Michigan lawmakers are nearing a deal on legislation designed to improve third-graders’ reading but that has been caught up in a dispute over making students repeat a grade if they lag too far behind. A conference committee is scheduled to meet late Tuesday afternoon. The bill has been pending with the panel since March after the House and Senate passed different versions. Compromise legislation, which is still subject to revisions, would keep intact many exemptions under which kids could still advance to fourth grade for “good cause” even if they have reading difficulties. The new bill would exempt newer students who did not receive an appropriate individualized reading intervention in their old district or if the superintendent determines that an exemption is in a student’s “best interests.”
