21st Century Dyslexia Act

This Act may be cited as the “21st Century Dyslexia Act”.

(a) Definitions.— Section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking “or specific learning disabilities” and inserting “specific learning disabilities, or dyslexia”;

(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

“(4) Dyslexia.— The term dyslexia means 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.”; and

(3) in paragraph (30)—

(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking “dyslexia,”; and

(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking “or of environmental” and all that follows and inserting “or dyslexia”.

(b) Provision of accommodations and services.— The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is amended by inserting after section 608 (20 U.S.C. 1407) the following:

“608A. Provision of accommodations and services.— In determining eligibility for, or providing, an accommodation or service under this title, a local educational agency or other agency shall provide equal access, to the accommodation or service, to all eligible children, including eligible children who are—

(1) children from low-income families;

(2) children from families with low socioeconomic status; and

(3) children who are limited English proficient.”.