GLEP: Governor Whitmer Wrong to Wash Her Hands of Michigan’s Struggling Readers
Reports Say Governor to Unveil Initiative to Undermine 3rd Grade Reading Law, Critical Reading Supports for Struggling Students
LANSING – Great Lakes Education Project Executive Director Beth DeShone today defended Michigan students struggling to read, as Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled plans to gut a new law created to ensure every student has the resources and support needed to read before leaving 3rd grade.
“Governor Whitmer is wrong to give up on Michigan’s struggling readers and Michigan kids will pay the price,” said DeShone. “Michigan’s 3rd grade reading law provides students with the resources and supports they need to read at grade level before they leave the 3rd grade, and the governor’s aggressive attempts to undermine the law will cost many the chance at a brighter future.
“Michigan kids deserve better. Our schools aren’t an assembly line, our kids aren’t a product, and the state isn’t behind on its quotas. The 3rd grade reading law is designed to ensure every student is treated and educated with the dignity and the respect he or she deserves – equipping them for the future, instead of failing them year after year before sending them to a classroom where they’ll only fall further behind. These students need a helping hand, not a governor only interested in washing her hands of them.”
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