This past year school districts have been implementing the new Read to Achieve legislation which requires that all third graders (unless they meet limited exceptions) read at third grade level before they can be promoted to fourth grade. NCPTA has received input from parents that the implementation of this law has been stressful for many third graders and their parents. PTAs, along with other education groups, have been working to get changes made to the law that both ensure its success and make it less stressful for students, parents and teachers.
HB 230 was presented and voted on by the NC Senate last week. The bill, Clarify Read to Achieve, will now go to the House for a concurrence vote. Unfortunately, a motion to concur is not amendable and will have to be an up or down vote. If the House does not concur then it will go to a conference committee and that committee can make further changes.
While there are many good changes in the bill, including shortening the reading camps from 6 weeks to potentially as short as 3 weeks and clarifying the definition for special needs exemption, the bill falls short of making the changes that are necessary to make sure that future third graders and their families do not have a similarly frustrating experience as the third graders this school year.
Some of the changes that are important to NCPTA include:
- requiring principals to have a meeting with parents to explain Read to Achieve and its implications within the first 30-45 days of school, and
- decreasing the number of assessments required for certain students by the reading portfolio.
The vote to concur or not could be on the House floor as early as Tuesday, June 3. If you are concerned with the current Read to Achieve law, please contact your House of Representative member (Representative not Congressman) and urge him or her to make further changes to this program before the bill is approved. For those of you that have had third graders this year please share your experience with your Representative.
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