Dyslexia Evaluation & 504 in Texas Schools

Texas public schools must screen every student for dyslexia risk: once at the end of kindergarten, and again in first grade, no later than January 31. Beyond that universal screening, you can request a full evaluation for your child in writing, at any time. You don’t have to wait for the school to raise it first, and you don’t have to wait for a test score.

When you make that written request, the timelines are concrete: the school has 15 school days to respond (either by handing you a consent form to begin, or a written explanation if it declines), and once you sign consent, it has 45 school days to complete the evaluation and give you the written report.

A change worth knowing about: in 2023, a state law (HB 3928) moved dyslexia evaluation and services under the special-education / IDEA framework. Dyslexia support is now treated as specialized instruction, so it can no longer be handled only through a Section 504 plan when a child needs that instruction. Whether a specific child ends up with an IEP or a 504 plan is still decided individually, through the evaluation. Many parents don’t know this yet.

Two rights parents often don’t realize they have:

• Child Find. The school has its own standing duty to identify and evaluate a child it suspects has a disability, even if you never ask. It can’t put you off indefinitely, and it can’t wait just because classroom interventions are still running.
• A second opinion at public expense. If you disagree with the school’s evaluation, you can request an independent educational evaluation (IEE), and the school must either pay for it or formally defend its own evaluation through a due-process hearing. Disability Rights Texas has a plain-language guide to requesting an IEE.

Learn more, from the official sources:

• Texas Education Agency (TEA): Dyslexia Screening Requirements
• Disability Rights Texas: Special Education Services for Students With Dyslexia: What You Need to Know

Parents often hear these two terms as if one were the “serious” option and the other the “mild” one. That’s not how they work. Neither is a badge of how severe your child’s difficulty is: they’re different tools under different laws, and the right one depends on what your child actually needs.

What each one really is

• An IEP comes from IDEA, the federal special-education law. It provides specialized instruction (teaching that is different, not just adjusted) plus related services, measurable annual goals, regular progress reporting, and the strongest procedural protections a family can have. In Texas, it’s decided and reviewed by the ARD committee, and you are a member of that committee.
• A 504 plan comes from the Rehabilitation Act, a federal civil-rights law. It provides accommodations and access (extra time, preferential seating, assistive technology, changes to how work is presented or turned in) without changing what’s taught. Eligibility is broader than an IEP’s, but the procedural machinery around it is lighter: fewer required meetings, goals, and progress reports.

When each tends to fit

• The IEP path fits when your child needs instruction that is genuinely different: what the law calls specially designed instruction. Structured dyslexia instruction is the clearest example: since HB 3928 (2023), if the evaluation shows your child needs dyslexia instruction, that support runs through the special-education (IDEA) door, and a 504 plan alone can’t carry it.
• The 504 path fits when your child can access grade-level teaching as it stands, but needs adjustments to show what they know: more time, a quieter seat, technology, a different way to respond. The teaching itself doesn’t need to change; the conditions around it do.

Who Actually Decides, and Where You Fit In

This isn’t a menu you order from: eligibility comes out of the evaluation (the FIE), and the decision is made by the ARD committee (for an IEP) or the 504 committee (for a 504 plan). But your role is real, not ceremonial. You’re a full member of the ARD committee. You can agree or disagree with the evaluation, and if you disagree, you can request an independent evaluation at public expense. You can also decline special-education services for your child. Your power here is understanding and advocacy: knowing what the evaluation found, what each tool provides, and what to ask, rather than a unilateral pick.

Questions worth asking in the meeting

Walking in informed and collaborative tends to get further than walking in armed with statutes; these are meant as questions that build a shared picture with the school, not a checklist for a fight.

1. “Is my child receiving specially designed instruction, or accommodations to the regular instruction?”
2. “How will progress be measured, how often will I see a report, and what does ‘on track’ look like?”
3. “If we start with a 504 plan, what specifically would trigger a re-look at an IEP?”
4. “Who is delivering the dyslexia (or writing) instruction, and what training do they have?”
5. “What happens to these supports next year, and at the next campus?”
6. “Can I see the evaluation results explained in plain language before we decide?”

Common misconceptions, briefly corrected

• “An IEP will stigmatize my child and follow them forever.” An IEP is a support plan, not a permanent label; it’s reviewed at least annually, and a child who no longer needs services exits it. What tends to follow a child is unaddressed struggle, not the paperwork that addressed it.
• “A 504 is just the lesser IEP.” It’s a different instrument under a different law. For a child who needs access, not different teaching, a 504 plan is the right tool, not a consolation prize.
• “The school decides and parents just sign.” The committee decides, and you are on the committee, with the right to disagree, to ask for an independent evaluation, and to decline services.

As everywhere on this page: this is general information about the Texas process, not legal advice. And it’s exactly the kind of decision a consultation can help you walk into informed, knowing what the evaluation found and what to ask for, rather than guessing at the jargon in real time.