Senate passes changes to Third-Grade Retention Law despite Democratic opposition

Tennessee Senators passed legislation on a partisan 26 to 4 vote Tuesday to reduce the number of children held back by the state’s Third-Grade Retention Law.No Democratic Senator voted in favor of the legislation.The Tennessee General Assembly passed the Third-Grade Retention Law in 2021 to ensure students who need additional support in reading would receive it before being promoted to fourth grade. Recently, the law has come under fire from opponents who worry it may do more harm than good holding students back a grade based on Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test scores.Addressing that criticism has been among the biggest education topics of this year’s legislative session.The compromise bill passed by Senators would create an appeal process for parents and assign a tutor paid by the state for students retained in third grade.It also adds an additional approved test that can be considered for third graders who score just under the TCAP requirement for advancement. These changes are expected to reduce the number of students held back by the law.“We can say we heard people.  We have made changes. Our standards are high, they’re gonna stay high,” said Bristol Senator Jon Lundberg.

Democrat Sponsored Amendments Fail

Senate Democrats offered two amendments to change the bill.One would have prevented students from using the Education Savings Account (ESA) program to get around the Third-Grade Retention Law requirements by transferring to a private school.The other, sponsored by Memphis Senator Raumesh Akbari, would delay holding back third-graders this year under existing law. The proposed changes to the Third-Grade Retention Law would not be implemented until the 2023/2024 school year.“If we have kind of determined the program as it exists in current law needs corrections and modifications, I don’t know why students this year would be under those standards and next year would be under new opportunities,” said Senator Akbari.Both amendments failed and multiple Democratic Senators followed those votes by speaking in opposition to the legislation itself, saying it isn’t making the changes Tennesseans have demanded.“We don’t have this right. One of the biggest things we were asked to do this year was to fix this and we haven’t done it,” said Nashville Senator Jeff Yarbro.Republican Senator Ken Yagar countered that argument by pointing out, voting against the legislation simply leaves the current Third-Grade Law as it is.“I have received many emails, and letters, and phone calls from constituents when the first bill was passed. They had concerns and candidly some legitimate concerns. What this bill does is responds to those concerns.” Kingston Senator Ken Yager. “To vote no on this bill will not relieve us of the original problem. That law is still there.”The legislation still faces a vote in the Tennessee State House this week.