Tuesday, January 9, 2024
NAPLES, FL — A proposed bill (SB 7004) in the Florida Senate admits the failure of Florida’s government-run public schools to teach a basic skill: reading. The bill would allow parents of illiterate children to require Florida schools to promote their children from third grade to fourth grade even if the child cannot read at grade level.
Florida Citizens Alliance and Citizens Defending Freedom, champions for student achievement, consistently works to empower parents, students, and teachers to provide educational excellence. “Every child deserves the chance to learn to read and write proficiently,” says Keith Flaugh, co-founder and CEO of Florida Citizens Alliance.
The Florida Senate should concentrate its time, energy, and resources on expecting and requiring Florida public schools to teach children to read. Instead, they want to kick the can down the road while students suffer.
If children cannot read (and too many of them can’t), the solution is teaching them to read, not promoting them to the next grade. Informed educators know, and multiple studies show, that illiterate children will struggle for the rest of their lives and potentially never recover.
Flaugh continued, “The Florida state legislature should remain laser-focused on student achievement and avoid gimmicks, like SB 7004, that simply pay the problem forward. The solution is simple: When children can read at grade level, promote them. Until then, retain them. Florida Citizens Alliance supports parents and their children. We believe that school districts and legislators have a strategic opportunity to partner with parents to improve student achievement. Let’s get the job done. That will solve the problem.”
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