By Carmen Nesbitt | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune

By spring 2030, third graders who aren’t reading at grade level could be held back across the state under a new proposal that aims to curb Utah’s dismal reading scores.

The anticipated bill, SB241, comes just a month after a report found about half of Utah’s kindergarten through third grade kids aren’t reading proficiently.

And with less than a year remaining for Utah to reach its own goal of ensusring 70% of all third graders can read at grade level by 2027, state officials called for a renewed focus on literacy this legislative session.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, outlined its major changes to Senate Education Committee members on Feb. 6. Third grade retention is one piece of the proposal, she explained, but not the focus.

“Our goal is not to retain any student at the end of third grade,” Millner said Friday. “Our goal is to have interventions and support for every child.”

Her sentiments echoed those of Gov. Spencer Cox and other state lawmakers.

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.