Our Projects
Dyslexia Review in Round Rock Independent School District
The Challenge
The Texas legislature codified dyslexia as a specific learning disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2023. The law changed identification, placement, parent rights and communications, service delivery, and student assessment practices. Round Rock ISD had served most students with dyslexia through Section 504, a general education program, and selected Gibson Consulting Group to review its Special Education Program and its Dyslexia Program ahead of the transition.
Our Support
Gibson conducted a Targeted Special Education and Dyslexia Program Review for Round Rock ISD. The review focused on three primary goals:
Assess the district’s readiness to shift dyslexia services from Section 504 to Special Education under IDEA, in compliance with House Bill 3928;
Evaluate service delivery systems, staffing, and organizational capacity;
Provide actionable recommendations to support a compliant, student-centered transition.
The review examined six years of student records, audited a sample of special education evaluations and Individualized Education Programs, observed dyslexia instruction in classrooms across 15 schools, interviewed district administrators and held group interviews with principals, interventionists, and teachers, and surveyed parents, drawing 2,898 responses. Gibson also compared the district's special education enrollment against eight Texas districts of similar size and location.
Results
The final report provided a detailed, evidence-based roadmap for improving service delivery for students with dyslexia and special education needs. Key recommendations included:
Decision authority. Define which Dyslexia Program decisions belong to schools and which belong to the central office, including grouping, scheduling, and instructional pacing.
Program visibility. Track dyslexia staffing and spending as a distinct budget category, and monitor student pacing centrally so leaders can see progress from the classroom to the district level.
Documentation quality. Widen the range of data cited in evaluation reports, and include baseline data in Individualized Education Programs so progress against annual goals can be measured.
Teacher support. Provide professional development to Reading by Design instructors on the curriculum's syntax, fluency, and comprehension components.
Gibson presented the results to the Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees in July 2024. The district posted the full report to its board document archive, where it remains available.