Michigan Dyslexia Law: Technology Accommodations with LucidRead

Last updated: February 2026

Decoding Dyslexia Michigan

This guide exists because of Decoding Dyslexia Michigan. Founded around 2013 as part of the national Decoding Dyslexia parent advocacy movement, DD Michigan spent over a decade advocating for dyslexia screening and intervention legislation in the state. Their sustained grassroots effort — organizing parents, educating lawmakers, and building coalitions across the political spectrum — led directly to the passage of Public Acts 146 and 147 in October 2024.

That legislative victory created the mandate. This guide bridges that mandate to the technology accommodations that make compliance achievable. The law tells districts what to do. LucidRead provides a concrete, free, evidence-based answer to how.

The Law: Public Acts 146 and 147

Signed October 10, 2024 by Governor Whitmer. Creates universal dyslexia screening requirements and mandates evidence-based intervention for all Michigan students.

Public Acts 146 and 147 together create Michigan's K-12 Literacy and Dyslexia Law. This is the most significant reading legislation in Michigan's history, establishing statewide requirements for dyslexia screening, evidence-based intervention, professional development, and documentation.

Key Requirements

  • The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) must develop dyslexia expertise and provide technical assistance to districts
  • Every district must update assessment systems to include dyslexia screening
  • Grades 4–12 students showing signs of dyslexia must be screened beginning in the 2025–2026 school year
  • Universal K–3 screening is required statewide by the 2027–2028 school year
  • All reading instruction personnel must receive professional development on dyslexia
  • Districts must document interventions in Individual Reading Improvement Plans (IRIPs), including the specific name, type, frequency, and duration of each intervention

Implementation Timeline

September 1, 2025

MDE dyslexia expertise and technical assistance ready. PASSED

August 1, 2025

Districts update assessment systems to include dyslexia screening. PASSED

2025–2026 School Year

Grades 4–12 symptom-based screening required. CURRENT

September 1, 2026

MDE assessment selection guidance published.

2027–2028 School Year

Universal K–3 screening three times per year begins statewide.

What Districts Must Do

  • Screen thousands of students for dyslexia characteristics
  • Provide Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 interventions under the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework
  • Train every reading teacher and interventionist on dyslexia identification and instruction
  • Provide accommodations and reading tools for identified students
  • Document everything in IRIPs with specific names, types, frequency, and duration of evidence-based interventions

The Gap

Michigan ranked 43rd in the country for 4th grade reading in 2022. The state now has a law that mandates action, but the guidance provided to districts falls critically short on technology accommodations.

The MDE Dyslexia Handbook, published in February 2025, provides no technology accommodation guidance. The handbook's only reference to assistive technology is a link to a one-page infosheet from Tennessee. That Tennessee document mentions "text-to-speech software" and "audiobooks" with no specifics — no product names, no configuration guidance, no implementation steps.

This matters because IRIPs require the name, type, content, frequency, and duration of evidence-based interventions — not generic references to "assistive technology." A teacher cannot write "use text-to-speech" in an IRIP and satisfy the documentation requirements.

The law's own fiscal analysis noted that districts would face additional costs for screening and professional development. LucidRead eliminates the technology accommodation cost entirely: it is free, requires no accounts, and runs on the Chromebooks districts already own.

Three Core Deficits of Dyslexia

Dyslexia manifests through three interconnected deficits that affect reading performance. Effective technology accommodations must address each deficit specifically rather than treating dyslexia as a single, undifferentiated condition.

Decoding Difficulty

Difficulty mapping letters to sounds (grapheme-phoneme correspondence). Students struggle to break unfamiliar words into component parts, making fluent reading effortful and slow. This is the hallmark deficit of dyslexia, affecting approximately 80% of students identified with specific learning disabilities in reading.

Visual Stress

Perceptual interference when reading standard black-on-white text. Symptoms include letters appearing to move or swim, blurring, pattern glare, and headaches during sustained reading. Research estimates this affects 20% of the general population and a significantly higher proportion of dyslexic readers. Color overlays and tinted backgrounds have been shown to reduce these symptoms in controlled studies.

Tracking Loss

Difficulty following text sequentially across and down the page. Students lose their place, skip lines, re-read lines, or drift within paragraphs. This is distinct from eye-movement disorders and relates to visual-spatial processing demands during reading. Reading guides and line isolation tools directly address this deficit.

Evidence-Based Technology Accommodations

Each LucidRead feature maps to a specific dyslexic deficit. This is not a generic toolbar — every feature has a purpose grounded in reading research, and every feature can be named and documented in an IRIP.

For Decoding Difficulty

Syllables

Visually splits words into syllable boundaries using color-coding, helping students decode unfamiliar words by reducing them to manageable phonological units.

Morphemes

Highlights prefixes, roots, and suffixes in distinct colors, teaching structural word analysis and building vocabulary through pattern recognition.

Bionic Reading

Bolds the first portion of each word, guiding visual fixation to the most informative part and reducing decoding effort.

Picture Dictionary

Provides visual image definitions when students click unfamiliar words, supporting meaning-making for students who struggle with text-only definitions.

Text to Speech

Reads text aloud with synchronized word-by-word highlighting, providing an auditory model of fluent reading while the student tracks visually.

Simplify

Reduces complex sentence structures and vocabulary to grade-appropriate language, removing barriers to comprehension.

For Visual Stress

Color Overlays

Applies customizable color tints (cream, blue, yellow, green, pink) over the page, reducing pattern glare and visual discomfort.

Typography

Adjustable fonts (including Lexend, designed for readability), letter spacing, word spacing, line height, and text size to reduce crowding effects.

Dark Mode

Light-on-dark color scheme reducing overall luminance and eye strain.

High Contrast

High-contrast color modes improving text visibility without pattern glare.

Line Tracking

Alternating background colors on text lines, creating visual separation that reduces crowding between adjacent lines.

For Tracking Loss

Reading Ruler

Focus ruler or screen mask isolating the current line of text, preventing visual wandering.

Line Tracking

Colors alternating lines and highlights the active line, providing a continuous visual anchor.

Line Focus

Dims all text except the current 1, 3, or 5 lines, creating a strong focus zone.

Bionic Reading

Within-word bold anchoring creates a rhythmic visual pattern, making it easier to follow text left-to-right.

Progress Bar

Persistent position indicator providing macro-level orientation for sustained reading.

MTSS Tier Configuration

Michigan's MTSS framework organizes interventions into three tiers of increasing intensity. LucidRead features map directly to each tier, allowing teachers to configure the extension to match the student's current level of support.

Tier 1 — Universal

Universal Supports

Non-stigmatizing settings that benefit all readers in the general education classroom.

  • Reader Mode
  • Typography (Lexend font, 1.6 line height)
  • Progress Bar
  • Paragraph Numbers
Tier 2 — Targeted

Targeted Supports

Moderate supports for students identified through dyslexia screening who need additional reading intervention.

  • All Tier 1 features
  • Color Overlay (cream or yellow)
  • Reading Ruler
  • Text-to-Speech with word highlighting
  • Syllable breakdown
  • Preset profile: Dyslexia Ease or Visual Stress
Tier 3 — Intensive

Intensive Supports

Full suite of individualized supports for students with identified dyslexia receiving intensive intervention.

  • All Tier 2 features
  • Bionic Reading
  • Morpheme highlighting
  • Line Focus (1-line mode)
  • Picture Dictionary
  • Custom saved profile
  • Vocabulary Builder
  • Cloze exercises for comprehension checks

IRIP Language Templates

Michigan's Individual Reading Improvement Plans (IRIPs) require the specific name, type, content, frequency, and duration of each intervention. The following templates provide ready-to-use language that satisfies IRIP documentation requirements. Copy, customize the bracketed values, and paste directly into your district's IRIP form.

Text-to-Speech

Student will use LucidRead text-to-speech with word-level highlighting for [20/30] minutes daily during independent reading to support decoding fluency and listening comprehension. Progress will be monitored through teacher observation and reading level assessments [weekly/biweekly].

Visual Stress

Student will use LucidRead color overlay ([cream/yellow/blue]) and adjusted typography (Lexend font, [18]px, [2px] letter spacing) across all digital reading assignments to reduce visual stress and increase sustained reading duration.

Reading Tracking

Student will use LucidRead reading ruler and line focus features during sustained reading activities to support visual tracking, reduce line-skipping, and increase reading accuracy.

Comprehensive Dyslexia

Student will use LucidRead Chrome extension with the Dyslexia Ease profile applied across all digital reading platforms. Configuration includes: Lexend font at 18px, cream color overlay, reading ruler, line tracking, text-to-speech with word highlighting, and syllable breakdown. Teacher will review feature configuration and reading progress [weekly/biweekly] and adjust settings as documented.

Vocabulary and Comprehension

Student will use LucidRead dictionary, picture dictionary, and morpheme highlighting features during content-area reading to support word-level comprehension, vocabulary development, and structural analysis skills.

Teacher Monitoring

Effective IRIP documentation requires ongoing monitoring of the technology accommodations in use. LucidRead provides several tools that support this process.

Verifying Feature Configuration

Open the LucidRead side panel on the student's Chromebook to review the current configuration. The side panel displays every active feature, the current profile name, and all settings in plain language. This takes less than 30 seconds and provides an immediate snapshot of what the student is using.

Documenting Progress

  • Record the specific profile name and active features at each progress monitoring checkpoint
  • Note any adjustments made to settings, along with the rationale for each change
  • Use the Text Stats feature to track the reading level of materials the student is engaging with
  • Document Vocabulary Builder word lists as evidence of targeted word study and vocabulary acquisition

Preset Profiles

LucidRead includes preset profiles designed for common accommodation needs. These provide a starting configuration that teachers can then customize for individual students:

  • Dyslexia Ease — Lexend font, cream overlay, reading ruler, syllable breakdown, text-to-speech with word highlighting
  • ADHD Focus — Line focus, bionic reading, progress bar, reduced visual clutter
  • Visual Stress — Color overlay, increased spacing, adjusted font size, line tracking

Classroom Assessment Tools

  • Cloze Exercises — Generate fill-in-the-blank comprehension checks from any reading passage to verify understanding
  • Vocabulary Builder — Track words the student looks up and studies, providing a record of targeted word learning
  • Text Stats — Analyze the reading level, word count, and complexity of any text on screen
  • Paragraph Numbers — Add visible paragraph numbers to any page for guided reading reference and classroom discussion

Deployment

LucidRead requires no accounts, collects no data, and is FERPA and COPPA compliant by design. There is nothing to configure on the privacy side — no data processing agreements, no student information systems to integrate, no vendor risk assessments required.

Individual Install

Teachers or students can install LucidRead directly from the Chrome Web Store. Installation takes less than 10 seconds. The extension works immediately with no setup, no account creation, and no configuration required.

District-Wide Deployment

IT administrators can force-install LucidRead across all managed Chromebooks using the Google Admin Console:

  1. Sign in to the Google Admin Console (admin.google.com)
  2. Navigate to Devices > Chrome > Apps & extensions
  3. Select the organizational unit (OU) for your target student or staff devices
  4. Click the + icon, search for LucidRead in the Chrome Web Store, and add it
  5. Set the installation policy to Force install and save

The extension will automatically install on all Chromebooks in the selected OU within minutes. No student interaction is required.

Privacy by Design

No Accounts

No student accounts, no teacher accounts, no admin accounts. LucidRead works the moment it is installed. Settings are stored locally on the device and never leave it.

No Data Collection

No analytics, no tracking, no telemetry. LucidRead does not phone home. There are no servers, no databases, and no third-party services. The extension operates entirely on the local device.

FERPA & COPPA Compliant

Because LucidRead collects no student data of any kind, it is compliant with FERPA, COPPA, and all state student privacy laws by design. No data processing agreement is required.

Cost

Free. No premium tiers, no subscriptions, no hidden costs. Every feature described in this guide is available to every student at no charge, today and permanently.

Comply with Michigan PA 146 Today

Free. Private. No accounts. Runs on your existing Chromebooks.

Install LucidRead Free