Delaware IEP for Dyslexia: School Accommodations and Eligibility

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in Delaware schools. Specific Learning Disabilities make up approximately 47.7 percent of all special education identifications in the state — about 9,826 school-age students — and the majority of those SLD identifications involve reading. Yet parents of children with dyslexia routinely hit walls when they try to get meaningful services: districts claim the child is "doing fine enough," offer a 504 plan as a consolation, or provide generic reading support that bears no relationship to what dyslexia research actually requires.

Here is what Delaware law says, what an appropriate dyslexia program actually looks like, and how to push back when the district falls short.

Does Delaware Recognize Dyslexia as an Eligibility Category?

Delaware does not list "dyslexia" as a standalone IDEA eligibility category — but that is true of every state. Under 14 DE Admin. Code 925, Delaware's eligibility categories mirror the thirteen federal IDEA categories. A student with dyslexia qualifies for special education under the Specific Learning Disability (SLD) category when the evaluation demonstrates:

1. The student does not achieve adequately for their age or grade-level standards in one or more of the relevant areas (oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading fluency, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, or mathematics problem solving)
2. The student does not make sufficient progress when using a scientific, research-based intervention in the problem area
3. The deficit is not primarily the result of intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, visual or hearing impairment, motor disability, cultural factors, limited English proficiency, or environmental or economic disadvantage

Delaware law also permits evaluation of SLD through a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in performance and achievement. This is important for dyslexia because many students with dyslexia have average or above-average intelligence — meaning their reading deficits represent a significant and unexpected discrepancy from their cognitive potential, even if they are not failing all subjects.

Even if a student does not qualify for an IEP under SLD, a dyslexia diagnosis typically qualifies a student for a 504 Plan. Under Section 504, the standard is whether the student has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity — and reading is explicitly a major life activity. A student with a documented dyslexia diagnosis who struggles to read at grade level almost certainly meets this threshold.

What a Delaware School Is Required to Do

If the evaluation supports an SLD/dyslexia identification, the district must develop an IEP that provides specially designed instruction — not just accommodations. The distinction matters. Accommodations like extended time or text-to-speech do not teach a student to read. Specially designed instruction means an evidence-based, structured literacy program delivered by someone trained to deliver it.

Research on effective dyslexia intervention is clear: systematic, explicit, multisensory reading instruction that follows the Orton-Gillingham approach or a structured literacy methodology (programs like Wilson Reading System, SPIRE, or Barton) produces the strongest outcomes. Delaware's commitment to evidence-based practices under the IDEA means the district cannot simply assign the child to a general reading intervention group and call it specially designed instruction.

The IEP must specify:

• The specific reading intervention program being used
• The frequency and duration of instruction (most structured literacy research supports daily, intensive sessions)
• The credentials or training of the provider
• Measurable annual goals that address the specific deficit areas (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension — not just "reading improvement")

Common School Accommodations for Dyslexia in Delaware

Both IEPs and 504 Plans for students with dyslexia in Delaware typically include some combination of the following accommodations, depending on the severity of the student's profile:

Decoding and reading supports:

• Text-to-speech software for written materials and assessments
• Audiobooks (Learning Ally, Bookshare)
• Physical copies of materials rather than exclusively digital
• Reduced reading load for assessment purposes (not testing reading ability when the subject matter is science or social studies)

Writing and output supports:

• Speech-to-text software for written assignments
• Extended time for written tasks and tests (typically 1.5x or 2x)
• Typed rather than handwritten responses
• Reduced spelling requirements on content-area assignments
• Spell-check tools on assessments

Test accommodations (including Delaware State Assessments):

• Extended time on the DCAS
• Text-to-speech on the computer-based assessment
• Small group or separate testing environment

The Delaware Department of Education's 2025-2026 Accessibility Guidelines Manual governs accommodation eligibility for state assessments and specifies which accommodations require documentation in the IEP or 504 Plan. Any accommodation used on the DCAS must be the same accommodation the student uses routinely in classroom instruction — it cannot appear for the first time on test day.

Getting a Dyslexia Evaluation

The most important thing you can do as a Delaware parent is request a comprehensive evaluation in writing. The district's MTSS framework — where students go through tiers of increasingly intensive intervention before being referred for evaluation — cannot be used as an indefinite delay tactic. Under 14 DE Admin. Code 925, if a disability is suspected, the district must evaluate.

If your child has been in reading intervention for a full school year or more without making adequate progress, or if your child has a private dyslexia diagnosis that the school has not acted on, send a written evaluation request. The district then has 45 school days or 90 calendar days (whichever is less) to complete the evaluation and determine eligibility.

A comprehensive dyslexia evaluation should assess phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, phonemic awareness, decoding, word reading, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling — not just general academic achievement. If the district's evaluation is narrow and you believe it missed critical areas, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense under 14 DE Admin. Code 926.

The Delaware IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a guide to the dyslexia evaluation request process — including what to say when the district tells you your child is "not behind enough" to qualify.

When the District Offers a 504 Instead of an IEP

This is one of the most common displacement tactics in Delaware. The district acknowledges the diagnosis, acknowledges the student is struggling, but argues that the student does not need specially designed instruction — just accommodations. Therefore: 504 instead of IEP.

Sometimes a 504 is the right answer. If a student with mild dyslexia is accessing grade-level content with extended time and audiobooks, and making adequate progress, a 504 may be sufficient. But if the student is significantly below grade level in reading despite years of intervention, a 504 without structured literacy instruction is not FAPE — it is the district accommodating around a deficit rather than addressing it.

The test in Delaware is whether the student requires specially designed instruction to make meaningful educational progress. If your child cannot decode at grade level and cannot access the curriculum independently, that is likely a yes.

The Delaware IEP & 504 Blueprint breaks down the IEP vs. 504 decision under Delaware law and gives you the specific language to use when challenging a district's decision to offer a 504 in lieu of an IEP for a student who needs intensive reading instruction.

See more United States guides →