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Tennessee reading law’s retention policies should start as early as kindergarten, state board says

Staff photo / Silas Sanchez, 7, reads a book in his second grade class at East Brainerd Elementary in 2019. Tennessee's 2021 reading intervention and retention law targets students in grades 3 and 4, but the state's top education policy board wants the policy focus to shift to younger grades.
Staff photo / Silas Sanchez, 7, reads a book in his second grade class at East Brainerd Elementary in 2019. Tennessee's 2021 reading intervention and retention law targets students in grades 3 and 4, but the state's top education policy board wants the policy focus to shift to younger grades. Staff photo / Silas Sanchez, 7, reads a book in his second grade class at East Brainerd Elementary in 2019. Tennessee's 2021 reading intervention and retention law targets students in grades 3 and 4, but the state's top education policy board wants the policy focus to shift to younger grades.

By Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat Tennessee 5 min read

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

Tennessee’s top education policy board is urging Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers to refocus efforts to identify and help struggling readers on students in lower grades — as early as kindergarten — rather than waiting until third or fourth grade to intervene.

In a rare action, the state Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Monday asking elected officials to revisit the state’s 2021 literacy law, which targeted third and fourth graders and strengthened retention rules for students who score poorly on state tests.

Over the past three years, the board has been working through the details and challenges of implementing the controversial law, which passed during a special legislative session called by the governor to address pandemic-related learning disruptions.

The law created popular summer learning camps and tutoring programs. It also included less popular provisions increasing the likelihood that third and fourth graders could be held back a grade eventually if they don’t perform well enough in English language arts under the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP.