Lawmakers have been looking at an Education Reform Package introduced by Governor Terry Branstad late last year. On Tuesday night, House Representatives had a debate on these reforms that stretched until almost midnight. A bulk of that time was spent discussing the part of the reforms dealing with early grade level literacy. The original plan would require 3rd graders to be literate at a set level before moving on to fourth grade. But Superintendent Dr. Mike Jorgenson doesn’t think 3rd grade is a good time to retain students. He says there is a stigma to being held back at that age, and an earlier retention could work better.

Lawmakers seem to agree. They have replaced the retention with programs designed to improve the student’s reading abilities saying years of data shows retention doesn’t work. A vote on the reform package is expected to take place soon. KCII will continue to follow these reforms as they are voted on in the House.