Maryland’s education department wants to create a literacy policy that will boost reading success for kindergarten through third graders.

But some state board of education members say the drafted policy will do more harm than good — especially if they keep a proposal to require third graders who don’t achieve reading proficiency to repeat the school year.

And out of 600 public comments collected on the draft policy, 28% mentioned the repeated year requirement as a concern, state department officials said.

“The fact of retention is it falls on the student,” said board member Susan Getty at a presentation of the draft Tuesday. “The student is to correct the problem. But the administrator, the teacher, and the parents walk away, life no different. And I think that is going to lead to less graduation rates, higher dropout rates, and an increase in suspensions.”

The policy is part of a resolution adopted by the state board in January to have every local district using the science of reading strategy by Fall 2024 — with an end goal of placing top 10 on the National Assessment for Educational Proficiency by 2027.

But board members opposing the repeated year requirement argue that it would leave marginalized students behind.

“If we ask the question, which is a question I think we should ask all the time when we're thinking about equity in policy, who loses if we enact this?” said board member Nick Greer. “The answer is going to overwhelmingly be Black and Brown students.”

A review of 2023 test scores presented at Tuesday’s board meeting showed that 29% of Hispanic students and 23% of Black students across the state would be held back in third grade for failing to earn a proficient score. That’s nearly nine thousand students total.

Less than 9% of white students would face the same fate.

Multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students would also be held back at rates much higher than their peers.

The draft policy says that third-graders will receive “intensified interventions” if they aren’t on track to achieve reading proficiency by the start of the year. Those who are held-back will be flooded with even more resources, like after-school tutors and daily small group instruction.

Board member Rachel McCusker said they can’t “put the cart before the horse.”

“I want to make sure that if we are looking at a mandatory retention policy, that we have all the supports in place and working before,” she said.

Some board members questioned the effectiveness of a retention policy in general, citing limited research.

“You can prove anything you want with statistics,” said Joan Mele-McCarthy. “I need some more to be in support of this. And I mean a lot more.”

Board members also raised concerns about the affordability of implementing new screenings for reading proficiency, the capacity for increased testing and larger third grade classes, and the focus of resources on only early elementary students.

“I get applications with children in sixth grade who read on a second grade level, and parents either didn't know or were told that they're making progress,” Mele-McCarthy said. “So I say that we need to not stop at third grade, that children who struggle reading should receive the screening or the assessment and then the appropriate intervention beyond K-3.”

State Superintendent Carey Wright emphasized that the policy is still in the draft phase, and will be revised based on feedback from the public and the board.

“We are still seeing input; we will continue to seek input,” she said. “This is the first time that you will have an opportunity to talk about this. But this won’t be the last time.”

New board president Joshua Michael said there will be a public hearing on the policy in August — and a final version won’t be voted on any earlier than September.

Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of Maryland READS, a nonprofit dedicated to solving the literacy crisis, said state leaders need more time to gain public trust.

“There's a lot of misconceptions around the retention policy, and part of it is a lack of information,” she told WYPR. “And so I think the key there is for the department to really engage with stakeholders, engage with the community so that there is trust that support will come first. Because if support comes first, then retention is really an option of last resort.”

Brennan-Gac said the “comprehensive” approach of the policy is “laudable.” But she also says there needs to be more focus on later grades, too.

“If we don't focus on the kids who are in school now, particularly middle and high school, we're going to fail another generation of students,” she said.