As many as 10,000 students across Ohio could be held back to repeat the third grade under the new “Third Grade Reading Guarantee [1]” law, the Huffington Post reports. The intent is simple: all third graders, with the exception of students with disabilities or English-learners, must pass the state’s third grade reading exam to continue on to the fourth grade. It’s not a tall order for schools with high performing students, but creates a hefty challenge for districts where up to 40 percent of third graders aren’t reading at grade level, [2] The Columbus Dispatch reports. The mandate also presents a financial task for districts. The state has set aside $13 million in competitive grants [3] to provide additional funding for support programs, testing, reading tutors or supplemental materials to boost the skills of students identified as reading below grade level at the beginning of the year, but new reporting requirements are an unfunded mandate [4]…