Addressing Dyslexia: Highlights from the Cardona Hearing

At the hearing for Secretary of Education nominee Miguel Cardona on February 3, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) raised the question of screening for dyslexia in early elementary school. “It’s clear that you can diagnose dyslexia in kindergarten and first grade, that one in five children are dyslexic, the best data shows that, and yet we are not diagnosing that many children,” said Senator Cassidy. “What would be your position on universal screening for dyslexia in kindergarten or first grade, knowing that the data shows that it can be detected then with the appropriate screening instrument?” he asked Cardona.

Senator Cassidy’s concerns around dyslexia mirror a growing push from parent advocates troubled by the underdiagnosis and subsequent lack of intervention for children with dyslexia.

According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is the most common cause of reading, spelling, and writing difficulties, and can be found at similar rates across people from all genders, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. The leading and most commonly cited research from Yale shows that dyslexia impacts around 20 percent of the total population, making it the most common neuro-cognitive disorder, though some experts estimate that dyslexia impacts a smaller share of the population, at five to 10 percent.

Given that less than five percent of children in public schools have a diagnosed Specific Learning Disability (SLD), which includes dyslexia under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with dyslexia are not being diagnosed and receiving special education services at a rate equal to the prevalence of the disability.

While dyslexia exists from birth and remains throughout a person’s life, it often first appears when children are learning to read. In pre-K, children with dyslexia may struggle to recognize rhyming patterns, mispronounce common words, and have trouble identifying letters, including those in their name. By kindergarten and first grade, children with dyslexia are likely to have difficulties associating sounds with letters and decoding or “sounding out” simple words. As children with dyslexia progress through school, they will likely read slowly, make guesses or pause when they come across unfamiliar words, and struggle with spelling and handwriting.

Without proper support, these challenges can lead to poor self-esteem, anxiety, behavior problems, low academic performance, and even life-long educational and economic consequences.

To help ensure that children with dyslexia succeed, early identification and intervention is key. Intervention for dyslexia typically requires a structured literacy approach with explicit, sequential instruction of phonemic awareness and phonics, which gradually builds to more complex concepts like syntax and semantics. Most approaches to dyslexia instruction favor multisensory methods that blend touch, movement, and feel with direct literacy instruction.

Educators, in general, need better pre-service and in service training to teach reading using evidence-based methods, particularly the systematic phonics-centered approach that is most beneficial to students with dyslexia along with the rest of their peers.

Other recommended classroom accommodations that support children with dyslexia include smaller class sizes to allow for more frequent interactions between teachers and students, simplifying and repeating directions, making use of adaptive technology such as text-to-speech features, and providing additional time for activities and assessments. Social and emotional support is also crucial to mitigate the anxiety and poor self-image that dyslexia can cause.

While no single test can diagnose whether a child has dyslexia, screening tools that measure children’s language skills, phonological skills including phonemic awareness, and letter recognition can help identify students’ needs. Once identified, students will ideally be referred to specialists for further educational testing to receive a diagnosis and establish an individualized education program (IEP) for support.

Universal screening could help close equity gaps, such as correctly identifying English Learners with disabilities, who are just as likely to have dyslexia as their non-English Learner peers but may be incorrectly identified due to their language abilities. Universal screening could also cover the $5,000 cost of testing for dyslexia, which is often inaccessible for families with low incomes and can delay children from receiving the dyslexia testing and services they need.

Screening is currently nowhere near universal. According to the National Center on Improving Literacy, 37 states, including DC, require or recommend screening students for reading difficulties in early elementary grades, and while some specify dyslexia screenings, legislation varies widely. For example, in New Mexico, all first grade students must be screened for dyslexia, while in New Jersey, students are only required to be screened if they have exhibited one or more potential indicators of dyslexia. Alabama has a task force that meets at least twice a year to review assessments approved for identifying students with dyslexia, while New Hampshire requires all students entering kindergarten or first grade to be screened using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) or an equivalent cost effective assessment. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah do not require screening for dyslexia but currently have pilot programs that explore screening and intervention.

Laws to support dyslexic children have seen an increase over the past decade, with parent advocates leading the charge. In Arkansas, for instance, a seven-year push from a parent group resulted in the state requiring dyslexia screening for all students in kindergarten through second grade, along with evidence-based, multisensory, individualized instruction for students that receive a diagnosis. Decoding Dyslexia, a large parent-network with chapters in all 50 states, has a well-organized advocacy approach with clear policy goals that include mandatory early screening, teacher training, remediation programs, increased access to assistive technology, and establishment of a universal definition of dyslexia in states’ education codes.

Senator Cassidy could be considered a parent advocate himself, as his daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2006 at the age of seven. Since joining the Senate, dyslexia has been one of his leading causes.

Responding to Senator Cassidy’s universal screening inquiry, Secretary of Education nominee Cardona replied, “I’m a big proponent of ensuring that... our teachers are equipped with the right tools and training to make sure that they can see where students’ needs are.” He emphasized the importance of a “really robust pre-K through three system” that identifies and strengthens every child’s reading abilities, and said that he looks forward to working with the senator and “hearing more about how we can support students with dyslexia and all students with disabilities moving forward, if confirmed.”

As Secretary of Education, Cardona could recommend more specificity around evidence-based interventions that support students with dyslexia and other disabilities if and when IDEA is reauthorized, and continue his already vocal support for fully funding IDEA. Both IDEA and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) could also be better aligned to support screening and early identification, services and supports, and teacher preparation and training to ensure students with dyslexia and other disabilities are receiving the support and services they need.

Cardona’s nomination was approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on February 11 with bipartisan support, including that of Senator Cassidy, and will move to the full Senate for a vote.

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