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Parents and advocates tell BCPS students with dyslexia are not receiving effective interventions
Summary
Multiple parents, an advocacy group and a school psychologist told the board that many Baltimore County students with dyslexia or other learning differences are not getting evidence-based instruction, that data entry and fidelity tracking are inconsistent, and that families often resort to private placements or legal advocacy to secure services.
Several parents, school psychologists and members of the advocacy group Decoding Dyslexia Baltimore County told the Board of Education on Oct. 7 that students with dyslexia are not being identified early enough and are not consistently receiving research-based instruction.
"Dyslexia is the most common learning disability affecting up to 20 percent of the population. That's more than 22,000 BCPS students," Nina Weiland of Decoding Dyslexia Baltimore County said during public comment. Weiland cited state data showing only 2.3 percent of BCPS students were identified with a specific learning disability in 2024, and she urged earlier screening and implementation with instructional fidelity.
Parents recounted individual experiences. Mark Vernego said his son was evaluated, found to be performing at a kindergarten level in second grade, and was placed in the same small-group intervention that had not worked previously. "That is not acceptable," he said, adding that his family ultimately placed their child in a private school with multisensory, evidence-based instruction.
School psychologist Jenna Guglomini described consequences of recent staffing and contract changes for early-intervention programs. She told the board that BCPS cut psychologist positions from 12-month to 10-month contracts, producing a loss of staff to neighboring districts, and said an estimated 27 schools lost a psychologist this summer, affecting more than 15,000 students. "These solutions are like putting a band-aid over a hemorrhage," Guglomini said.
Speakers said the district's data systems are not being used consistently: schools may not enter screening data, and central office therefore lacks visibility into whether interventions such as Orton-Gillingham are producing measurable progress. Parents and advocates called for mandatory, high-fidelity training for educators delivering multisensory dyslexia instruction, improved caseloads and staffing, and clearer public reporting of special-education outcomes.
Superintendent Dr. Miriam Rogers acknowledged the comments and told the board that a future board update will address special education, interventions and upcoming training and related services. Board members requested additional data on speech and language services, psychologists, virtual staffing levels and caseload changes.
Provenance: Topic intro: "Good evening board members... I'm a parent whose dyslexic son could not get reading intervention..." (public comment, 00:33:45) Topic finish: "We will continue to, focus on all academic areas, but specifically literacy... and meeting the needs of our students that receive special education services." (Superintendent, 01:14:42)
