Parents Aren't the Intervention: Why Schools Must Stop Shifting Responsibility to Families

A parent once told me she felt like a failure.

Her daughter had been struggling to read for years. The school kept sending home worksheets, apps, and reading logs. They suggested she read with her daughter for 30 minutes every night. They recommended flashcards. They told her to "practice more at home."

She did all of it. Every single night.

Her daughter still could not read.

"I must be doing something wrong," she said to me. "I'm not a teacher. I don't know how to fix this."

She was not doing anything wrong.

The problem was never hers to fix.

The Myth of the Parent as Interventionist

Somewhere along the way, schools started treating parents like unpaid reading specialists.

When a child struggles, the default response is often to send resources home. Practice sheets. Suggested apps. A list of strategies. The unspoken message is clear: if you just work harder at home, your child will catch up.

But here is the truth no one wants to say out loud:

Parents are not the intervention. They never were.

Reading intervention requires specialized training. It requires understanding how the brain processes language. It requires systematic, research-based instruction delivered by someone who knows how to assess, adjust, and respond to a student's specific needs.

Most parents do not have this training. And they should not be expected to.

A parent's job is to love their child, advocate for them, and support their learning at home. But asking a parent to remediate a reading disability is like asking them to set a broken bone. Good intentions are not enough. You need the right skills.

Why Schools Push Responsibility to Families

Schools are under enormous pressure. Budgets are tight. Class sizes are large. Teachers are stretched thin.

And there is another factor that often goes unspoken: legal liability.

Under federal law, schools are required to identify and support students with disabilities. But identification comes with obligations. Once a student is formally identified with dyslexia or another learning disability, the school becomes responsible for providing appropriate services.

This is expensive. It requires trained staff, specialized programs, and ongoing support.

So many schools avoid identification altogether.

They use vague language. They say a child is "not yet meeting benchmarks" instead of naming the problem. They recommend "more practice" instead of formal evaluation. They tell parents to wait and see.

And while families wait, children fall further behind.

According to research published in Frontiers in Public Health, school-based dyslexia screening varies wildly across the globe, with no consensus on the best tools or approaches. Many schools lack personnel qualified to diagnose dyslexia, and screening often fails to lead to proper intervention.

A 2017 investigation by APM Reports found that public schools across the United States routinely fail to identify students with dyslexia and often refuse to use the word at all. The report revealed that while scientists estimate 5 to 12 percent of children have dyslexia, only 4.5 percent of students are diagnosed with a specific learning disability in public schools.

The gap between what schools should do and what they actually do is wide. And families fall into that gap every day.

The Evidence Is Clear: Early Intervention Works

We know how to teach children with dyslexia to read.

Structured literacy approaches based on the science of reading have been proven effective for decades. Early screening can identify at-risk students as young as kindergarten. And when intervention begins early, outcomes improve dramatically.

States like Mississippi and Louisiana have demonstrated what is possible when schools commit to evidence-based instruction.

Mississippi went from ranking 49th in fourth-grade reading in 2013 to 21st in 2022. The state implemented mandatory early screening, trained thousands of teachers in the science of reading, deployed literacy coaches to struggling schools, and held students accountable with a third-grade reading gate.

Louisiana saw similar gains. In the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Louisiana was the only state to exceed pre-pandemic proficiency levels in fourth-grade reading. The state rose from 42nd in the nation to 16th.

These are not wealthy states. Mississippi and Louisiana have some of the highest poverty rates in the country. But they proved that when schools take responsibility for teaching all children to read, progress happens.

The question is not whether we know how to help struggling readers.

The question is whether schools will do it.

What Happens When Schools Fail to Act

I work with families whose children were never identified in school.

One of my students is in ninth grade. She was never diagnosed with dyslexia until my daughter provided a free screening as part of a community service project. This student is brilliant. She has one of the best memories of any student I have ever worked with. But she struggled for years without support.

She often got in trouble in school. Teachers saw her as a behavior problem. No one recognized that her frustration came from being unable to read.

Her parents knew something was wrong. They asked for help. But they were told to wait. They were told she would catch up. They were told to practice more at home.

Both of her parents are neurodivergent themselves. One has ADHD. The other has dyslexia. They knew their daughter needed support, but they did not have the capacity to provide specialized reading intervention on their own.

This is not unusual.

Research shows that ADHD and dyslexia often co-occur, and both conditions have a strong genetic component. Many parents of neurodivergent children are neurodivergent themselves. They may struggle with the same challenges their children face. Expecting them to deliver expert-level intervention is unrealistic and unfair.

If this student had been identified in kindergarten or first grade and given appropriate support, she would not have needed private tutoring in high school. The school system failed her. Not her parents.

The Good News: Older Students Can Still Catch Up

One of the most common fears I hear from parents is that it is too late.

Their child is in middle school or high school. They missed the window. The damage is done.

This is not true.

Older students can absolutely learn to read. In fact, they often make faster progress than younger children because they understand why the work matters. They are motivated. They can see the connection between reading and their future.

I use the Barton Reading and Spelling System with my students, a structured literacy program based on Orton-Gillingham principles. It works for students of all ages. I have seen teenagers make years of progress in months when they finally receive the right instruction.

The brain remains plastic throughout life. It is never too late to learn.

But the instruction must be delivered by someone trained to provide it. That is not a parent's job. That is the job of educators and specialists who have dedicated their careers to understanding how to teach struggling readers.

What Parents Can Do

If your child is struggling to read, you are not powerless. But your role is not to be the interventionist. Your role is to advocate.

Here is what you can do:

1. Request a formal evaluation.

Under federal law, you have the right to request that your child be evaluated for a learning disability. Put your request in writing. The school is required to respond.

2. Ask specific questions.

Do not accept vague answers. Ask: Has my child been screened for dyslexia? What specific interventions are being provided? Who is delivering those interventions, and what training do they have?

3. Know your rights.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to provide a free appropriate public education to students with disabilities. If your child qualifies, they are entitled to an Individualized Education Program (IEP) with specific goals and services.

4. Seek outside support if needed.

If your school is not providing adequate intervention, you may need to look for private tutoring or advocacy services. This is not fair, but it is sometimes necessary.

5. Do not blame yourself.

You are not a reading specialist. You were never supposed to be. Your job is to love your child and fight for them. That is enough.

We Cannot Change the Past

Many parents carry guilt for years of struggle. They wonder if they should have pushed harder, asked more questions, demanded more from the school.

I tell them what I tell every family I work with:

We cannot change what is already done. We can only move forward from here.

The system failed your child. That is not your fault. But now that you know, you can take action.

And here is the hopeful part: it is not too late. With the right support, your child can learn to read. They can succeed. They can thrive.

But that support must come from people trained to provide it.

Parents are not the intervention.

They never were.