GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan House has approved a repeal for a third grade reading retention law.

A portion of the state’s third grade reading law, which was passed in 2016, requires students to meet a certain reading level by the third grade, or risk being held back. The repeal eliminates that requirement. Other parts of the reading law will remain intact.

During the 2021-22 school year, a study by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University showed that 545 students were kept back, accounting for .6% of all tested third graders.

State lawmakers have already passed the bill in the Senate.

The legislation will soon head to the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for approval.

— News 8’s Demetrios Sanders contributed to this report.