ensure equal access to the curriculum. Both IEPs and 504 plans are legally binding, and both require the district to provide a free appropriate public education.⁶

The practical difference comes down to this: an IEP changes how and what your child is taught, while a 504 plan changes the conditions under which they learn the same material. For a child with dyslexia, an IEP might include daily small-group reading instruction using a structured phonics program, while a 504 plan might provide extra time and text-to-speech software but keep the child in the standard reading curriculum. Which one your child gets shapes the intensity of the support they receive, so understanding the distinction before the eligibility meeting is worth the time.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code EDC 53008 – Screening for Risk of Reading Difficulties
2
California Department of Education. Approved Reading Risk Screening Tools for Students
3
California Department of Education. Screening for Risk of Reading Difficulties FAQs
4
California Department of Education. Screening Students for Risk of Reading Difficulties
5
California Legislative Information. California Education Code 56321 – Special Education Assessment
6
California Department of Education. Notice of Procedural Safeguards