New Texas law allows parents to withhold their child from advancing to the next grade level in school

EL PASO, Texas - The Texas Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 1697, which gives parents the ability to withhold their child from advancing to the next grade in school.

The new law contains both permanent and temporary components.

Parents with children in 4th through 12th grades have the option to prevent their child from advancing, but only for the 2021-2022 school year.

Meantime, the ability to withhold your child from advancing from pre-kindergarten up through 3rd grade is now a permanent fixture in all Texas school districts.

“This gives parents an opportunity, if they feel that they had some extensive learning loss and they didn’t progress throughout the year, that they can make the choice to have their child repeat a year,” explained El Paso Independent School District spokesperson Melissa Martinez.