ALBANY, N.Y. –– Senator Patricia Fahy (D—Albany) and Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D—Brooklyn) announced that their legislation (A.2687/S.5569) establishing a New York State Center for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia in the State Education Department passed the New York State Legislature this week. 

The Center’s mandate will include data collection and analysis, setting standards for the screening of students in grades kindergarten through five and for interventions, setting standards for professional development for educators and other school personnel regarding screening and interventions, creating a guidebook for educators, and public information dissemination.  

Studies indicate that as many as one in five children may have dyslexia or another phonemic awareness issue, but to date there is still no consistent approach in New York State to addressing their needs. As well as hampering students’ educational achievement, untreated dyslexia and other learning disorders increase the risk of anxiety, depression, suicide, drug use, and incarceration; this leads to increased healthcare costs as well as substantial costs to society. Educational research has unequivocally demonstrated that early identification of dyslexia, coupled with intervention and multisensory sequential phonics instruction drastically improves educational outcomes limiting the harm caused by dyslexia.  

“Roughly 1 in 5 children in New York State struggle with dyslexia, yet for far too long, New York has lacked a consistent, evidence-based approach to identifying and supporting these students,” said bill sponsor Senator Patricia Fahy (D—Albany). “We're not just creating a Center, we're giving educators, families, and students the tools they’ve needed to address this issue for years. Early screening, structured literacy instruction, and high-quality professional development are not luxuries, they are necessities for ensuring every New York kid and student can learn to read and write with confidence. Too many of these New York students have been misunderstood and misidentified. I want to thank Assembly member Bobby Carroll for getting this done in the Assembly, and I’m proud that New York is now poised to become a national leader in supporting students with dyslexia and related learning differences.” 

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