As many as one in every five Americans has dyslexia.

Yet as of 2023, only about 1% of the nearly 700,000 students in Louisiana public schools have been identified as having dyslexia.

For dyslexic children who go untreated, gaps in reading and writing abilities can begin as early as first grade, with potential consequences over time including lower high school graduation rates or college enrollment numbers, and higher chances of unemployment or incarceration.

That’s why Louisiana Key Academy, a nonprofit charter school, has sought to bridge the gap for dyslexic students by providing testing and specialized education programs at no cost to parents. Since its launch in Baton Rouge in 2013, the school has assisted hundreds of students and expanded to additional locations across the state.

The Louisiana Key Academy plans to open its fifth and newest location in Jefferson Parish, the largest public school system in the state, for the 2027-2028 school year. The Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote to approve the new location in August.

“I think every parish in the state needs a Louisiana Key Academy,” said former state Rep. Joe Marino, no party-Gretna.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects a person’s phonological processing, or ability to speak, read and spell. Dyslexia has no visible symptoms, and affects people for their entire lives.

Those with dyslexia require specialized education to meet their needs, including at least 90 minutes per day of reading instruction. Clinical diagnoses require comprehensive evaluation, including both tests and interviews.

‘What’s wrong with me?’

Dr. Laura Cassidy, wife to U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, co-founded the school with that in mind 12 years ago after watching her daughter, who is dyslexic, struggle at her private school.

“We’re spending a lot of money, but is this really going to get the kids where they need to get?” Cassidy recalled.

Cassidy said dyslexic children too often go undiagnosed or untreated, as costs and time constraints associated with the diagnosis, treatment and tutoring for the disability — as well as stigmas and lack of awareness — make it difficult for parents to access proper care, especially for those who are economically disadvantaged.

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A recent study from Sally Shaywitz, co-director of the Yale Center for Creativity and Dyslexia, found that about half of children grades K-2 at two New Orleans public charter schools were at-risk of dyslexia, and that a disproportionate number of Black students have dyslexia that goes undiagnosed or untreated.

Cassidy said dyslexic children who fall behind in school because they are undiagnosed can suffer from confidence issues in the classroom, which over time can lead them to drop out as early as middle school.

“You can imagine, if you’re smart but you’re struggling in school, and your classmates are pacing ahead of you, you’re wondering, ‘What’s wrong with me?’” Cassidy said. “If you’re not identified as dyslexic, then parents or teachers or administrators can sometimes think (you) are lazy or not smart.”

Those beliefs oftentimes lead to stigmas associated with dyslexia, which causes many to conceal that they have it from others, Cassidy said.

Specialized education

At Louisiana Key Academy, students are provided with 90-minute reading instruction in small groups every day, with six students for every one teacher. Children are tested for free before enrollment, and several teachers undergo two-year training in language therapy to help students.

The school operates under guidance from Shaywitz and her husband, Dr. Bennett Shaywitz, the other co-director for The Yale Center.

The Baton Rouge campus serves 440 students in grades first through ninth, and won approval in 2022 to add a 10th grade. The campus relocated to 5015 Auto Plex Drive last year to accommodate the change.

In recent years, Key Academy has opened additional locations in Shreveport and Covington, with a learning pod in Ruston opening in the 2025-2026 school year.

Few other schools in the region cater to dyslexic students, and even fewer provide that education tuition-free. Cassidy said parents commute from all over the state to enroll their children at Louisiana Key Academy, and some parents have even moved from out of state for the education.

“You’re just wondering, ‘Why can’t my child read? Why is my child so unhappy?’” Cassidy said. “It’s this enigma you’re not getting answers for, and then there is an answer. That’s why most parents end up bringing their kids to our school and, in the interview process, cry.”

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Statewide change

In addition to her work at the charter school, Cassidy has lobbied for changes to state education policy regarding the identification and reporting of dyslexia in public schools.

In 2022, Marino authored legislation to require that all teacher education programs include at least three credit hours pertaining to the education of dyslexic students. A year later, Cassidy worked with Marino to pass legislation requiring all kindergarten teachers to screen their students for dyslexia at the start of the second semester, a law that was expanded last year to include additional testing.

“Under the current school system, as long as they are able to continue to progress without failing, they don’t identify dyslexia,” Marino said. “You might have a students struggling to get a C or D, but they aren’t catching them as dyslexic because they haven’t failed a grade. Most of these kids aren’t being identified until they’ve already missed out on the most formative years of their education.”

Cassidy’s husband, chair of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, has also made dyslexia a key issue on his platform and has sponsored multiple bills seeking to improve accessibility to screening and treatment nationwide.

Marino commended Dr. Laura Cassidy for her work in helping students with dyslexia across the state, and with educating him and other policymakers on the subject and its importance.

“She’s a force of nature when it comes to doing good,” Marino said. “I never doubt or underestimate that Dr. Cassidy is going to get something done because I’ve seen it over and over again.”