READ Act

Reading Early and Addressing Dyslexia Act or the READ Act

This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish an early literacy and dyslexia intervention pilot program to award grants to five state educational agencies to address early reading deficiencies and dyslexia.

Under the program, ED must identify (1) evidence-based methods of screening students in grades K-3 for early reading deficiencies and dyslexia; (2) intensive interventions for these students, including phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, sound symbol recognition, and decoding skills; and (3) best practices to instruct educators on the science of reading and how to execute screenings and intensive interventions for these students.

Each participating state educational agency must select at least two local educational agencies (LEAs) to participate in the program.

Participating LEAs must

• provide intensive interventions identified by ED that develop basic reading skills and incorporate systematic phonics instruction to every student in grades K-3,
• screen each student in grades K-3 three times during each school year using the screening methods identified by ED,
• notify parents or guardians of screenings, and
• conduct diagnostic assessments and provide intensive interventions for each student suspected of having an early reading deficiency or dyslexia.

The bill also directs ED to establish an online platform to provide educational agencies with resources, such as methods of targeting instruction for early reading deficiencies and dyslexia.