State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) filed Senate Resolution 33 on April 3, commending Shelby County Schools on its adoption of a new promotion policy to ensure that its students are performing at grade level and are prepared for the next grade.
In an effort to boost literacy rates, Shelby County Schools has proposed a new policy to no longer promote those second-graders to third grade who are not ready.
“If a student is promoted to third grade who cannot keep up with the curriculum, it can be frustrating and discouraging for the student, leading to further academic struggles in the future,” said Senator Kelsey.
The new policy will be fully implemented in the 2020-2021 school year. It will require second-grade students to meet eight out of 12 benchmark points. Students who don’t will be required to attend summer school, where they would have the opportunity to meet the benchmark in time to start third grade in the fall.
“It is unacceptable that over half of students graduating from Shelby County Schools are unprepared and require remediation courses when they start college,” Kelsey said. “This new policy is one way we can ensure students are academically prepared throughout their education career by ensuring they have a solid foundation, rather than prematurely progressing students to the next grade.”
SEN. BRIAN KELSEY (R-Germantown) is first vice-chair of the Senate Education Committee, second vice-chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and member of the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee and the Senate State and Local Government Committee. He can be reached by email to sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov.
