Mass. General Laws c.71 § 57A

Students with potential indicators of a neurological learning disability; guidelines for development of screening procedures

This is an unofficial version of a Massachusetts General Law.

Updates

Amended by St. 2026, c. 113, § 10, effective September 24, 2026

Section 57A

Districts shall develop procedures or protocols to screen for students that demonstrate at least 1 potential indicator of a neurological learning disability including, but not limited to, dyslexia; provided, however, that the department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of early education and care, shall, subject to appropriation, issue guidelines to assist districts in developing such screening procedures or protocols and districts shall adhere to such guidelines when developing such procedures or protocols. Districts shall annually report to the department of elementary and secondary education on the procedures or protocols used for screening for risk of dyslexia including, but not limited to, evidence-based tools and assessments broken down by component skills for each grade level and timeframes for such assessments. The commissioner shall annually make publicly available on the department’s website data on which screening assessments are employed by each school district, including, but not limited to, kindergarten through grade 3 literacy screening assessments and whether the screening assessments utilized are approved by the department.

Last updated:	June 26, 2026