Despite 22-year-old legislation requiring Texas schools to actively identify and assist students with dyslexia, Houston Independent School District is slacking at its job, the Houston Chronicle reported. Parents have reported systematic indifference, and many have opted out of the public school system as a result.
Negligence in this field is unacceptable. Reading comprehension is hard wired at a young age, and when schools fail to render adequate help early on students are put at risk for being relegated to a lower reading level for the rest of their lives.
Shortcomings such as these seem to be endemic in today’s educational system, but the remedy in this case is simple: enforcing state-mandated policy.
The problem, however, also radiates from the top down, considering that the state doesn’t track the number of dyslexia cases in students. The state has the capacity to aid school districts in documentation, and doing so could prove immensely beneficial.
To combat the disorder, HISD has a campaign slated for August to increase dyslexia awareness. While this is a welcome step, the district only needs to adhere to established laws in order to rectify a problem that could cost society an untold amount in lost incomes, social services and day-to-day difficulties.
Dyslexia affects a significant level of the population – up to 20 percent by some estimates – and leaving it untreated is detrimental to everyone. Schools are the first vanguard for those stricken with educational disorders, and HISD should never forget as much.
