Private insurance companies in New York will now have to cover the costs of pricey tests many parents need to determine if their child has dyslexia.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Dyslexia Diagnosis Access Act on Wednesday as part of a broader package of bills she said will reduce child care costs for families. “With this package of laws, we are making meaningful strides toward making New York a more affordable place to raise your family,” she said.
Under the law, public school students are entitled to an education regardless of whether they have a disability. But getting the public school system to agree to special accommodations can be a long, costly and adversarial process.
The quality of instruction for students with dyslexia has received particular attention in recent years, in part due to Mayor Eric Adams’ own experience with dyslexia, as well as mounting evidence that as many as 1 in 5 students may be affected by the disability to some degree. Gothamist previously reported on one elementary school student’s long struggle to receive a proper education due to dyslexia.
A neuropsychological examination is one of the first steps in determining whether a child has dyslexia along with the kind of educational support they require. But the exams often cost $5,000 or more and can be partially covered by insurance or not covered at all, creating a barrier for many parents.
Assemblymember Robert Carroll, who introduced the bill, said he was fortunate his family had enough money to get him tested for dyslexia when he was a child, and to get him the help he needed to learn to read. But he said too many of the families he’s met haven’t been as lucky.
“There are still children whose dyslexia remains undiagnosed because their family can’t afford to pay for a neuropsychological exam,” said Carroll, who represents part of Brooklyn. “Ultimately, we need to ensure children with dyslexia get the interventions and supports they need, and access to affordable diagnosis is a critical first step.”
Nelson Mar, an attorney at Bronx Legal Services, called the new law a “monumental” move in the right direction for families raising a child with dyslexia.
He said many New York school districts are unwilling to pay for comprehensive evaluations, forcing families to sue. When school districts, including New York City’s education department, do agree to pay for a neuropsych, they usually offer to cover a rate far below the market rate. The list of providers who accept that rate is small, causing long waitlists. Some providers offer free evaluations, but those waitlists are also long.
Mar noted that many families will still struggle even with the new legislation. The law does not apply to Medicaid or provide coverage for the uninsured, and it does not cover other learning and developmental challenges that require a neuropsychiatric evaluation.
Even after diagnosis, many public school students struggle to get the instruction they need to learn to read, prompting them to enroll in costly private schools.
Adams has made improving literacy in public schools his top educational priority, overhauling curricula and using screeners to help identify children with dyslexia. “New York State Assemblymember Carroll has been a strong partner in our efforts to better serve struggling readers, and we look forward to reviewing this legislation,” said education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein. The Adams administration’s efforts are still in their early stages, and literacy scores among students remain low.