In 2025, Colorado passed a law that promised two things to families of struggling readers: schools will screen every K–3 student for signs of dyslexia, and when a child shows those signs, the school will say so plainly. This August, the promise meets the paperwork. The State Board of Education has opened the rules that will govern the expanded READ Act for public comment, with a rulemaking hearing set for its August 19–20 meeting. Those rules — not the bill-signing photo — will decide what actually happens in classrooms when screening starts, which is why the next few weeks matter more than most of the legislative process did.
What did the law actually promise?
Colorado was long one of the states where "we don't test for dyslexia" was a sentence parents heard often. The 2025 expansion of the READ Act — the state's long-standing early-literacy law — changes that in two ways. First, it requires universal screening for dyslexia risk from kindergarten through third grade, with districts required to implement by the 2027–28 school year. Second, and less common nationally, it requires schools to communicate clearly with families: when a child's reading difficulties include the characteristics of dyslexia, parents are supposed to be told that, in those words, rather than in the vague "below benchmark" language that leaves families guessing. If that second requirement survives rulemaking intact, Colorado will have addressed one of the quietest failure points in screening laws everywhere — the flag that never becomes a conversation.
What is being decided in rulemaking?
The statute set the destination; the rules set the route. Reporting on the process identifies the live questions. Which screening tools qualify as dyslexia screeners — and will the approved list require measures of the skills that actually predict risk, such as rapid automatized naming, encoding (spelling), and oral language, or accept narrower tools districts already own? What counts as evidence that a child is struggling enough to trigger the next step? How much flexibility do districts get to design their own screening processes? And what, exactly, must the parent notification say? Each of these sounds technical. None of them is. A rule that lets a district satisfy "dyslexia screening" with a tool that never measures phonological skills produces compliance without detection — the pattern our reporting on state implementation gaps keeps finding.
Why does the fine print decide everything?
Because screening laws fail in the details, not the headlines. A law can require screening while the rules allow a screener that misses the children the law was written for. A law can require parent notification while the rules permit a form letter so hedged that no parent understands their child was flagged. Colorado's rulemaking will also shape training expectations and what happens after a flag — the difference between a data point and an intervention. Families in other states have learned this the hard way: the statute is the promise, and the rules are the delivery mechanism. Colorado parents have an unusual chance to influence the delivery mechanism before it hardens.
How do you actually weigh in?
- Submit written comment before August 20. The Colorado Department of Education's rulemaking page hosts an online comment form. Two or three specific sentences beat two pages of general support.
- Say one concrete thing. For example: "Require approved screeners to measure phonological awareness, rapid naming, and encoding," or "Require parent notifications to use the word dyslexia when characteristics are present." Specific asks are what rule-writers can act on.
- Tell one true story, briefly. Testimony from parents whose children were missed is what moved this law. If screening came late for your child, say what that cost in one paragraph.
- Register to testify if you can. Registration for in-person or remote testimony opens at noon the Wednesday before the meeting. Three minutes, one point, said plainly — our systemic advocacy toolkit covers the format.
What should commenters avoid?
- Arguing the law itself. That debate is over — the law passed. Rulemaking comments that relitigate it get filed and forgotten; comments that shape the rules get used.
- Vague enthusiasm. "We support strong screening" gives the board nothing. Name the screener requirement, the notification wording, or the timeline you want.
- Only showing up angry. Rule-writers respond to parents who sound like collaborators with specific fixes, not adversaries with grievances.
- Assuming someone else will do it. Comment counts are small in most rulemakings — a few dozen specific parent comments genuinely register.
What happens after the hearing?
The board adopts rules, districts get lead time, and screening must be in place by 2027–28 — which means the 2026–27 school year is preparation, not delay. If you're a Colorado parent who suspects dyslexia now, don't wait for the screening system to arrive: the right to request a full evaluation in writing exists today, under federal law, regardless of where rulemaking stands. Our laws guide explains those rights, and the signs-by-age checklists help you document what you're seeing. Screening laws are for catching the children nobody was watching. If you're already watching, act on what you see.
Frequently asked questions
When does dyslexia screening start in Colorado schools? Districts must implement universal K–3 screening by the 2027–28 school year. Some districts will start earlier; the rules being finalized in August 2026 govern which tools qualify and how results are communicated to families.
How do I comment on the Colorado screening rules? Written comments are submitted through the Colorado Department of Education's rulemaking webpage through August 20, 2026, and the State Board hears testimony at its August 19–20 meeting. Registration for testimony opens at noon the Wednesday before the meeting.
Do I have to wait for screening to get my child evaluated? No. A dated, written request for a comprehensive evaluation triggers federal special-education timelines today, in Colorado and every other state. Screening finds risk in children nobody has flagged — a parent who already sees the signs doesn't need to wait for it.
Source: "Colorado officials are deciding what new dyslexia law means" — Canyon Courier · Dyslexia — Colorado Department of Education