College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007

Floor Speech

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Mr. FARR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 and the manager's amendment offered by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman, Representative GEORGE MILLER.

It is globally accepted that the higher education system in the United States is the envy of the academic world. Paths to college often have different origins but always have the same destination, to enlighten our minds and expand our horizons.

A path that often goes unnoticed but traveled by a hidden portion of our population is the path of those with dyslexia. Dyslexia is often the butt of many jokes, but for those affected by it, it is anything but funny. Reading and writing are two fundamental skills that are essential to how we learn from the time we enter school to the end of our lives. For people who suffer from dyslexia, like myself, our ability to learn by traditional teaching methods is more challenging, and dyslexic children often fall behind at an early age. Imagine trying to follow along with your classmates and simply not understanding why you cannot read at the same level as everyone else. Being young, you don't know that you have this condition. Your teacher, who has not been trained to identify dyslexia, assumes that you may be slow or lazy. The longer the problem goes unidentified, the greater the challenge to overcome and adapt. As a young child with dyslexia, I quickly lost interest in school and became a class disruption. If it had not been for a science teacher who encouraged my interest in the sciences, who knows where I would be today? In science I had the opportunity to learn with my hands and not solely through a bunch of jumbled words in a textbook. This newfound appreciation for learning spilled over into other subjects and inspired me to succeed every day. Most students with dyslexia go unidentified and are more likely to struggle in early grades, which may mean they stay back a grade, lose interest in their studies, can become increasingly disruptive in class and may be sent to alternative schools for troubled youths or special education classes. All this because our teachers are not trained to recognize dyslexia in the classroom.

As part of the manager's amendment to H.R. 4137, a study by the Center for Education at the National Academy of Sciences will examine teacher education programs at institutes of higher education to determine if teachers are adequately prepared to meet the needs of students with reading and language processing challenges, including dyslexia.

For too long, the Department of Education has resisted efforts to increase awareness and training for students with dyslexia. We owe it not only to our children but also to our teachers and parents to fully recognize dyslexia as an impediment to accessing their full potential. A simple recognition of this condition can change a child's life forever and help set them on a path to be a productive member of society. I was lucky, but a good education policy should not be based upon a collective crossing of fingers.

Mr. Chairman, I again urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 4137 and the manager's amendment offered by the House Education and Labor Committee Chairman, and my good friend, Congressman GEORGE MILLER.

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