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Louisiana Department of Education urges districts to use remaining IDEA funds to bolster dyslexia supports before Sept. 30
Summary
Wendy Brooks of the Louisiana Department of Education told webinar attendees that districts must spend remaining IDEA funds by Sept. 30 and should prioritize investments that strengthen dyslexia identification, staffing, training and intervention.
Wendy Brooks, who works with the teaching and learning literacy team at the Louisiana Department of Education, told participants in a guidance webinar that district leaders should identify at least one IDEA-aligned funding action and act on it before the Sept. 30 spending deadline.
"System leaders should know that IDEA funds must be spent by September 30," Brooks said, stressing that remaining funds offer an opportunity to strengthen evaluation, intervention and specialized expertise for students with disabilities, including dyslexia. She urged districts to plan rather than spend hastily.
Brooks framed the session around a professional learning cycle: define purpose, examine IDEA-aligned pathways, and outline a concrete next step. She said every IDEA-funded activity must be explicitly tied to supporting students with disabilities or those suspected of having disabilities and must be documented, including time and effort and connection to student need.
The presenter advised districts to convene finance, federal programs, special education and academic leadership teams to identify remaining IDEA funds and prioritize investments that build long-term capacity rather than replacing core general education services. She provided sample action frames intended to help teams draft brief, timebound plans.
