Adds a federal definition of dyslexia to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and requires schools to give eligible low-income, low-socioeconomic-status, and English-learner children equal access to special education accommodations and services.

Official title: 21st Century Dyslexia Act

Next stop Senate floor: awaiting a vote

Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions

Senate

Introduced 15-OCT-2025

Referred 15-OCT-2025

Approved by committee 30-JUL-2026

Reported 05-AUG-2026

On the calendar 05-AUG-2026

Key points

Defines dyslexia as an unexpected reading difficulty, usually caused by trouble with phonological processing, in a student who has the intelligence to read much better.
Revises the definition of specific learning disability to name dyslexia and to refer to dyslexia in its exclusions.
Requires local educational agencies to provide equal access to accommodations and services for eligible children from low-income families, from families with low socioeconomic status, and who are limited English proficient.

AI-generated from the Reported to Senate text of 05-AUG-2026 · verify · report an error

Official CRS summary

Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Introduced in Senate" (15-OCT-2025); the text has changed since (Reported to Senate, 05-AUG-2026).

CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov

Committee referrals (1)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (Senate)

Policy area

Education

Sponsor Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Cosponsors · 5

■ 3 D■ 2 R

3 Democrats

2 Republicans

congress.gov page Reported to Senate (05-AUG-2026) Introduced in Senate (15-OCT-2025)