More than 1 in 5 Austin ISD students now are identified as dyslexic, higher than any other major urban Texas school district.
Nearly 23%, or 15,748, of Austin ISD students this year are receiving dyslexia services through special education or accommodations plans, according to data analyzed by The Texas Tribune from Texas Education Agency. That is up about 10 percentage points from last year and a fourfold increase from 5.4% in 2015-16, when the district enrolled about 14,500 additional students.
Statewide, dyslexia more than doubled since 2015-16, rising from 2.7% then to 7.1% now. District leaders and experts attribute the surge to state policy changes, improved identification, stronger educator training and increased public awareness, even as districts work to meet the rising demand.
In 2023, Texas passed HB 3928, which placed dyslexia under the special education umbrella. With the change, districts get additional funding per student with dyslexia in special education, leading to expanded resources for diagnosis and support. Experts say the shift has naturally increased identification rates.
Why diagnoses are rising
Dyslexia is a brain-based difference that makes learning to read and spell persistently challenging, and, despite common belief, it is not about letters moving or appearing backwards, said Kelly O’Mullan, executive director of the Dyslexia Center of Austin, in a statement. Effective support requires specialized instruction from highly trained educators.
The number of students identified with dyslexia in Texas has increased dramatically over the past five years, largely due to legislative and policy changes, as well as increased awareness, O’Mullan said. As of the 2025-26 school year, approximately 388,500, or 7%, of school-age children in Texas, were identified with dyslexia. Research suggests closer to 1 in 5 individuals may be affected, she said.
Austin ISD serves students with dyslexia Section 504 plan and special education, said Cherry Lee, Austin ISD’s interim assistant superintendent of special education programs and health services. The first ensures access for students with disabilities, while the latter provides specific educational services and protections for students and their families. Dyslexia, Lee said, can also include dysgraphia and other related disabilities.
Lee said a rise in the number of students with dyslexia served through special education reflects a combination of factors including the 2023 state policy change, a Texas requirement that kindergarten and first graders be screened for dyslexia, and state oversight tied to a previous district backlog in special education evaluations.
Texas also came under federal scrutiny in 2016 following a series of reports from the Houston Chronicle that showed the state education agency pressured school districts to limit up to 8.5% how many students received special education services.The federal investigation found Texas school districts varied in their interpretation of the illegal state policy to only provide federally funded services to students with dyslexia if those students also had another disability.
Pressures on evaluations and staffing
Under pressure from increased evaluation demand, Lee said districts have turned to school psychologists and educational diagnosticians earlier in their careers who, if unsure, may be more likely to identify a disability. Learning gaps following the COVID-19 pandemic have also complicated diagnosis, Lee said, while increased community awareness has driven more testing.
“We have historically had tremendous parent advocacy around dyslexia in this capital city,” Lee said. That advocacy has helped drive investments in interventionists and training programs. The district is working to ensure interventionists and classroom teachers are prepared to support students with dyslexia, Lee said.
Austin ISD’s elementary schools account for the majority of the student population currently identified with dyslexia, according to data analyzed by The Texas Tribune, likely due to how recent the state policy changes were put in place. Identification rates vary vastly across the district as experts say the increase is particularly seen in lower grade levels due to the revised policies and practices.
For example, at Allison Elementary, where 90 percent of students are from low-income families, 44% of students have been identified as dyslexic, the highest in Austin ISD. At the nationally recognized LASA High School, where 10 percent of the students are low-income, only 5% are considered dyslexic, the lowest in the district.
Rachel Blair said she transferred her children to an Austin ISD elementary from a local private school so her eldest could be evaluated for dyslexia and other learning disabilities. She described a positive experience with the school staff and psychologist, who walked the family through the evaluation results.
Blair said her son has since received intervention following the Take Flight program developed by Scottish Rite for Children. She saw his progress recently when he was able to read a table sign at a restaurant. She said she is grateful for the teachers and staff who “unlock the code” of reading.
“As a parent of a dyslexic kiddo, you never know exactly what their reading journey is going to be like,” Blair said. “To be able to see him read something spontaneously that he had never seen before just made my heart swell with gratitude.”
Progress, but gaps remain
As more students are diagnosed with dyslexia, more parents are seeking after school support, rather than evaluations, said Jamie Nettles, director of dyslexia services at the Rawson Saunders School, an Austin private school focused on dyslexia.
“There is a significant need for more human resources in this field and that requires time and financial resources, all of which most entities, be it schools or people, don’t have a wealth of,” Nettles said.
Nettles said if the number of students identified in Texas were divided by the number of highly qualified teachers available, each teacher would be responsible for hundreds of students. The required training to serve dyslexic students can be costly and take two to five years of intensive learning, a challenge for educators balancing existing workloads, she said.
However, Nettles said, teachers are stepping up to the challenge, with many showing interest in training programs to become certified academic language therapists.
Kristi Santi, professor of special populations at the University of Houston, said the rise in identification in Austin reflects a convergence of policy, practice and awareness. She expects the numbers to level off as early intervention improves. State-mandated education for kindergarten through third grade reading teachers, she said, has helped educators identify literacy challenges earlier and intervene sooner.
Santi said she is working with schools to better align assessment data with instruction and to plan differentiated lessons for small groups. Community support, Santi said, remains essential.
“Where we start to see true growth in the ability of students to read is when the schools work with the community, the parents and families, to build those bridges to make better readers,” Santi said.
Additional data reporting by The Texas Tribune’s education data developer, Rob Reid.
