{"id":519526,"date":"2018-02-09T20:28:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-10T03:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=519526"},"modified":"2018-02-09T20:28:13","modified_gmt":"2018-02-10T03:28:13","slug":"committee-halts-govs-final-attempt-to-pass-third-grade-reading-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/02\/committee-halts-govs-final-attempt-to-pass-third-grade-reading-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee halts gov’s final attempt to pass third-grade reading bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

For eight years now, the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez has pushed legislation to hold back more students who score below par on standardized reading tests.<\/p>\n

\"Susana

New Mexican file photo<\/p>

Gov. Susana Martinez<\/p><\/div>\n

And just like every other year since Martinez took office, that legislation faltered at the Roundhouse\u00a0on Friday<\/span><\/span>, with Democrats questioning how the state could implement a sweeping overhaul of reading education without additional funds and whether schools should base decisions about holding back students on one set of test scores.<\/p>\n

Rep. Monica Youngblood, a Republican from Albuquerque and the sponsor of House Bill 210<\/a>, told the House Education Committee this year’s reading bill was not like previous iterations.<\/p>\n

It would have given parents the option to let their child proceed to the next grade level even if the school recommended holding the child back.<\/p>\n

And it would have called for more intensive after-hour classes to bring students up to par.<\/p>\n

“Nowhere in this bill are we requiring retention,” she said.<\/p>\n

But the bill still would have based decisions about holding back students on standardized reading tests, some members countered.<\/p>\n