U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) earlier this week said a provision he sponsored to provide prison inmates with dyslexia screening made it into the bipartisan prison reform bill.
“Having treated patients in prisons, I learned that illiteracy often leads someone to turn to a life of crime,” said Sen. Cassidy, a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. “Dyslexia is a leading cause of illiteracy, so to address illiteracy and incarceration, we must better address dyslexia.”
If signed into law by President Donald Trump as expected, the First Step Act would define dyslexia as “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,” according to a Dec. 17 statement from Sen. Cassidy.
The bill would require the United States Attorney General (AG) to include an evidence-based, low-cost dyslexia screening program into a new risk and needs assessment process, according to the statement. Such dyslexia screening would be performed during the prisoner intake process and during each periodic risk reassessment of a prisoner.
The bill also would require the AG to incorporate dyslexia treatment programs into recidivism reduction programs, according to Cassidy’s statement.
“I’m pleased Chairman Grassley, Jared Kushner and the White House agreed to incorporate my proposal for screening inmates for dyslexia into this bill,” the senator said on Monday. “It makes sense that if someone learns to read, they’re less likely to end up in prison and more likely to be a productive member of society.”
Sen. Cassidy added, “In the end, I think this will save some people from the prison system, make our streets safer, and save taxpayers money.”