Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource Today

Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource Today

As California schools prepare to administer Smarter Balanced tests aligned to the Common Core Land Standards this leap, they face a quandary when notifying parents about the assessments.

Country law requires schools to inform parents they have the correct to opt their children out of the tests, which will be administered in math and English language arts to students in grades 3-­8 and 11. Merely the federal No Child Left Behind constabulary requires states to ensure that 95 percent of all students are tested – both statewide and districtwide.

Although the opt­-out motility has not taken hold as strongly in California as in other states, California was amidst several states that received a letter of the alphabet from the U.Southward. Department of Education warning that failure to meet the participation requirement could event in the loss of federal funds. California'southward statewide average met the requirement but 21 districts tested fewer than 95 percent of their students.

The new Every Pupil Succeeds Human action will replace No Child Left Behind when it goes into result in 2017­-eighteen. It will continue to require that 95 percent of students participate in the tests, only volition allow states to make up one's mind what actions to take if districts fail to do and so. The new law likewise requires districts that receive federal funding to annually notify parents of state laws allowing them to opt their students out.

"It leaves states like California jammed in the middle," said Robert Schaeffer, spokesman for the National Center for Fair and Open up Testing, or FairTest, noting that California is one of several states with a police force that allows parents to opt out.

The seemingly contradictory requirements have led to mixed messages from the land and defoliation among some districts near how to let parents know they tin opt out of the tests, while ensuring that 95 percent of students have them. Last year, the state posted a template examination notification letter for districts on its website, which informed parents most the tests, but failed to mention their opt­-out rights.

This year, the state again intends to omit opt­-out information from its template letter, which information technology plans to mail service on its website in the adjacent few weeks, said Peter Tira, California Department of Education spokesman, in an electronic mail.

"Nosotros practise not include language in our sample letter of the alphabet about parents' ability to opt out because we want to encourage equally much participation as possible," Tira said. "The land has been required by federal police to meet a 95 percent participation rate, which we exceeded this by year."

Schaeffer was surprised that California's template letter for districts to parents did not include opt­-out language.

"At best, that's inconsistent and it'south really questionable whether the country is failing to comply with its legal responsibleness," he said. "It's similar telling somebody half the story."

The testing window for virtually districts won't begin for weeks, but some schools with early on start dates began administering the tests last month, Tira said.

Uncomplicated and middle schools that accept completed 66 percent of their almanac instructional days – or "rail" for year-­round schools – can begin testing at present, Tira said. Testing for 11th­-graders can begin when 80 percent of a school's instructional days or rails is completed.

The tests are function of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP, organization, which as well includes alternative assessments for some students, as well every bit science tests. The land's testing partitioning has sent updates to schools and districts to inform them about changes this year and to remind them of their legal requirement to inform parents that they have the right to opt their children out of testing.

But the state'due south failure to include opt­-out language in its template concluding year led some districts to ship the letter of the alphabet to parents without amending information technology to meet the legal requirement. Concerned Parents of California said information technology sued two districts for excluding information about opt-­outs in parent test notifications – Walnut Valley Unified e of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County Superior Court and Conejo Valley Unified in Ventura Canton, in Ventura County Superior Court.

The Pacific Justice Plant legal defense organization, which objects to Mutual Core testing, is representing Concerned Parents. Brad Dacus, president and founder of the institute, said the Concerned Parents group is but request the districts to comply with their legal obligations.

"We're non suing for monetary damages," he said. "The parents we're representing just but desire the districts to bide past the police force of the state of California, respecting the rights of parents."

Walnut Valley school officials said the district was never served with a lawsuit. But an attorney for Concerned Parents said the commune refused to take the service by mail, so it plans to follow up with a personal service.

"What we used for our letter was the state template that the state had posted on their website," said Jackie Brown, Walnut Valley'southward manager of elementary education and assessments.

Matt Witmer, the district's banana superintendent for educational services, said he thought the letter included a reference to the Education Code. But it did non. Instead, the land'due south website includes this note under its template: "The sample letter of the alphabet serves as a detect to parents of the twelvemonth's statewide assessments and does not satisfy a commune's obligation to notify parents of their right to exempt their child from statewide assessments pursuant to Education Code Section 60615."

When asked why Walnut Valley didn't meet that note, Chocolate-brown said it was added subsequently testing was completed. Tira did not say when the note was added to the website.

This yr, Brown said Walnut Valley is working with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to create a letter that will satisfy the requirement to notify parents of their opt­-out rights. Similarly, the Conejo Valley district plans to expressly notify parents of their opt­-out rights this year, said Superintendent Ann Bonitatibus in an electronic mail.

Conejo Valley Unifiedincluded the following data in its 2015-­16 Annual Notice of Rights and Responsibilities for Parents, Students and Staff: "Instruction Lawmaking and California Code of Regulations requires, amid other things, that on an annual ground school districts inform parents of (1) their student's participation in the CAASPP; and, (2) that whatever written request to excuse his/her child from the CAASPP shall be granted."

The district as well plans to "ship boosted notification via letters prior to examination administration," Bonitatibus said. She referred questions regarding the lawsuit to district lawyers, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Kevin Snider, the attorney representing Concerned Parents, said the lawsuits would be dropped if the districts inform parents of their rights.

Los Angeles Unified, the country'due south largest district, has created a template alphabetic character for parents that includes opt­-out information. It besides plans to add the notification to its parent handbook next year, said Cynthia Lim, executive director of the district'south Office of Data and Accountability.

Cindy Kazanis, director of the California Section of Didactics's Analysis, Measurement, and Accountability Reporting Sectionalisation, told EdSource last month that the land planned to send a letter of the alphabet to the 21 districts that failed to meet the 95 pct participation rate requirement, informing them that they needed to increase participation to avert the possible loss of federal funds. Simply past the end of last week, it had not been mailed.

"There is no alphabetic character," Tira said in an email. "There may non exist a letter. Everything is still under discussion."

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