Following the successful vote on S. 5046 — to prevent the move of four education offices and their programs outside of the Department of Education, including the Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee continued to discuss and favorably report several bills that seek to amend federal education laws. Two bills are supported by COPAA. The first is the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower Act (RISE Act), (S.3589), which passed unanimously, 22-0. RISE would amend the Higher Education Act to allow students with disabilities who matriculate in postsecondary education to use a valid Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan as documentation when seeking accommodations. The second is the Reading Excellence and Achievement for Development (READ) Act (S. 4689), which passed by a vote of 20-2. The bill amends the Comprehensive Literacy State Development Program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by updating schools' access to literacy grants, mandating early reading screenings [where grants apply], expanding teacher training, and supporting students at risk for dyslexia. 

Unfortunately, the 21st Century Dyslexia Act (S. 3010) passed 12–10 with support from Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) alongside Republicans, despite notable opposition raised by Ranking Member Sanders (I-VT), Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) who, in support of COPAA and the entire disability community, filed two unvoted amendments to strike the bill entirely. For years, COPAA and others have raised significant concerns about the legislation and, despite extensive outreach, have been rebuffed by the bill's author, Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA), in efforts to negotiate a better bill. If enacted, the dyslexia bill will create a new category in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for dyslexia and will place a new definition of dyslexia in the law that mandates IQ achievement discrepancy [and IQ testing] to determine the existence of dyslexia—a practice Congress rejected in 2004. During the discussion, Murphy highlighted national and state-level opposition: "No one I’ve met or spoken to wants this. In fact, my home state and 9 other states prohibit the use of IQ testing to identify dyslexia, 24 states permit IQ testing but do not require it, 10 states permit but discourage it, and 10 states do not allow districts to use it. So, Connecticut would have to change the law and use this method, a method which we got rid of federally in 2004." Following the vote, COPAA signed a statement led by the National Center for Learning Disabilities, highlighting broad and deep opposition to the bill. HELP also considered a handful of additional bills; however, with no major education legislation moving through the Senate, the future of any of the education bills passed last week is unknown.