We applaud Representative Brad Paquette and Speaker Matt Hall for their work to advance literacy based promotion to help students learn to read so that they can read to learn for the rest of their lives. We urge the state senate and Governor Whitmer to step up and deliver this key reform.
Reading is the foundation of every other subject a child will ever study. If a student can’t read by the end of third grade, the research is unambiguous: they are far more likely to fall further behind, struggle throughout school, and face diminished opportunities in adulthood. Michigan has known this for years. The question is whether we are finally ready to act.
A National Wake-Up Call
In 2002, Florida became the first state to require that students demonstrate reading proficiency before advancing to fourth grade. Over the following two decades, 25 more states enacted similar laws, often paired with science-of-reading reforms that emphasize proven instructional methods over failed experimental approaches. States with some of the biggest leaps, including Florida and Mississippi also add A-F letter grading for school performance, so parents are informed of how their kids’ school is performing – and can support change when needed.
Opponents sometimes claim retention will hurt kids, though studies from Mississippi experience clearly show the opposite – the kids who needed an extra year of support had far better results: https://wheelockpolicycenter.org/high-quality-education/ms-read-by-grade-three/
The results speak for themselves. According to the Nation’s Report Card in 2024, five of the top ten states for reading scores, New Jersey (3rd), Colorado (5th), Indiana (6th), Connecticut (8th), and Mississippi (9th) have third-grade retention laws on the books. These aren’t coincidences. They are consequences of policy choices that put student learning ahead of adult concerns.
Michigan’s Failing Grade
Michigan ranks 44th in the nation for reading. That is not a slip, it is a crisis.
Michigan’s fourth- and eighth grade reading scores dropped nine points between 2019 and 2024. Since 2015, the share of third graders reading at grade level on the M-STEP has fallen from 50.05% to just 38.9%. In that same period, Michigan taxpayers spent $935 million on literacy programs.
Nearly $1 billion spent. Fewer children reading. More money isn’t more effective, nor is it more caring. Something is fundamentally broken.
Michigan actually passed a third-grade reading law in 2018, and then never implemented it. The legislature repealed it in 2023. Instead of building on a framework that other states were using to climb the rankings, Michigan walked away. Students paid the price. You can see how legislators voted on gutting 3rd Grade Reading here: https://www.wmpolicyforum.com/michigan-legislative-scorecard/
What HB 5520 Would Do
House Bill 5520, sponsored by Representative Paquette, would change that. Beginning in the 2027–2028 school year, a third-grade student could only advance to fourth grade if they demonstrate reading proficiency, either through the state English language arts assessment, an alternative standardized reading test, or a portfolio of work samples demonstrating proficient reading.
The bill is thoughtful in its design. It is not a blunt instrument that holds every struggling reader back without recourse. Parents and guardians are notified if their child is at risk of retention and have the right to request a meeting with school officials. Good cause exemptions are available for students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan, English language learners in the program for less than three years, and students who have received intensive reading intervention for two or more years and were previously retained in an earlier grade.
Exemptions require a recommendation from the student’s third-grade teacher and a final decision by the superintendent or chief administrator, with written notice to parents at least 30 days before the school year begins. This is a deliberate process that keeps families informed and in the conversation.
The Bottom Line
Michigan has spent nearly a billion dollars on literacy programs that have produced fewer proficient readers. We have ranked 44th in the nation while states that made hard policy choices have climbed to the top ten. We passed a law and then reversed it. Promoting a child to fourth grade who cannot read at a third-grade level is not compassion. It is cruel. It dooms the child to compounding failures and lifelong problems.
The states that have paired retention laws with genuine science-of-reading reforms, A-F accountability and intensive early intervention are not holding students back, they are propelling students ahead by identifying struggling readers earlier, intervening more aggressively, and ensuring students are prepared to advance. That is the model Michigan should follow.
HB 5520 is an opportunity to break that cycle. It is not a punishment for children. It is a commitment that every Michigan student will have the foundational skills they need to succeed and that schools will be held to that standard.
Michigan families deserve nothing less.
You can see how your representative voted here: https://www.michiganvotes.org/votes/2026/house/roll-call-175 And, you can reach out to your senator urging them to take up and pass the bill here: https://senate.michigan.gov/senators/all-senators/
To learn more about WMPF’s work and the 2026 Policy Agenda, reach us at info@wmpolicyforum.com.