Will Alabama push back 3rd grade reading requirement?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is weighing whether to delay next year’s high-stakes requirement to hold back third-graders who aren’t reading on grade level.

Ivey has through Thursday to sign legislation by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Birmingham Democrat, that would push back the promotion requirement from the 2021-22 school year to the 2023-24 school year.

If she does not sign the bill, the legislation will die by what is known as a pocket veto.

Lawmakers approved the delay after the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the school year.