I don’t have advice of how to manage school expectations re actual reading…however I do have experience that may help you see bigger picture rather than trying down the line of comics etc which impe helped with nowt
two DS. Both raised same with same exposure to books (lots in house, two parents who actively read a lot) and read to since they were tiny. One DS now 30 plus, always read copiously, speed reader (like me) fiction always on the go and none fiction. Eloquent, articulate, and writes well. One DS just never read if it was left to him. Now nearly 30, his long time partner is massive reader and lover of books, and even she can’t get him to read fiction! But, he will listen and listen to fiction and non fiction, on podcasts, or when little audio CDs, and now audio books. It took us a long time between us to realise there’s an issue how he processes a visual image of words anmd sentences and being able to allow his imagination take over, it’s like a block. He can read but has to read slowly to process and often has to backtrack so simply doesn’t enjoy the book and doesn’t connect with it emotionally. He appears to lack that ability to process a written image into his inner voice. Whereas listening to it takes away the mechanics and he is engaged fully.
both kids have degrees, the DS who won’t touch an actual book, if possible,has a MSc as well. Both have very decent jobs. Yep, the non reader has always been less articulate, and verbose, but he holds his own, is more naturally introverted anyway , and at least has got past the teenage muttering stage a long time ago- he writes tech reports well, and gives tech presentations with ease.
my advice, talk to child, try to explore with them what it is that they find frustrating or difficult or boring about reading. Try lots of stuff including audio …if they like audio then go full on with it…there is so much out there in terms of audio books, podcasts ….reading is a vital skill but some of benefits of reading are then about language and vocabulary development, and there are lots of other ways to really nuture that in kids.
all of us are different, some kids are like my DS, they just don’t get on with reading but that doesn’t mean they are doomed to achieve less, even academically in life. Nuture curiosity, nuture language , nuture communication in all its forms.