Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said today she’ll work to overturn a 2016 law that requires students to repeat third grade if their reading performance is too low.

“I think (the law) is destructive,” Whitmer said during an MLive Citizen Roundtable, where three panelists joined the governor at MLive’s Grand Rapids office to discuss the $60.2 billion budget proposal she unveiled this week.

“That doesn’t fix the problem,” she said. “A child who can’t read isn’t going to get better because you told him he was bad. Parents aren’t going to get more engaged” in that scenario.

The law requires schools to hold back children more than a grade-level behind in reading -- i.e., third-graders scoring below a second-grade reading level. The law has a number of caveats and exceptions.

Current second-graders will be the first group subject to the law, which potentially could impact thousands of children. Only 44 percent of Michigan third-graders passed the M-Step reading test administered in April 2018.

Michigan’s incoming third-graders will be the first group subject to a 2016 law requiring students to repeat third grade if their reading performance is too low.

Whitmer told the panelists that Michigan at one point had one of the “the finest public education systems” in the country. But the system began deteriorating and outcomes worsened “when we stopped investing” in education, she said.

And in recent years, she said, the Legislature’s response to the issue was the blame and punish, she said. She used the law on third-grade retention as an example.

“I understand the goal” of promoting early literacy, she said. “I also know the means we’ve chosen flies in the face of science.”

To that end, she said, her budget would triple the number of literacy coaches in the state. She also is calling for more money for all low-income students, who tend to have substantially worse outcomes.

“This isn’t just about equal but about equity and making sure that kids with the biggest needs have those needs met,” she said.

During the roundtable discussion, Whitmer also addressed her plan to raise the gas tax by 45 cents in an effort to raise money for roads and infrastructure. She also discussed high auto insurance costs and mental health issues.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer talks about topics ranging from her proposed 45-cent gas tax hike to Michigan's high auto insurance rates during a citizen roundtable hosted by MLive: Posted by MLive.com on Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Panelists included David Groenleer, who worked as a traffic engineer and director of engineering at the Kent County Road Commission for 35 years; Candice Crutcher, a senior studying political science and history at Eastern Michigan University, where she serves as student body president; and Susan Wakefield, who worked in public education for 30 years and is now the owner of Wakefield Consulting LLC.

MLive’s first Citizen Roundtable discussions were part of MLive’s Michigan Beyond project, which focused reporting on three issues key to Michigan’s future: the economy, education and infrastructure. Five Michigan residents sat down with gubernatorial candidates and interviewed them about their ideas to drive Michigan forward. Watch Whitmer’s Citizen’s Roundtable interview as a candidate here.