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NEW POLL OVERVIEW:<br />
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State Representative Amanda Price has introduced House Bill 5111 that if it passed would make promotion from 3rd to 4th grade dependent on how the student scored on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) reading test administered to all Michigan 3rd graders. <br />
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According to the proposed legislation any third-graders who didn</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t pass the reading portion of the MEAP exam would be held back a year.<br />
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If the bill were law this year as many as 36,663 children would have to repeat the third grade because they scored in the bottom two levels of the MEAP exam in the fall of 2012. If it passes the Legislature, the mandate would take effect for the 2014-15 school year.<br />
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Thirty-two other states already have some sort of K-3 reading promotion policies in place. Some of those states have provisions that allow greater flexibility than what the Michigan bill is proposing.<br />
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Some of the other allow third-graders who fail the state exam to demonstrate proficiency in other ways. Students in year one or two of learning English also aren</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t held to the same rules as native speakers. <br />
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The House Fiscal Agency has projected that the bill could result in higher costs to the state and school districts because it would increase the number of students in districts. Those students, once retained, likely would end up spending an extra year in school.<br />
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NEW POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should Michigan pass a law that would deny promotion from 3rd grade to 4th grade based on MEAP reading test scores?<br />
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Yes<br />
No<br />
Undecided<br />
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TO VOTE IN THIS POLL CLICK ON THIS LINK<br />
<a href="http://www.clinton-countygop.org/content/should-michigan-pass-law-would-deny-promotion-3rd-grade-4th-grade-based-meap-reading-test-sc">http://www.clinton-countygop.org/content/should-michigan-pass-law-would-deny-promotion-3rd-grade-4th-grade-based-meap-reading-test-sc</a><br />
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(To enter your comments click on </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>Add new comment</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> after you vote.)<br />
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PREVIOUS POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should a constitutional amendment be passed preventing Congress from exempting themselves from mandates?<br />
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Yes - 94%<br />
No - 6%<br />
Undecided - 0%&nbsp; <br />
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FOUR COMMENTS WERE MADE ON THIS POLL:<br />
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COMMENT #1<br />
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Rand Paul Bill to Deny special Exemptions for Congress<br />
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I think his bill is great. Our President is not a Monarch. Reality is that the bill will not get passed. Money and power matter most to the people in Washington--with a few exceptions.<br />
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COMMENT #2<br />
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Amendment<br />
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I thought we already had that amendment!!<br />
Ida S.<br />
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COMMENT #3<br />
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Absolutely!<br />
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Absolutely!<br />
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COMMENT #4<br />
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Should Congress be exempt from mandates?<br />
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The Constitution says &quot;equal protection of the laws&quot;. Equal NOT Exempt from the laws, not special laws, it says &quot;equal&quot;. This is the hallmark of the United States and it applies to EVERYONE: Congress, President, Vice President, Supreme Court, Cabinet Members, Everyone.<br />
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