Referred to: The Public Health and Social Services Committee (Chairman Lopez and

Legislators Allen, Belfiglio, Heppner, and Roberts)

Legislator Carl Belfiglio and Legislators Allen, Heppner, Litts, Lopez, Roberts, and

Wawro offer the following:

WHEREAS, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Board of Directors

and the Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) define dyslexia

as difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and

decoding abilities typically resulting from a deficit in the phonological component of

language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the

provision of effective classroom instruction; and

WHEREAS, secondary consequences may include problems in reading

comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of

vocabulary and background knowledge; and

WHEREAS, people with dyslexia often have average to superior intelligence

with many gifted in math, science, fine arts, journalism, and other creative fields; and

WHEREAS, some signs associated with dyslexia include: difficulty learning

to speak, trouble learning letters and their sounds, difficulty organizing written and

spoken language, trouble memorizing number facts, difficulty reading quickly

enough to comprehend, trouble persisting with and comprehending longer reading

assignments, difficulty spelling, trouble learning a foreign language, and/or difficulty

correctly doing math operations; and

WHEREAS, Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its

impact can change at different stages in a person’s life; and

WHEREAS, perhaps as many as 15–20% of the population as a whole—have

some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor

spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature supports Assembly Bill 4330-A

and Senate Bill S 5439, which require the certification or training of teachers,

administrators and instructors in the area of dyslexia and related disorders; and be it

further 

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature supports the empowerment of the

Commissioner of Education to prescribe the necessary regulations and establish such

programs and training related to the needs of children with Dyslexia or a related

disorder; and be it further

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature encourages efforts to recognize

early detection of Dyslexia by providing licensed health and mental professionals

trained in said detection to evaluate and recommend a specific Dyslexia approved

program approach; and be it further

RESOLVED, the Ulster County Legislature recommends that every school

district be required to provide each student with Dyslexia or a related disorder the

services of a teacher or instructor trained in Dyslexia and related disorders; and be it

further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature shall forward

copies of this resolution to the Chair of the New York State Assembly Education

Committee Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, the Chair of the New York State

Senate Education Committee Senator Carl L. Marcellino, and all of the Ulster County

representatives of the New York State Legislature,

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: 20 NOES: 0

(Absent: Legislators Delaune, Gerentine, and

Maloney)

Passed Committee: Public Health and Social Services on October 3, 2016

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

NONE 

STATE OF NEW YORK

 ss:

COUNTY OF ULSTER

I, the undersigned Clerk of the Legislature of the County of Ulster, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is

the original resolution adopted by the Ulster County Legislature on the 18th Day of October in the year Two Thousand and

Sixteen, and said resolution shall remain on file in the office of said clerk.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the County of Ulster this 19th Day of October

in the year Two Thousand and Sixteen.

|s| Victoria A. Fabella

Victoria A. Fabella, Clerk

Ulster County Legislature