The 21st Century Dyslexia Act is proposed bipartisan federal legislation (H.R. 6052, S. 3010) designed to alter how public schools identify and support students with dyslexia by removing it from the broad “Specific Learning Disability” category in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and establishing it as a distinct disability category. The Learning Disabilities of America (LDA) has grave concerns about the potential impact of this proposed legislation.
LDA recognizes dyslexia as the most researched and best understood specific learning disability. It should be noted that LDA is not alone in this understanding; the International Dyslexia Association recently published an updated, research informed definition of dyslexia that affirms that dyslexia is indeed a specific learning disability. Research indicates that many students with dyslexia have other co-occurring learning disabilities such as dyscalculia and dysgraphia. Separating dyslexia from other SLDs ignores this reality and can potentially create confusion or even siloing of services. LDA sees values in evaluation teams using the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia to further describe specific learning disabilities. However, we do not support a hierarchy of learning disabilities that could be implied if dyslexia were separated out as a stand-alone eligibility category.
In H.R. 6052, S. 3010, dyslexia is defined 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.” Defining dyslexia as “unexpected” based on “intelligence” harkens back to an IQ-achievement discrepancy model of identification. This model is not backed by research and has been rejected by LDA and by the National Association of School Psychologists. Additionally, referencing phonological processing difficulty alone, might lead educators to exclude students who have intact phonological processing, but who otherwise meet criteria for dyslexia.
Also of concern is that the definition of dyslexia in the bill does not include exclusionary factors. The omission of a requirement to consider these factors could result in misidentification of dyslexia. Ruling out factors such as English language proficiency and lack of adequate instruction is critical to prevent over or under identification of students with dyslexia and which could also result in improper interventions. It is important to note that IDEA’s requirement to consider exclusionary criteria, does not preclude low-income students, English language learning students, or students with co-occurring emotional disorders or sensory impairments from being identified as a student with a specific learning disability. Rather, it requires the evaluation team to determine that these conditions are not the primary cause of the learning difficulties. Inadequate consideration of these factors has long resulted in some students being erroneously identified and/or denied appropriate services based on their needs.
LDA agrees with other special education advocacy organizations, that now is not the time to amend IDEA. With the dramatic changes at the Department of Education, discussions about future oversight of the Office of Special Education Programs, and uncertainty about education funding going forward, opening IDEA to amendment seems to be far too much of a risk.
