KELLER ISD ASKED TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO OPT OUT OF STAAR -- DMN - 3.27.14

3.27.14 - Dallas Morning News

http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/add-kellner-isd-to-the-north-tex as-districts-asked-to-allow-students-to-opt-out-of-staar.html/

Add Keller ISD to the North Texas districts asked to allow students to opt out of STAAR

By <http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/author/jeffreyweiss/> Jeffrey Weiss JWeiss@dallasnews.com <http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/add-kellner-isd-to-the-north-te xas-districts-asked-to-allow-students-to-opt-out-of-staar.html/> 10:45 am on March 27, 2014 | <http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/add-kellner-isd-to-the-north-te xas-districts-asked-to-allow-students-to-opt-out-of-staar.html/> Permalink

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If you haven't been following the ongoing discussion about parents trying to pull their kids out of the STAAR tests, <http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/waco-isd-responds-to-the-reques t-to-opt-out-of-tests.html/> here's a link that will get you up to speed.

I'd known about Waco ISD and Celina ISD dealing with the requests. Add Keller ISD to the North Texas districts where at least one parent has formally asked to have students excluded from STAAR. Here's how Keller responded:

350 Keller Parkway Charles T. Carroll Keller, Texas 76248 Chief Academic Officer

Dear Parent,

Thank you for inquiring about testing in Keller ISD. We are committed to maximizing the benefit of state assessments for our students by using the data derived from them to assist our efforts to individualize instruction and get a whole picture of each child in our classrooms. There are times, however, that parents and guardians consider removing their students from testing environments, and the purpose of this letter is to assist you in understanding the district's role in state testing and the constraints upon your local campus administration.

For state tests (all STAAR assessments, EOCs in high school, and some other tests administered diagnostically in primary grades), Texas Education Code 39.023(a) requires "all students" to be assessed with the appropriate test (that section includes references to alternate tests for some limited English proficient and special program students). The district does not have a choice as to whether to administer the state tests to all of its students. What you may perceive as a lack of cooperation from your campus administration is not a choice. Keller ISD campuses follow Texas Education Code, which clearly states that there is no parental right to remove a student from a test. Parents have been misled by websites, facebook posts, and emails as well as other information that chose not to quote the entire statute, but the law is clear:

TEC Sec. 26.010. EXEMPTION FROM INSTRUCTION. (a) A parent is entitled to remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or other school activity that conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs if the parent presents or delivers to the teacher of the parent's child a written statement authorizing the removal of the child from the class or other school activity. A parent is not entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject for an entire semester. (b) This section does not exempt a child from satisfying grade level or graduation requirements in a manner acceptable to the school district and the agency.

A district must administer the state test and there is no opt-out from the state assessments. Some number of students are absent on a given day, which could also be a test day. A student could also choose to not fill out the test while in attendance. But if the student comes to school on a state testing day, there is no ability on the part of the district to not test. A district or campus that selectively tested would be subject to sanction by the agency and could also possibly be harmed in the federal rating system by a low participation rate. Our desire is to work with parents and the community to create support structures for our students and make testing as limited and minimally invasive as possible.

Additionally, we seek to use the information we gather to improve our delivery systems and serve each child better and more specifically to meet needs identified in the assessments.

We welcome the opportunity to work with you during testing season as well as the rest of the school year. Thank you for your inquiry about state testing.

Sincerely,

Charles T. Carroll Keller ISD's Chief Academic Officer