Third Grade Reading Guarantee
Third Grade Reading Guarantee
Ohio's Third Grade Reading Guarantee is a program to identify students from kindergarten through grade 3 who are behind in reading. Schools will provide help and support to make sure students are on track for reading success by the end of third grade. The Department provides policy guidance, instructional tools and resources on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.
Third Grade Reading Guarantee Promotion Criteria Changes for 2021-2022

Emergency Legislation Changes the Third Grade Reading Guarantee Promotion Criteria for 2021-2022
Governor DeWine signed Senate Bill 229 of the 134th General Assembly on Dec. 14, 2021. The following emergency clause takes place immediately.
Retention Criteria for the 2021-2022 School Year
No school district, community school, STEM school and no chartered nonpublic schools subject to ORC 3301.163 can retain a student in the third grade based solely on a student's academic performance in reading in the 2021-2022 school year unless the principal and reading teacher, in consultation with the student’s parent or guardian, agree the student is reading below grade level and is not prepared for 4th grade.
Parental Consultation in Promotion Decisions
The 2021-2022 school year, if a third-grade student's academic performance in reading in the 2021-2022 school year is below grade level but the student's building principal and reading teacher, in consultation with the student's parent or guardian, agree that the student is prepared to be promoted to the fourth grade, the student may be promoted.
However, if the principal of the school building in which a student is enrolled and the student's reading teacher, in consultation with the student's parent or guardian, agree that the student is reading below grade level and is not prepared to be promoted to the fourth grade, a student in the third grade may be retained.
Parental Notification of Remediation Plan
For the 2021-2022 school year, each school district, community school, STEM school and each chartered nonpublic school subject to ORC 3301.163 must notify the parent or guardian of each student who achieves a scaled score below 683 on spring's Ohio State Test for grade 3 English Language Arts and describe the district's or school's remediation plan to improve the student's academic performance in reading.
Reading Improvement and Monitoring Plan (RIMP) Intervention Video Series
Other Information
Data
If you have any questions on the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, please email thirdgradeguarantee@education.ohio.gov.
Last Modified: 4/11/2022 8:27:04 AM