[charlie22]

I agree. It is not. The state made the rule for a reason. It is a parents decision and theirs alone.

Actually it is not the parents' decision. It's the principal's decision. If the principal thinks a kid did well enough in the 8th grade and is ready for the 9th grade, the kid will be promoted regardless of what the parents think. That is the law in Kentucky. Unfortunately, there are some administrators in some school districts that ignore the law and do whatever the parents request.

Which is why undercoverwildcat said in his/her last post that the kid will not be retained. Kudos to that school district for following the law.

But what really bothers me, of all the posts made, is the post by BADCAT74saying that varsity coaches approached him about holding his son back. It would be one thing if teachers or the guidance counselor approached me about holding my son back; but coaches? I'd be inclined to wonder if their interest was just for athletic reasons (and perhaps for the coaches' own best interests instead of perhaps my child's). Maybe the varsity coaches in that case are also his teachers and based their advise on their observations as his teachers. If so, it doesn't bother me. But I'd guess, if I had to guess, if that was the case, BADCAT74 would have said his child's teachers approached him.

My thoughts on the subject: if I had a child that was very young for his/he class and the child was struggling in the class room or was having real and legitimate emotional problems, then I'd sit down with the guidance counselor, teachers, principal and physician and get their input. I would never, repeat never, do it for athletic reasons. Furthermore, I can't see me holding a child back that would make him/her old for their class.

I had several kids in my class at high school that were retained (adults called it retained; kids call it flunked). They didn't lose the "flunked" stigma throughout their high school years. Admittedly, we didn't have many kids retained, so when it happened it was unusual. If it happens frequently in a school, perhaps it wouldn't carry the stigma. Of course, if it happened frequently, one might wonder what was going on in that school district.