Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities

The Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities (ODRD) was established in 2021 with the enactment of Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 10-14z. The office is administratively situated within the Talent Office of the Connecticut State Department of Education and is responsible for implementing Connecticut's dyslexia and structured literacy laws and supporting the implementation of related regulations and policies.  

Mission: Our "Why"

The ODRD envisions a future when Connecticut’s schools are regarded as the standard of excellence for students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities. 

Our Mission is aligned with that of the Connecticut State Department of Education, which prioritizes the agency’s commitment to providing the public with leadership, services, and resources intended to help them positively impact the personal, career, and life outcomes of Connecticut’s students, and reads:

The Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities is committed to providing – through leadership and service - insight, expertise, training, encouragement, and resources to assist those in the education and related communities to succeed in helping all Connecticut students with dyslexia and other reading-related learning disabilities develop the reading and writing skills necessary to become effective lifelong learners, able to reach their personal and career goals and become involved, productive, confident, and satisfied members of society. 

The ODRD partners with stakeholders to advance initiatives designed to ensure that Connecticut’s general and special educators are adequately prepared and supported to meet the diverse literacy needs of K-12 students, including students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities, so they can become skilled readers and writers, who are able to reach their personal and career goals and become involved, productive, confident, and satisfied members of society.

In everything we do, the ODRD is committed to:

innovative work rooted in scientific reasoning and research
collaborating with diverse stakeholder groups
advocating for decisions and actions that promote equitable student access, opportunity, and outcomes.

Our core services include:

• Providing information, assistance, and training to various stakeholders (e.g., Educator Preparation Program Faculty, K-12 Educators, Families, etc.) so that the policies and practices promoted by the Connecticut State Department of Education via the Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities are implemented equitably and with fidelity.  
• Establishing educator competency standards for structured literacy and dyslexia, by certification type and level, and aligning all learning and development offerings created or endorsed by the Connecticut State Department of Education with these standards.
• Establishing and administering Educator Preparation Program audit protocols to verify coverage of adopted educator competency standards, and supporting Educator Preparation Programs in developing the capacity to prepare candidates per the standards.
• Developing and supporting the implementation of certification eligibility protocols to ensure applicants have met the requisite educator competency standards.