The charity Dyslexia Sparks has linked up with Humberside Fire and Rescue to hold an awareness event at Bransholme Fire Station in Hull on Saturday.
Firefighter Sam Heslop said he had bell well supported by his employer, adding: “Your difference can be celebrated and something unique to you. When I joined the fire service it was reinforced that they don’t want people to think exactly the same.”
The report showed that special education enrollment has climbed in recent years, with more than 857,000 students statewide in special education in the 2024-25 school year. That number was 498,320 seven years ago, marking a 72% increase.
The number of Texas students with dyslexia continues to increase, from 149,943 students in 2023 to 212,167 in 2024. Over the past six years, the number of students enrolled in special education for dyslexia has risen by more than 636%.
Those increases coincide with a rise in the number of special education evaluations conducted statewide. Last school year, more than 178,000 initial evaluations took place in Texas, according to the TEA’s report. Recent state funding included money for those evaluations, giving schools an extra $1,000 for each evaluation to determine if a student had a disability.
Contributing to the jump, a 2023 state law defined dyslexia as a learning disability, meaning students with dyslexia were required to get individualized education programs and have access to special education services.
Across multiple cases and school-administered reports, students who participated in NOW! Programs®, an evidence- and research-based approach grounded in developmental brain science, demonstrated:
Significant percentile gains in reading and language performance
Growth exceeding typical annual expectations, rate of growth as high as 91st percentile
Sustained progress across multiple school testing windows
In several reports, students’ reading was previously below the 10th percentile and later they scored in the 50th to 80th percentile ranks, as documented by independent school assessments. The school-reported assessment outcomes align with federal and state expectations for evidence-based instruction under ESSA and IDEA, demonstrating measurable gains rather than reliance on compensatory strategies.
An organisation supporting people with dyslexia in Leeds is holding a major event at Pudsey Civic Hall in July.
The Yorkshire Dyslexia Festival — organised by Yorkshire Rose Dyslexia (YRD) — is set to bring the dyslexia community together with speakers and a range of exhibitions, at their event at Pudsey Civic Hall on the 5 July.
Dyslexia screenings are now required in Colorado for kindergarteners through third-graders, starting with the 2026-27 school year.
Under a new state law, school districts must develop their own screening process or adopt a universal dyslexia screener meeting certain criteria.
“Either way, the screener must accurately and reliably identify students at risk of reading difficulties,” according to Senate Bill 25-200, which is titled “Dyslexia Screening and READ Act Requirements.”