Bill would increase student's reading requirements

SALT LAKE CITY -- Twenty-five percent of Utah's third-graders would be held back under a legislative proposal.

Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Salt Lake City, wants anyone not reading at grade level beginning in the third grade to be held back until they can. She says a quarter of Utah's third-graders aren't at that level.

"Reading is the foundation of learning," said Morgan, sponsor of Senate Bill 150, which cleared another hurdle Monday morning.

Morgan had plenty of support from both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, who worried about kids who never learned how to read "Dick and Jane," and now that their classes are reading "Hardy Boys," they're going to be in big trouble.

There was some concern about the consequences of holding children back.

"Under the bill, we're punishing kids for the failure of adults," said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who plans to offer an amendment today.

Morgan's bills would call for:

* Notifying a student's parents by the halfway mark of the school year that their student is not reading at grade level.

* Requiring a school to provide intervention, such as tutoring, to bring up a student's reading level.

* An Aug. 15 deadline to reach required reading levels or students would be held back.

* Exemptions for students with disabilities.

"I don't see this as any type of a punishment whatsoever," Morgan said.

The bill still faces a number of votes and a committee hearing in the House of Representatives.

Provo School District director of student services Greg Hudnall said a large factor in test scores for districts is the mobility rate. Hudnall said the rate can affect testing because some students have been in five different elementary schools by third grade.

Hudnall said it is important to consider each student individually when looking at achievement.

"Our goal is to help get that child to the level where they need to be," he said.

Students mature differently and need different tools to succeed. Nobody has the perfect answer, he said, so he understands why the Legislature wants to look at solutions.

However, it is a concern when blanket solutions are proposed for all students.

Morgan said whatever the percentage of failed students -- high or low -- they'll be expected to reach grade level if they want to move on.

"The schools are just going to have to focus on those students to get them to read."

Updated 10:17 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Senate voted 21-3 on Monday to initially approve a bill calling for some elementary students to pass reading tests before moving up a grade.

Senate Bill 150 applies to first, second and third graders. It needs another formal vote before moving on to the House.

The proposal requires them to read at or above the grade's reading level to advance.

Sen. Karen Morgan is sponsoring the bill. She says the new standards would help students who might otherwise fall behind early on.

Her measure calls on the State Board of Education to define the reading level standards.

Critics said the proposal could unfairly punish students for parents' failure to keep kids on track.

Students with learning disabilities would not be subject to the new standards.