HP0471
LD 695
Session - 127th Maine Legislature
 
LR 1011
Item 1
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

An Act To Empower Parents in the Education of Their Children by Allowing an Opt-out from Standardized Assessments

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6214  is enacted to read:

§ 6214 Opt-out

1 Parent or guardian's right to opt out.   If a student's parent or guardian submits a written request to a school administrative unit to excuse the student from a standardized assessment administered pursuant to this chapter, the school administrative unit shall comply with the request and excuse the student in conformance with the request.
2 School administrative unit.   A school administrative unit may not penalize a student for being excused from an assessment pursuant to subsection 1 and shall:
A Inform parents and guardians of the option to excuse a student from an assessment;
B Provide a student excused from an assessment with an educational activity while the assessment is being administered; and
C Post the form created by the department under subsection 3, paragraph A on the school administrative unit's publicly accessible website.
3 Department.   The department may not penalize a school for excusing a student from an assessment pursuant to subsection 1 and shall:
A Create a form a parent or guardian can use to request that a student be excused from an assessment and shall post the form on the department's publicly accessible website; and
B Notify parents and guardians of the option to excuse a student from an assessment by posting notice on the department's publicly accessible website.
4 Teachers.   A teacher may inform a parent or guardian of the option to excuse a student from an assessment pursuant to subsection 1.

SUMMARY

This bill requires a school administrative unit to excuse a student from standardized assessments at the written request of the student's parent or guardian and establishes requirements for school administrative units and the Department of Education related to excusing a student.


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