Tennessee Dyslexia Screening Law and IEP Rights: What Parents Need to Know

Your child is in second grade and reading is a constant battle. The teacher says your child is "making progress" and will "catch up." The school says they're doing interventions through RTI². But something feels wrong, and you've started reading about dyslexia on your own.

Tennessee has specific laws about screening for dyslexia and specific obligations for schools when a child has dyslexia. Understanding both—and the gap between what the law requires and what schools actually do—is essential for any Tennessee parent in this situation.

Tennessee's Dyslexia Screening Law

Tennessee passed legislation requiring schools to screen students for characteristics of dyslexia. Under Tennessee law, all students must be screened for dyslexia indicators beginning no later than kindergarten, with continued screening in first and second grade.

The screening must use tools that identify characteristics associated with dyslexia, including:

• Phonological awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words)
• Phonemic awareness (awareness of individual sounds)
• Letter naming and letter sound knowledge
• Decoding skills
• Reading fluency

Schools are required to provide parents with the results of dyslexia screenings. If a screening identifies concerns, the school must follow up with additional assessment and intervention.

The critical parent right here: If your child has been screened and shows indicators of dyslexia—or if you believe your child has dyslexia and hasn't been screened properly—you have the right to request a formal special education evaluation. The screening is an early identification tool; the formal evaluation is what determines eligibility for special education services and an IEP.

How Dyslexia Qualifies for Special Education in Tennessee

Dyslexia is not listed as a standalone disability category under IDEA or Tennessee's 16 disability categories. But dyslexia is generally identified under the Specific Learning Disability (SLD) category, which covers significant deficits in basic reading skills, reading fluency, and reading comprehension that are not primarily caused by other conditions.

Tennessee evaluators assess for SLD using data from multiple sources, which may include:

• Comprehensive cognitive and academic assessments (e.g., WISC-V, WJ-IV, KTEA)
• Phonological processing assessments (e.g., CTOPP-2)
• Reading fluency and decoding assessments
• Classroom performance data and progress monitoring

Tennessee uses the RTI² framework as one method for identifying SLD. Under RTI², students who don't respond to intensive Tier III intervention may be referred for evaluation. However—and this is critical—Tennessee law and federal IDEA explicitly prohibit using RTI² to delay or deny a formal evaluation.

The RTI² Problem for Dyslexia in Tennessee

This is the most common—and most damaging—barrier Tennessee families face when seeking a dyslexia diagnosis and IEP.

A 2023 study published in a peer-reviewed journal found that Tennessee's RTI² framework was associated with a 61% average decrease in the odds of first-time SLD identification by third grade compared to pre-RTI² rates. For Black students and economically disadvantaged students, the declines were even more significant. RTI² is functioning as a filter that delays diagnosis, particularly for students who are not receiving the high-quality Tier III interventions the system assumes they are.

What this looks like in practice: Your child struggles with reading in kindergarten. The school starts Tier II interventions. In first grade, they move to Tier III. In second grade, the teacher says "let's give the interventions more time." By third grade, your child is reading at a kindergarten level and has lost two years of specialized instruction they could have received with an IEP.

The law is clear: you can request a formal evaluation at any time, regardless of where your child is in the RTI² process. The school cannot tell you your child must complete RTI² before an evaluation can occur. That is illegal.

To request a formal evaluation, send a written letter to the principal and special education director stating: "I am formally requesting a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation for my child [Name], including testing for Specific Learning Disability in the area of reading (dyslexia). I understand that RTI² cannot be used to delay or deny this evaluation per Tennessee TDOE guidance and federal OSEP Memo 07-11. Please provide the Prior Written Notice and consent form to begin the 60-day evaluation timeline."

Once the school receives your written request and you sign consent, the 60-day evaluation clock starts.

What an IEP for Dyslexia Should Include

If your child is found eligible for special education under the SLD category based on dyslexia, their IEP should reflect the specific nature of their reading difficulties and be designed to address them through structured, evidence-based intervention.

Key elements of a well-written dyslexia IEP in Tennessee:

PLAAFP that reflects the specific profile. The Present Levels section should identify which specific reading components are impaired—phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, comprehension—and at what level. Generic language like "reads below grade level" is not sufficient.

Goals targeting dyslexia-specific deficits. Goals should address phonological awareness, phonics (decoding), reading fluency (words per minute with accuracy targets), and reading comprehension as applicable. Each goal should have a measurable baseline and target derived from assessment data.

Specialized reading instruction. The IEP should specify the type of reading instruction: research-backed, structured literacy programs (Orton-Gillingham based approaches, Wilson Reading System, RAVE-O, etc.) are considered best practice for dyslexia. Generic reading groups are not sufficient.

Accommodations. These may include text-to-speech access for grade-level content, extended time on assessments, reduced copying requirements, access to audiobooks, and note-taking support.

Assistive technology. Speech-to-text and text-to-speech tools (see our post on Tennessee assistive technology in IEPs) may be essential for students with dyslexia to access the general curriculum while their decoding skills are being developed.

Private Dyslexia Evaluations

If the school's evaluation doesn't identify SLD or doesn't capture the full picture of your child's dyslexia profile, you have two options:

1. Request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense. If you disagree with the school's evaluation, the district must either fund an independent evaluation or file for due process to defend its own. This is one of the strongest leverage points in Tennessee special education law.

2. Obtain a private evaluation through a licensed psychologist or neuropsychologist. Private evaluations for dyslexia typically cost between $2,000 and $4,000. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville provide university-based evaluations that can be more affordable. The school must consider the results of your private evaluation, even though they're not required to adopt all of its recommendations.

For Tennessee parents fighting to get a dyslexia evaluation completed and an appropriate IEP in place, the Tennessee IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes an RTI²-bypass evaluation request letter, IEE request templates, and a plain-English explanation of the SLD eligibility standards under Tennessee Rule 0520-01-09.

The research is unambiguous: earlier identification and intensive, structured literacy intervention produces dramatically better outcomes for children with dyslexia. Every month a district delays a proper evaluation is a month of instruction your child didn't get.

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