By DAI JA NORMAN, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia school districts would have to have reading specialists trained in helping students with dyslexia under a bill passed by the General Assembly on the final day of its 2017 session.

The Senate and House on Friday both voted unanimously in favor of SB 1516, sponsored by Sen. Richard Black, R-Loudoun. The legislation now goes to Gov. Terry McAuliffe for his signature.

The bill requires that if a local school board employs reading specialists, at least one must have expertise in identifying and teaching students with dyslexia or a related disorder. That expert then would serve as a resource for other teachers in the school district.

Experts say about one in 10 children may have dyslexia - a disorder that makes it difficult to learn to read or interpret words, letters and other symbols. To a child with dyslexia, for example, the words "Read this" might look like "Raed tihs."

Virginia school divisions are not required to employ reading specialists, but most do. Lynn Smith, for example, is a reading specialist for the Henrico County Public Schools. She said students who have dyslexia face significant challenges.

"Reading really is that foundational skill, and students who struggle to read struggle across all academic subjects," Smith said.

A misconception about dyslexia is that the students with the disorder lack intelligence. In fact, Smith said, "Often those children are extremely bright." The problem, she said, is "that they're really struggling with breaking down that code on the page."

Donice Davenport, director of exceptional education for Henrico schools, said support goes a long way for these students.

"It is important for students with dyslexia to receive targeted instruction directly related to their disability needs," Davenport said.

"Since dyslexia exists along a continuum of severity and complexity, each student may require a different level of support and service. Many students with dyslexia do well within the general education classroom with only a small level of support. Some students require additional systematic, explicit instruction provided in a multi-sensory way in order to learn to read and make progress in reading."