What is the parent request exemption?
In Ohio, as a parent/caregiver you can request that your child be promoted to grade 4 regardless of whether or not your child has reached the promotion score on Ohio’s state test for grade 3 English language arts.
While you as a parent are given the ultimate authority about whether or not your child is promoted to the fourth grade, you need to talk with your child’s grade 3 reading teacher and school principal. Here are some sample questions to ask the school.
Sample Questions
- In addition to Ohio’s state test for grade 3 English language arts, what other reading assessments were given this year and how did my child score?
- What reading supports did the school give my child this year and what progress has my child made?
- What are the core skills that my child needs to work on to get back on track?
- How have my child’s reading skills impacted their other academic subject areas?
- If I choose to have my child move up to grade 4, what reading supports will my child receive in grade 4?
- Who will be my child’s teacher(s) in grade 4 for the required 90+ minutes of daily reading instruction, including intensive instructional support?
- What can I do to support my child at home with learning to read?
- What resources, tutoring programs, or other afterschool programs are available for my child? Have these local resources helped other children with similar learning needs?
Under Ohio law, students promoted under this exemption will receive at least 90 minutes of daily reading instruction that includes intensive intervention until the child is reading at grade level.
If you would like your child to be promoted to grade 4, you can use this Sample Parent Request Exemption Letter to tell your child’s school. More information about the Third Grade Reading Guarantee can be found on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce website. To read the legal language that applies to this exemption, search Ohio Revised Code 3313.608.
You can download and share this information as a PDF using the button below. This resource was developed in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
