[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5471-S5472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3144. Mr. CASSIDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of part I of subtitle F of title V, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 578. REVIEW OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND DYSLEXIA PROCESSES 
                   AND PROCEDURES OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
                   EDUCATION ACTIVITY.

       (a) In General.--The Director of the Department of Defense 
     Education Activity (in this section referred to as ``DODEA'') 
     shall review the special education processes and procedures 
     in place within DODEA to diagnose disabilities and provide 
     evidence-based interventions and supports for students with 
     disabilities.
       (b) Provision of Special Education Materials and 
     Information to Congress.--As part of the review required by 
     subsection (a), the Director shall provide to the appropriate 
     congressional committees the following:
       (1) A briefing on the special education processes and 
     procedures of DODEA, particularly those for diagnosing and 
     treating dyslexia.
       (2) All documents, including documents not publicly 
     available, related to special education in schools operated 
     by DODEA.
       (c) Provision of Dyslexia Materials and Information to 
     Congress.--No later than 60 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, as part of the review required by 
     subsection (a), the Director shall provide to the appropriate 
     congressional committees the following information regarding 
     the dyslexia screening program of DODEA:
       (1) A description of the following:
       (A) How DODEA ensures that it screens each student enrolled 
     in a school operated by DODEA for dyslexia near the end of 
     kindergarten and near the end of first grade.
       (B) How DODEA ensures that it screens new enrollees in each 
     such school regardless of year, unless the new enrollee has 
     already been diagnosed with dyslexia.
       (C) How DODEA ensures it provides comprehensive literacy 
     instruction (as defined in section 2221(b)(1) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6641(b)(1))).
       (D) How DODEA provides high-quality training for school 
     personnel, particularly specialized instructional support 
     personnel (as defined in section 8101(47)(A)(ii) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801(47)(A)(ii))) related to dyslexia.
       (E) How DODEA ensures that each district of schools 
     operated by DODEA employs at least one specialized 
     instructional support personnel who specializes in dyslexia.
       (2) Information with respect to the following:
       (A) The number of students at schools operated by DODEA 
     screened for dyslexia each year and the grade in which those 
     students were screened.
       (B) The number and types of dyslexia screeners used by 
     DODEA each year.
       (C) The total number of students diagnosed with dyslexia 
     that are served by DODEA.
       (D) The total number of such students, disaggregated by 
     each subgroup of student (as defined in section 1111(c)(2) of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     6311(c)(2))).
       (E) The type of professional conducting the intervention 
     program for a student diagnosed with dyslexia.
       (F) A list of, and all materials related to, the 
     interventions used by DODEA to treat students diagnosed with 
     dyslexia.
       (G) The number of trainings per year provided by DODEA on 
     identifying and treating dyslexia in students.
       (H) A list of organizations outside of DODEA that are used 
     to consult on the dyslexia screening and intervention 
     program.
       (d) Assessment of Definitions Used by DODEA.--As part of 
     the review required by subsection (a), the Director shall 
     provide to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     description of how DODEA's definitions of the following terms 
     align with or differ from the following definitions:
       (1) Comprehensive literacy instruction.--The term 
     ``comprehensive literacy instruction'' has the meaning given 
     that term in section 2221(b)(1) of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6641(b)(1)).
       (2) Dyslexia.--The term ``dyslexia'' means an unexpected 
     difficulty in reading for an individual who has the 
     intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused 
     by a difficulty in the phonological processing (the 
     appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), 
     which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, 
     and spell.
       (3) Dyslexia screening program.--The term ``dyslexia 
     screening program'' means a screening program for dyslexia 
     that is--
       (A) evidence-based with proven psychometrics for validity;
       (B) efficient and low-cost; and
       (C) readily available.
       (4) Evidence-based.--The term ``evidence-based'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 8101(21)(A)(i) of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801(21)(A)(i)).

[[Page S5472]]

       (e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
     and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the 
     Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
                                 ______