An Act To Provide a Method for a Student To Be Excused from Standardized Testing
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6215 is enacted to read:
§ 6215. Opt-out
1. Parent's 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 that 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 a standardized assessment 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.