HB 117 Summary

• Eliminates third-grade retention starting with the 2023-2024 school year; students can no longer be retained based solely on reading assessment scores, though intervention and remediation services continue.

• Expands intensive reading intervention to grades four and five for students identified as reading below grade level, extending support beyond third grade.

• Expands phonics requirement in state learning standards from kindergarten through grade three to kindergarten through grade five.

• Modifies third-grade assessment administration to administer English language arts assessment only once annually starting in 2023-2024 school year, rather than twice annually.

• Continues reading improvement services for students reading below grade level through grades four and five, with districts required to provide intervention services and maintain reading improvement monitoring plans.