When Ohio mother Joy Palmer raised concerns in 2013 her daughter was already falling behind in first grade, she feared it was because of hearing problems caused by chronic ear infections. School officials told her testing revealed no concerns and her daughter was performing well enough 鈥� except for her classroom behavior. 

And when Jackie Castillo-Blaber鈥檚 daughter was struggling in 2020 with grasping the alphabet and numbers in kindergarten, school officials in her upstate New York district told her many students were behind because of the pandemic and her daughter鈥檚 behavior was the biggest issue.

Three different mothers. Three different states. Three different decades.

Yet, the similarities are striking.

The three mothers of color felt dismissed when they raised concerns. When they insisted something was wrong, they were asked if there were issues at home or whether they knew to read to their children after school 鈥� which felt like an attack and criticism of their parenting.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this view that reading struggles are moral failures,鈥� said Castillo, mother of Genevieve, 9, a fourth grader. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much bias 鈥� when you look at parents and you say, 鈥楾hey’re probably not [doing] enough, that’s the reason why [their kid can鈥檛 read].鈥� 鈥�

But in all three cases, the culprit wasn鈥檛 a bad parent or child.

It was undiagnosed dyslexia that began to manifest as frustration. For these three girls, acting out was a way to mask fears of falling behind or an inability to keep up academically with their peers 鈥� and later became behaviors that subsided once they received intervention.

A growing number of studies in recent years show students of color, , are for mental health issues and like dyslexia. And despite increased dyslexia screening in many states, many students are still not receiving the support they need. 

While dyslexia affects about one in five people and it鈥檚 one of the most common causes for reading difficulties in elementary school children, only 10% of kids with dyslexia receive special education services and intervention, according to the . 

It鈥檚 worse for Black and brown kids. 

In 2019, one study found that Black eighth graders were to be identified with a learning disability compared to their white peers.

The mislabeling of Black and brown children influences the support and services they get in the classroom, with experts believing there鈥檚 a strong correlation between misidentification, disparities in compared to their white peers and . 

Disabled white students, said Jacqueline Rodriguez, chief executive officer at National Center for Learning Disabilities, are often identified with both a learning disability and mental health issues, but the emphasis 鈥渋s always on the [learning disability].鈥� 

Yet, for Black and brown families 鈥�…we see a ton of emotional disabilities, but we don’t see the corresponding [learning disabilities,鈥� Rodriguez said. 

School officials then 鈥渟pend so much energy trying to quell the emotional response to the inability to read or write,鈥� Rodriguez continued, 鈥渢hat they don鈥檛 actually address the academic interventions that would remove those emotional outbursts.鈥�

Researchers point to an overall when it comes to recognizing dyslexia, but a slowing of teacher diversity and implicit bias may also be key elements in misidentifying disabilities for students of color.

A found school psychologists often believe the behavior of a Black or brown child is 鈥渨illful or purposeful and not related to a disability,鈥� and under-identification could reflect 鈥渁 bias by education professionals who tend to be more responsive to white parents, or professionals may hold lower expectations of Black students鈥� academic abilities which may lead them to ignore a possible disability and 鈥榩roblem鈥� behavior.鈥�

Student impact

A found 50% of dyslexic students reported being bullied and 30% said they felt lazy, stupid or less intelligent than their peers. 

Between 2016 and 2020, the number of children diagnosed with depression and anxiety increased by 27% and 29% respectively. Students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, were at even higher risks, , according to the .

And those numbers are likely even higher for Black and brown youth who go unidentified, said clinical neuropsychologist Karen Wilson.

鈥淲hen kids don’t understand what they’re reading, and they don’t understand that the reason why they’re struggling is because of a difference in the way their brain is wired, they will form their own narrative,鈥� Wilson said, who is also the psychology department chair at California State University, Dominguez Hills and expert with , a learning disability advocacy nonprofit.

It鈥檚 an ongoing reality for Palmer鈥檚 20-year-old daughter, Dey鈥橪eana, who didn鈥檛 receive intervention or learn to read until she was 13. 

鈥淚 couldn’t get the confidence back that this little girl had, no matter how much I tried to say, 鈥榊es, you’re good!鈥� Palmer said. 鈥淓ven to this day, 鈥� she compares herself to her siblings about what she can and cannot do.鈥�

Jackson remembers times when her daughter would hit herself in the head and repeat the words 鈥淚鈥檓 stupid,鈥� at home. She would pretend she was sick to avoid going to school. She would break her glasses to have an excuse for why she couldn鈥檛 read the words on the page.

In class, she wouldn鈥檛 sit still. She became the class clown 鈥� a coping mechanism so her peers would laugh at her jokes instead of at her when she read, Jackson said. Her behavior became so disruptive that Jackson began to get daily calls from school officials to come get her daughter.

鈥淪he was trying to do anything she could to get out of the classroom to avoid reading,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淎s a Black mother 鈥� a single mother 鈥� at that time, it just was a very traumatizing time for both her and I, especially 鈥� not knowing there were rules and regulations to special education, not understanding that they should have been addressing dyslexia.鈥�

In Ohio, Palmer鈥檚 daughter refused to do school work. She would stare blankly at her teachers, walk out of the classroom or try to put earphones in. 

鈥淵ou can always teach a child to read, but once the self esteem is broken, it’s so much harder to repair, if ever,鈥� said Resha Conroy, founder and executive director of the .听

Misidentification of a child鈥檚 disability can be expressed in several ways, including externally like Jackson鈥檚 daughter, or internally like Palmer’s daughter who tried to avoid drawing attention to herself.

鈥淚f you don’t address the reading, the behavior tends to become worse,鈥� said Monica McHale-Small, director of education for the . 鈥淣o matter what color the kid is, if kids are unidentified, misidentified or late identified, you start to see all those behavioral manifestations. 鈥� There’s always that phenomenon where a kid would rather be perceived as bad than to be perceived as dumb.鈥�

For many Black and brown children, a broken self-esteem and externalizing behaviors 鈥減ushes them into the ,鈥� Jackson added.

鈥淲hy do I say pushed? Because the older they get, the more frustrated, the more anxiety, the more [they think] 鈥業 need to get out of this classroom before I am humiliated or the teacher calls on me 鈥� I’m going to do something that’s going to get me out of this pressure cooker,鈥欌�� said Jackson, who founded the and has worked with several families because of her experience with her daughter, Latecia.

Black students with disabilities were nearly four times more likely to receive multiple out-of-school suspensions and twice as likely to be expelled than white students with disabilities, according to the 2019 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The report also found Black children make up around 19% of all students with disabilities, but made up 50% of students with disabilities in correctional facilities.

Going forward

All 50 states have around dyslexia, according to the National Center for Improving Literacy 鈥� including at least in kindergarten 鈥� but, there鈥檚 still concern about implementation.

鈥淎part from screening, there has to be action after that, so what do you do if you find that someone is at risk?鈥� Wilson said, adding that legislation doesn鈥檛 always mean intervention.

鈥淓ven when we think about, the protections that are put in place when we think about IDEA and section 504 鈥�  they’re mandating equitable access 鈥� but implementation depends often on district capacity or on family advocacy,鈥� she said. 鈥淧rotection on paper means very little without accountability and practice.鈥�

Black and brown children are , where there鈥檚 higher turnover of staff and more young, or temporary, educators who may not know the signs of learning disabilities or have access to professional development.

General teacher preparation programs offer limited coursework in special education, usually only three to six credit hours, Rodriguez said.

鈥淎 school that is well funded with high-quality teachers [that have been in the school system longer] with professional development, 鈥� is more apt to identify differences between students that learn and think differently quicker, because they know the red flags,鈥� Rodriguez said. 

A first step forward toward more equitable dyslexia intervention for students of color is to create “more cohesive preparation鈥� between general and special education teachers, she added.

Experts also called for comprehensive bias training and greater teacher diversity efforts to help with disparities in disability identification. 

鈥淲hether well intentioned or not, we do bring bias into the classroom with us, not just around expectations for academics, but also expectations for behavior,鈥� Conroy said. 

White educators may be more prone to implicit bias, and use how students of color are more likely to experience or as reasons behind misbehavior rather than think it鈥檚 a disability, according to the 2019 U.S.Commission on Civil Rights report.

It鈥檚 something the three mothers experienced repeatedly. 

Jackson was told by Nebraska school officials at one point her daughter wasn’t able to read because her biological mother was incarcerated and she had lived with her grandmother.

鈥淭heir justification was they were doing the very best that they could do for her and that she wasn鈥檛 trying hard enough,鈥� Jackson said.

Palmer recalled an instance where a teacher had asked if her daughter was 鈥渁ble to be taught by a male teacher or does she have daddy issues?鈥�

鈥淓veryone assumed I was a single mom,鈥� Palmer said. 

Most recently, when Castillo鈥檚 daughter began to have trouble in school, including crying out of frustration in class, she was referred to a social worker and asked about what things were like at home.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an overwhelming bias that a lot of us experience as parents of color 鈥� that there must be something broken at home, and that’s why your kid is acting out,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淣obody had reached out to me to be like, 鈥楬ey, what have you tried with her? Have you noticed this at home?鈥� 鈥� There’s just this assumption that it’s a broken family.鈥�

Although the three mothers eventually received some special education intervention for their daughters, which prompted some progress, Palmer and Jackson had to seek extra support outside the public school system with tutors or private programs.

鈥淲e need to ensure [schools] are working with parents and not against parents, that we are creating a team environment, 鈥� so [parents] feel safe and that they are in an environment where the children can get support,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淐hildren don’t have time to wait for systems to take decades to rectify and reframe education.鈥�

Castillo is still navigating what more can be done for her fourth grader, who is receiving after-school tutoring in a neighboring county, paid by her school district. 

Her daughter is 鈥渄oing much better鈥� and now is able to de-escalate her frustration 鈥渢o the point where she鈥檚 not crying anymore, and is getting through it,鈥� but she still struggles with reading and writing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a work in progress,鈥� Castillo said.

She worries the intervention isn鈥檛 enough. She also has had to provide transportation for her daughter鈥檚 tutoring sessions, and recently moved the meetings to Zoom 鈥渢o save money on the gas cost, car repairs and tolls.鈥�  

She believes the tutoring would be more effective if it was during the school and worries about 鈥渢he educational consequences my daughter will have to pay鈥� if the intervention is not moved.

鈥淸My daughter] needs to be able to write paragraphs right now and she can’t,鈥� Castillo said. 鈥淎ll of these things that are going to lead up into what she needs to do to have a chance at a decent job when she graduates and I don’t see it happening. I see the gap only widening.鈥�

California sends mixed messages when it comes to serving dyslexic students.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the most famous dyslexic political official in the country, even authoring a  to raise awareness about the learning disability. And yet, California is one of 10 states that doesn鈥檛 require dyslexia screening for all children. 

Education experts agree that early screening and intervention is critical for making sure students can read at grade level. But so far, state officials have done almost everything to combat dyslexia except mandate assessments for all students.

鈥淚t needs to happen,鈥� said Lillian Duran, an education professor at the University of Oregon who has helped develop screening tools for dyslexia. 鈥淚t seems so basic to me.鈥�

Since 2015, legislators have funded dyslexia research, teacher training and the hiring of literacy coaches across California. But lawmakers failed to mandate universal dyslexia screening, running smack into opposition from the California Teachers Association.

The union argued that since teachers would do the screening, a universal mandate would take time away from the classroom. It also said universal screening may overly identify English learners, mistakenly placing them in special education. 

The California Teachers Association did not respond to requests for comment for this story. In a letter of opposition to a bill in 2021, the union wrote that the bill 鈥渋s unnecessary, leads to over identifying dyslexia in young students, mandates more testing, and jeopardizes the limited instructional time for students.鈥�

In response, dyslexia experts double down on well-established research. Early detection actually prevents English learners 鈥� and really, all students 鈥� from ending up in special education when they don鈥檛 belong there.  

While California lawmakers didn鈥檛 vote to buck the teachers union, they haven鈥檛 been afraid to spend taxpayer money on dyslexia screening. In the past two years, the state budget allocated $30 million to UC San Francisco鈥檚 Dyslexia Center, largely for the development of a new screening tool. Newsom began championing the center and served as its  in 2016 when he was still lieutenant governor. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 an inadequate involvement of the health system in the way we support children with learning disabilities,鈥� said Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, co-director of UCSF鈥檚 Dyslexia Center. 鈥淭his is one of the first attempts at bridging science and education in a way that鈥檚 open sourced and open to all fields.鈥�

Parents and advocates say funding dyslexia research and developing a new screener can all be good things, but without mandated universal screening more students will fall through the cracks and need more help with reading as they get older.

Omar Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the governor did not respond to questions about whether Newsom would support a mandate for universal screening. Instead, he listed more than $300 million in state investments made in the past two years to fund more reading coaches, new teacher credentialing requirements and teacher training.

The screening struggle

Rachel Levy, a Bay Area parent, fought for three years to get her son Dominic screened for dyslexia. He finally got the screening in third grade, which experts say could be  to prevent long-term struggles with reading. 

鈥淲e know how to screen students. We know how to get early intervention,鈥� Levy said. 鈥淭his to me is a solvable issue.鈥�

Levy鈥檚 son Dominic, 16, still remembers what it felt like trying to read in first grade.

鈥淚t was like I was trying to memorize the shape of the word,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven if I could read all the words, I just wouldn鈥檛 understand them.鈥�

Dyslexia is a neurological condition that can make it hard for students to read and process information. But teachers can mitigate and even prevent the illiteracy stemming from dyslexia if they catch the signs early.

Levy, who also has dyslexia, said there鈥檚 much more research today on dyslexia than there was 30 years ago when she was first diagnosed. She said she was disappointed to find that California鈥檚 policies don鈥檛 align with the research around early screening.

鈥淯nfortunately, most kids who are dyslexic end up in the special education system,鈥� Levy said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 because of a lack of screening.鈥�

Soon after his screening in third grade, Dominic started receiving extra help for his dyslexia. He still works with an educational therapist on his reading, and he鈥檚 just about caught up to grade level in math. The biggest misconception about dyslexia, Dominic said, is that it makes you less intelligent or capable.

鈥淒yslexics are just as smart as other people,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey just learn in different ways.鈥�

The first step to helping them learn is screening them in kindergarten or first grade.

鈥淭he goal is to find risk factors early,鈥� said Elsa C谩rdenas-Hagan, a speech-language pathologist and a professor at the University of Houston. 鈥淲hen you find them, the data you collect can really inform instruction.鈥�

C谩rdenas-Hagan鈥檚 home state of Texas passed a law in 1995 requiring universal screening. But she said it took several more years for teachers to be trained to use the tool. Her word of caution to California: Make sure teachers are not only comfortable with the tool but know how to use the results of the assessment to shape the way they teach individual students.

A homegrown screener

UC San Francisco鈥檚 screener, called Multitudes, will be available in English, Spanish and Mandarin. It鈥檒l be free for all school districts. 

Multitudes won鈥檛 be released to all districts at once. UCSF scientists launched a pilot at a dozen school districts last year, and they plan to expand to more districts this fall. 

But experts and advocates say there鈥檚 no need to wait for it to mandate universal screenings. Educators can use a variety of already available screening tools in California, like they do in 40 other states. Texas and other states that have high percentages of English learners have Spanish screeners for dyslexia.

For English learners, the need for screening is especially urgent. Maria Ortiz is a Los Angeles parent of a dyslexic teenager who was also an English learner. She said she had to sue the Los Angeles Unified School District twice: once in 2016 to get extra help for her dyslexic daughter when she was in fourth grade and again in 2018 when those services were taken away. Ortiz said the district stopped giving her daughter additional help because her reading started improving.

鈥淚n the beginning they told me that my daughter was exaggerating,鈥� Ortiz said.

 鈥淭hey said everything would be normal later.鈥�

California currently serves about 1.1 million English learners, just under a fifth of all public school students. For English learners, dyslexia can be confused with a lack of English proficiency. Opponents of universal screening, including the teachers association, argue that English learners will be misidentified as dyslexic simply because they can鈥檛 understand the language. 

鈥淓ven the specialists were afraid that the problem might be because of the language barrier,鈥� Ortiz said about her daughter鈥檚 case.

But experts say dyslexia presents a double threat to English learners: It stalls them from reading in their native language and impedes their ability to learn English. And while there are some Spanish-language screeners, experts from Texas and California say there鈥檚 room for improvement. Current Spanish screeners penalize students who mix Spanish and English, they say. 

Duran, who helped develop the Spanish version of Multitudes, said the new screener will be a better fit for how young bilingual students actually talk. 

鈥淪panglish becomes its own communication that鈥檚 just as legitimate as Spanish on its own or English on its own,鈥� Duran said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the totality of languages a child might bring.鈥�

Providing Multitudes free of cost is important to schools with large numbers of low-income students. Dyslexia screeners cost about $10 per student, so $30 million might actually be cost-effective considering California currently serves 1.3 million students in kindergarten through second grade. The tool could pay for itself in a few years. Although there are plenty of screeners already available, they can stretch the budgets of high-poverty schools and districts.

鈥淭he least funded schools can鈥檛 access them because of the cost,鈥� Duran said.

In addition to the governor, another powerful state lawmaker, Glendale Democratic state Sen. Anthony Portantino, is dyslexic. While chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he has repeatedly, and unsuccessfully, authored legislation to require public schools to screen all students between kindergarten and second grade. 

Portantino鈥檚 2021 bill received unanimous support in the Senate Education and Appropriations committees, but the bill died in the Assembly Education Committee. Portantino authored the same bill in 2020, but it never made it out of the state Senate.

鈥淲e should be leading the nation and not lagging behind,鈥� Portantino said. 

Portantino blamed the failure of his most recent bill on former Democratic Assemblymember Patrick O鈥橠onnell, who chaired the Assembly Education Committee, for refusing to hear the bill. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret, Patrick O鈥橠onnell was against teacher training,鈥� Portantino said. 鈥淗e thought our school districts and our educators didn鈥檛 have the capacity.鈥�

O鈥橠onnell did not respond to requests for comment. Since O鈥橠onnell didn鈥檛 schedule a hearing on the bill, there is no record of him commenting about it at the time.

Portantino plans to author a nearly identical bill this year. He said he鈥檚 more hopeful because the Assembly Education Committee is now under the leadership of Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat from Torrance. Muratsuchi would not comment on the potential fate of a dyslexia screening bill this year.

Levy now works as a professional advocate for parents of students with disabilities. She said without mandatory dyslexia screening, only parents who can afford to hire someone like her will be able to get the services they need for their children.

鈥淎 lot of high school kids are reading below third-grade level,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 just heartbreaking.鈥�

This was originally published on CalMatters.

Kate was ultimately diagnosed with dyslexia, and the ensuing years of private school and tutors it took to get her the help she needed shaped the lives of both her parents. In Baton Rouge, Laura opened a charter school for students with dyslexia. In Washington, the moderate Republican advocates for changes in federal policy. 

Now ranking member of the Senate education committee, Sen. Cassidy has a powerful perch from which to draw attention to a reading disability that affects an estimated Americans. 鈥淎t some point you’ve got to concede that the status quo is not working,鈥� he told 社区黑料. 鈥淚f you look at reading scores, they’ve not budged.鈥�

But student achievement hasn鈥檛 budged much at Louisiana Key Academy either. The school, which Laura Cassidy co-founded in 2013, has never earned higher than an F in the state鈥檚 school grading system. Its performance score this year 鈥� based mostly on state test results 鈥� is 39.9, compared to a .

At the same time, the school has won praise for providing targeted, foundational literacy instruction for students who were grade levels behind in their traditional schools. Parents whose children failed to develop reading skills in district schools, even with special education, have watched them gain confidence and earn good grades at Key. The state board recently granted the charter approval to expand to two additional sites and add a high school. 

鈥淭here is huge demand for Key Academy,鈥� said Caroline Roemer, executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools. But though the school is clearly filling a void, officials shouldn鈥檛 let up on holding charters like Key accountable for students鈥� progress, she said.

鈥淲e will never say choice is enough,鈥� she said. Academic improvement should also be the objective, she said, bluntly adding that it鈥檚 important for schools to find 鈥渢he balance between the power of choice [and] the expectation that the goal is to suck less.鈥�

The earlier, the better 

At a time of heightened interest in how children learn to read, the Cassidys鈥� combined work demonstrates the challenges 鈥� and also, the paradoxes 鈥� facing families with dyslexic children and the schools they attend.

To Laura Cassidy, a retired surgeon, the F on the state鈥檚 report card is not a reflection of dyslexic students鈥� ability to learn. Many arrive in third, fourth and fifth grade when parents realize they aren鈥檛 catching up with their peers. 

鈥淎fter January, most traditional schools teach to the [state test], and we don’t do that. We’re trying to produce fluent readers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he earlier they come to our school, the better because they’re in an environment where they’re like, 鈥極h, OK, I’m not the only one who was struggling with this and I’m not stupid.鈥� 鈥� 

Despite the F, the school earns a B from the state for student progress. Its performance score has increased since 2019 when it was 36.3. 

When their children are younger, many parents are more concerned with their improvement than hitting state proficiency targets, said DeJunn茅 Clark Jackson, president of the nonprofit Center for Literacy and Learning, near New Orleans. But as they prepare for graduation, those grades tend to matter more,

鈥淭he reality is the school is swimming upstream,鈥� said Jackson, also a leader of parent advocacy group Decoding Dyslexia Louisiana. But it鈥檚 鈥渞eaching parents in a place of desperation.鈥�

Angela Normand hit that point when her son Max was in third grade. He was getting D鈥檚 and F鈥檚 in reading at his school in Tangipahoa Parish, about 40 miles from Baton Rouge. Teachers told her that boys sometimes learn to read more slowly than girls. But even with special education, he didn鈥檛 improve.

He entered Key Academy in January 2020, and within two months, 鈥渉e was reading every sign on every building,鈥� she said. Despite remote learning through the end of the school year, Max鈥檚 reading skills grew stronger. Now in sixth grade, he has five A鈥檚 and one B. 

She said the 鈥渦nfair, inaccurate grade鈥� the state gives the school has probably deterred other parents from exploring whether Key Academy can help their children.

鈥楾he plight of families鈥�

The low grade hasn鈥檛 hurt state support. When the school first renewed its charter in 2018, the board added an to evaluate schools that serve students well below grade level. While Key Academy students must still take the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, the schools also give additional standardized tests that measure students鈥� phonological, fluency and vocabulary skills.

State accountability systems 鈥渁re not set up to deal with a school like this,鈥� said John White, former Louisiana state superintendent. The adults responsible for Key Academy鈥檚 students, he added, 鈥渨ere not the adults who were there for the origin of the students’ struggles.鈥�

He credited the Cassidys for simultaneously 鈥渄rawing attention to the plight of families鈥� whose children have dyslexia and advancing school choice. 

A second school opened this year in Covington, east of Baton Rouge, despite opposition from the local St. Tammany Parish district, where there has never been a charter. A third site will open in Shreveport next year. An October report from the state board, supporting the expansion, said the charter offers 鈥渃ompelling evidence鈥� for its model and would provide something that doesn鈥檛 otherwise exist in that area.

The Cassidys, meanwhile, have advocated for reforms that would impact all Louisiana schools, including that recognizes training in dyslexia therapy in teacher licensing. 

鈥楴ot blue or red鈥�

At the federal level, Sen. Cassidy鈥� still a practicing gastroenterologist 鈥� focuses on some of the same thorny issues facing dyslexic students. He demonstrated his awareness of those challenges during a committee hearing last summer on pandemic learning loss.

鈥淒id they fall further behind than their peers?鈥� he asked Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker about students with reading disabilities. 鈥淒o you screen children for dyslexia?鈥� 

And he in 2021 that would make dyslexia a separate disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Currently, it鈥檚 part of a larger 鈥渟pecific learning disability鈥� category. The change, he said, would draw more attention to dyslexia and help ensure students get help earlier, especially since don鈥檛 require screening.

But his bill faces resistance from some special education advocates. Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, said learning disabilities 鈥渢end to co-occur鈥� and that removing dyslexia from that category might cause educators to miss other needs.

White, Louisiana鈥檚 former state superintendent, hopes Sen. Cassidy鈥檚 role on the committee will also prompt conversation about foundational reading skills at a time when states and districts have federal relief funds to train teachers and purchase curriculum.

鈥淣ow,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ould be an opportunity for some leadership in Washington to say, 鈥楲ets connect the dots.鈥� 鈥� 

Sen. Cassidy said Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee chair, will set the agenda. But he hopes to work with Democrats on the issue, mentioning Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who about own struggles with dyslexia, and Sen. Maggie Hassan, who in 2016 when she was governor of New Hampshire.

鈥淭his issue is not blue or red,鈥� Sen. Cassidy said. 鈥淭his is, 鈥楧o I care about a child achieving potential even if the child learns differently?鈥� I’d like to think that would give us a lot of common ground.鈥�

These advanced learners, who may also receive special education services, can languish academically, their skills overlooked. The same holds true for children, and those learning to speak English. 

Experts say most teachers have only limited training in gifted education and tend to focus on students鈥� limitations rather than their strengths, leaving twice exceptional learners particularly vulnerable. 

In some cases, these students鈥� disabilities can mask their aptitude. In others, their accelerated nature can hide their challenges. 

In both instances, they often go without the support they need and may come to feel unintelligent as their confidence wanes.  

ages 3 through 21 were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2017-18, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. They represented but only 2.8 percent of the 3.3 million children enrolled in gifted programming that year, the last for which such data was compiled by the U.S. Department of Education. That figure jumped to , or 15 percent, in 2020-21. 

Experts say schools鈥� failure to help these students reach their potential amounts to a loss not only for the child themselves, but for the community and nation. 

鈥淚f they are not identified and supported properly, gifted students are often in classes below their abilities,鈥� said Megan Cannella, family services manager at the , a Nevada-based nonprofit dedicated to profoundly gifted students age 18 and under. 鈥淭he work can seem redundant, boring and slow. In these situations, students are typically not learning new information or growing their skills. Over time, this becomes discouraging, and they may underachieve 鈥� by rushing through work, doing the bare minimum or refusing to do work.鈥�

Roughly 8% of the 846 students identified as gifted in the McAllen Independent School District in South Texas are twice exceptional. They have either a 504 plan, which provides for support services and accommodations, or are enrolled in special education classes, a district official said. 

Broward County Public Schools in Florida reported a slightly higher rate at 8.4%. Of the 1,364 students in Denver Public Schools鈥� gifted or highly gifted program in grades K-5, 131 have special needs, bringing the percentage to 9.6.

Children with either 504s or Individualized Education Plans, special schemes to help disabled students succeed in school, made up 10% of the 6,666 students in Florida鈥檚 Hillsborough County Public Schools gifted elementary school program, officials said. Orange County Public Schools in that same state came in at 9%.

Baltimore City Public Schools has made a concerted effort to include under-represented children in this group: It came in at the highest level with 358 of its 3,114 elementary-aged gifted and advanced students having a learning disability 鈥� nearly 11.5%.

Gifted and talented offerings across the country have been under fresh scrutiny since former Mayor Bill de Blasio moved, in October 2021, to end the program at the elementary school level because it perpetuated decades of discrimination against Black and Hispanic children. Eric Adams, who struggled in school himself with dyslexia and replaced de Blasio in January, decided to preserve and , despite its  

Deborah Alexander, of Astoria, Queens, recalls the frustration she and her son, Augustus, endured when he was in the first grade.

鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 learning to write letters properly,鈥� she said. 鈥淗is hand strength was not there. We had him evaluated by the school and they told us, erroneously, his grades were too good to qualify for services.鈥�

Alexander, who has served on the Community Education Council for District 30 for a decade, is also a member of New York City鈥檚 or PLACE, which is currently investigating how twice exceptional children are being treated.

She asked, back when her son was young, if he could type on a computer rather than write by hand, but the request was denied. 

Augustus鈥檚 grades started to slip, but that all changed when he was allowed to type on a tablet in middle school. 

Augustus, diagnosed with 鈥渄isorder of written expression,鈥� a learning disability, and obsessive compulsive disorder, said the accommodation transformed his educational experience: The 15-year-old rising sophomore at the prestigious Bronx High School of Science said he no longer worries about his work being illegible. Finally, he could share all he knows, he said, adding that every child should be given the tools they need to succeed. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 really important that everyone can learn, not just for the larger benefit of society, but because it develops you,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven just last year, if I had to write by hand, I don鈥檛 think I would be as prepared for next year or for college.鈥�

Brandon Wright, editorial director at the , a conservative education policy think tank, understands this population.

鈥溾�嬧�婭 had a bad stammer and was also gifted,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y school offered me a speech therapist, giving me the tools I needed to thrive in the classroom.鈥�

But he knows not all children have this opportunity, which is why he advocates universal screening in which all students鈥� test scores are examined for standouts. 

But test results should be only one element, said Wright, who just launched a bi-monthly newsletter, , to chart the progress of gifted education in America. Teachers should be better trained to spot these students and they should be admitted on a rolling basis with 鈥渃onstant on-ramps,鈥� giving children multiple opportunities to join such programs as their skills develop. 

Yet Nielsen Pereira, associate professor of Gifted, Creative and Talented Studies at Purdue University, who instructs educators, said many of his students, including those who have been in the classroom for years, 鈥渁re surprised these types of students even exist.鈥� 

Many college and university programs don鈥檛 mandate proficiency on the topic: An educator鈥檚 exposure might amount to a single lecture buried inside another, unrelated course. 

A lack of funding for these programs, which are not mandated at the federal level, helps explain why they are available in some locations and not others 鈥� and why their quality varies so widely, he said. 

鈥淲e focus so much on making sure everyone is meeting the minimum standards that we forgot about how to bring kids 鈥� to their highest potential,鈥� he said. 

And there are other characteristics among twice exceptional children that can make them hard to spot. Not all have high marks: Disillusionment with school coupled with the challenges of their disabilities can cause them to give up, further camouflaging their talents.听

Felicity Ross, who teaches mathematics to gifted children inside Baltimore City Public Schools, said it鈥檚 easy for teachers without proper training to correlate low test scores to low skills. 

鈥淚t can take years to diagnose kids with disabilities 鈥� and years to identify them as being gifted,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is particularly tough for new teachers.鈥�

But, she said, there are tactics that can help: When it comes to evaluating those children who have trouble writing, for example, educators should consider other factors.

鈥淲e need to listen to them verbally,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat they can tell us and explain might be at a different level than what they can write down or show. For math kids, they can鈥檛 explain it 鈥� but produce a correct answer.鈥�

The problem there, she said, is that current standards around mathematics require students to show their progress and explain the strategy. 

鈥淏ut that doesn鈥檛 align with their skills and abilities,鈥� she said. 

Megan Roddie, 25, graduated high school two years early, earned two master鈥檚 degrees and enjoys a thriving career in cybersecurity. Diagnosed with autism at age 12, she didn鈥檛 recognize her own abilities for several years and the teachers in her Houston-area schools didn鈥檛 know how to handle her. 

鈥淚 talked a lot 鈥� and out of turn,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was ahead of the curriculum I was given 鈥� and when I got bored, I acted out. They decided I wasn鈥檛 paying attention and that was an issue.鈥�

But why pay attention when she already knew the answers, she reasoned.  

And, she said, her teachers didn鈥檛 always recognize her needs: When she scored stellar marks in mathematics in middle school, they moved her to the back of the classroom so the struggling kids could sit up front. 

鈥淚 felt like I was being punished, taken away from my favorite spot,鈥� she said. 鈥淓specially as an autistic kid, you don鈥檛 mess with my routine.鈥�

It takes time and communication for teachers to learn what their students need. And, experts say, teachers should remember children do not have to be advanced in all subjects to be considered gifted. 

鈥淪ome kids would benefit from advanced math but may not benefit at the moment from an advanced English class 鈥� though that could change in the future,鈥� the Fordham Institute鈥檚 Wright said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to have exclusionary gifted services, but a spectrum of increased intensity that meets as many kids as possible where they are.鈥�

Homero Ch谩vez, the Early College Program director at Gadsden Elementary School District No. 32 in San Luis, Arizona, at the nation鈥檚 southern border, relies heavily on student test results to identify those who are gifted in mathematics. 

The highest scoring on standardized exams at each campus in the 5,000-student district are invited, starting in the fifth grade, to join a program that allows them to take for-credit college-level courses 鈥� and the ACT. 

Disabilities are not considered in the admissions process although students are accommodated as needed, Ch谩vez said. 

鈥淚f they wish to be in a high-level class and they excel, why not?鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey do have the right to be there.鈥�

It doesn鈥檛 have to be this way.

With the appropriate support, accommodations and allies, our invisible disabilities 鈥� including ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia and processing disorders 鈥� are our strengths. Unfortunately, by isolating, ignoring and reprimanding students who don鈥檛 fit the neurotypical mold, the U.S. education system fails the . Congress must take action now by boosting funding under the , passing the and appropriating more funds to the before the new school year. 

Many youths are labeled as 鈥渢roubled鈥� due to undiagnosed learning disabilities and are relegated to the back of their class, and they are and ostracized by peers. Not surprisingly, a sense of hopelessness tends to follow. Roughly half of the neurodiverse student population struggles with anxiety and , contributing to the youth mental health crisis. Learning lags and social isolation make neurodiverse students than their peers. Additionally, preliminary studies have estimated that anywhere from to of incarcerated people in this country struggle with learning disabilities 鈥� the great majority of which are undiagnosed. 

Beyond the obvious human and moral implications of supporting neurodiverse individuals, lifting up those who learn differently is good for American business and politics. It鈥檚 estimated that , and leaders like , and Tesla Motors CEO have celebrated their neurodiversity for its driving role in their success. 

As a high school and a college student living with learning disabilities, we both know the great power that lives within us and our neurodiverse peers, and we are in the midst of a national reckoning around diversity in all its forms. That鈥檚 why, on June 14, we went to Washington for the fourth annual Learning Disabilities Day of Action. There, alongside 21 members of the 鈥� Young Adult Leadership Council and 22 of our fellow student leaders from , we shared our stories with members of Congress and the secretary of education and advocated for change. 

Just as we did that day, we urge Congress to adopt the following three policies and funding priorities that support students with disabilities.

1. Expand funding under the IDEA Act as part of fiscal year 2023 appropriations process.

The ensures students with disabilities have access to free and appropriate public education, and allocates funding annually to do this work. We are calling on Congress to increase Part B State Grants funding to $16.26 billion and Part D Personnel Preparation funding to $300 million. This represents a 22% and 315% increase in funding from Fiscal Year 2022, respectively, and would provide the early screenings, specialized teachers and social-emotional support that students like us need to thrive.

2. Pass the RISE Act.

Under the current system, college students with learning disabilities must navigate an extensive array of hurdles 鈥� including expensive, duplicative screenings 鈥� to formally register their learning disabilities with their schools and receive the life-changing accommodations, such as extended testing time and exam breaks, that they desperately need. to the (Respond, Innovate, Succeed and Empower Act) would change that by allowing students to submit documentation of special accommodations they received in K-12 so they get those same benefits in college. This would save students and their families thousands of dollars in screenings and make higher education more equitable. 

3. Increase investment in the as part of Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations process.

Finally, it鈥檚 critical to prioritize research to ensure teaching methodologies are effective for students with learning disabilities. To do so, we call on Congress to up its funding for the center, the leading body that conducts this research, from $60 million in 2022 to $70 million in 2023 through the upcoming round of annual appropriations. 

If these actions are taken, there is no limit to what neurodiverse youth can achieve. If left unaddressed, neurodiverse students will continue to flounder, with consequences that can be seen quite clearly for and . We call on Congress to stop wasting our nation鈥檚 brainpower and potential by investing in the IDEA Act, passing the RISE Act and boosting funding for the National Center for Special Education Research.