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21st Century Dyslexia Act
12/29/2022, 11:18 PM
Summary of Bill HR 7610
One of the key provisions of the bill is the establishment of a grant program to provide funding to states and school districts for training teachers and other school personnel on how to effectively identify and support students with dyslexia. The bill also calls for the development of evidence-based screening tools to help identify students with dyslexia at an early age.
Additionally, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act aims to improve the coordination of services for students with dyslexia by requiring schools to develop individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with dyslexia and to provide appropriate accommodations and support services. Overall, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act is a bipartisan effort to address the needs of individuals with dyslexia and to ensure that they receive the support and resources they need to succeed in school. The bill has garnered support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and is currently being considered for passage.
Congressional Summary of HR 7610
21st Century Dyslexia Act
This bill addresses the education of children with disabilities, with a particular focus on children with dyslexia.
Currently, dyslexia is listed as one of the disabilities under the definition of specific learning disability in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This bill instead removes dyslexia from the definition of specific learning disability and establishes a stand-alone definition for dyslexia within IDEA.
Specifically, the bill defines dyslexia for purposes of IDEA as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in the phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.
Additionally, the bill requires a local educational agency or other agency, in determining eligibility for or providing an accommodation or service under IDEA, to provide equal access to (1) children from low-income families or from families with low socioeconomic status, and (2) other children.
