NC & Charlotte · Dyslexia

Dyslexia IEP in North Carolina: What Schools Are Required to Provide

North Carolina has specific legislation addressing dyslexia and reading instruction, including the Read to Achieve Act and requirements for structured literacy training for teachers. But having the right laws on the books and getting appropriate reading services for your child are two different things. Here’s what NC families need to know.

How NC Law Addresses Dyslexia

North Carolina’s Read to Achieve Act (NC General Statute 115C-83.3 et seq.) requires early literacy screening, intervention for struggling readers, and, critically, that NC teachers receive training in structured literacy through the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) program. This is a significant step: LETRS is grounded in the science of reading and the Orton-Gillingham approach that is most effective for children with dyslexia.

NC also passed legislation in 2022 (SL 2022-74) requiring schools to provide dyslexia screening for K–3 students and document results for parents. If your child was screened and found at risk for dyslexia, that documentation is important evidence in an IEP eligibility conversation.

Does Dyslexia Qualify for an IEP?

Dyslexia qualifies for an IEP under the Specific Learning Disability (SLD) category when it adversely affects the child’s educational performance to the extent that special education services are needed. Key considerations:

• The evaluation must include phonological processing assessments (CTOPP-2 or similar), reading fluency measures, and achievement testing
• A discrepancy between cognitive ability and reading achievement can support SLD eligibility, though NC also uses a Response to Intervention (RtI) approach
• NC explicitly recognizes dyslexia as a learning disability within the SLD category, schools cannot tell you “we don’t use the word dyslexia” as a reason to avoid services

If your child has a private dyslexia evaluation or diagnosis, bring it to the school. The team is required to consider it, and private evaluations often use more comprehensive phonological and reading assessments than school-based evaluations.

What Reading Services Should Look Like for a Child with Dyslexia

The research on dyslexia intervention is clear: the most effective approach is structured literacy, systematic, explicit, multisensory instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Programs like Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, and Barton are examples of structured literacy approaches with strong evidence bases.

When reviewing what your child’s IEP offers, ask:

• ✓Is the reading instruction explicit and systematic? “Reading support” or “pull-out reading group” is not specific enough. Ask what program or methodology is being used.
• ✓Is it multisensory? Effective dyslexia instruction engages auditory, visual, and tactile/kinesthetic pathways simultaneously.
• ✓Is the frequency sufficient? Research suggests 4–5 sessions per week of structured literacy instruction for children with significant dyslexia. Many school IEPs offer 2–3. Ask how the frequency was determined.
• ✓Is the provider trained in structured literacy? NC’s LETRS training is a positive development, but ask whether the specific teacher delivering your child’s reading services has completed it.

NC’s Read to Achieve: What It Means for IEP Advocacy

Read to Achieve creates a third-grade reading requirement in NC, students who don’t demonstrate reading proficiency by end of third grade may be retained. This creates urgency around early intervention. If your child is in grades K–3 and showing signs of dyslexia, the time to request an evaluation is now, not after a wait-and-see period that crosses the retention threshold.

Read to Achieve also requires schools to provide intervention, but the intervention it mandates is different from the specialized reading instruction that an IEP can require. Read to Achieve intervention may not be sufficient for a child with significant dyslexia; an IEP with appropriate services may be necessary as well.