Lawmakers consider delay of 3rd-grader retention in Alabama Literacy Act
Updated 8:57 PM;
The Alabama Legislature passed the Literacy Act in 2019 to emphasize the importance of making sure children learn to read in the earliest grades.
The law requires local school systems to develop comprehensive reading programs intended to identify students with reading problems at the earliest levels and resources to help those students, like reading coaches and summer camps. Officials say much of that work is under way.
But the part of the law that has probably drawn the most attention from the public is a requirement that third-graders show they can read at a certain level before being promoted to fourth grade. That requirement is scheduled to take effect with the 2021-2022 school year.