Int. No. 2392
By the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams) and Council Members Powers, Holden, Louis and Yeger
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to dyslexia screening and treatment in city jails
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 9 of the administrative code is amended by adding a new section 9-161 to read as follows:
§ 9-161 Dyslexia screening and treatment. a. The department shall screen all incarcerated persons who do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent for dyslexia within 72 hours of intake. For the purposes of this section, the term “dyslexia” means an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in the phonological processing which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.
b. The department, the department of education or their agents shall offer programs to treat dyslexia to incarcerated individuals who have been identified as having dyslexia. Such programs must be evidence-based, as defined in subsection (21) of section 7801 of title 20 of the United States code.
c. No later than January 31, 2022 and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit to the mayor, the speaker of the council and the public advocate and post conspicuously on the department’s website an annual report regarding dyslexia screening and treatment in city jails. Such report shall not contain personally identifiable information. Such report shall include the following information for the previous calendar year:
1. The number of individuals who were screened for dyslexia;
2. The number of individuals who were identified as having dyslexia;
3. The number of individuals who participated in dyslexia treatment programs; and
4. A summary of the programs available pursuant to subdivision b.
§ 2. This local law takes effect 270 days after it becomes law.
AM
LS #14642
6/24/21