The Delaware Legislature passed a strong Opt Out bill.
The legislation — House Bill 50 — was introduced in March by state Representative John Kowalko, a Democrat, and state Senator David Lawson, a Republican.
After months of wrangling over the language and the scope of the proposal — debates that local media reports often became “a shouting match,” with the public gallery at the legislature filled to the rafters — the final compromise version of the two bills was approved by the state House of Representatives on June 23 by a vote of 31-5 and then a few days later the state senate followed suit, voting 15-6 to send the bill to the desk of Democratic Governor Jack Markell.
It now goes to the governor, Democrat Jack Markell, who opposed it, based on concerns by business leaders and civil rights groups. The legislation has strong parental support.
In Delaware, a majority of parents seem to support the bill. In fact, the state Parent Teacher Association (PTA) openly called for its passage.
PTA President Terri Hodges told DelawareOnline, “Smarter Balanced in its current form does not provide a true picture of student learning. “The results of tests are not available until the end of the year. That provides very little value to me as a parent or for a teacher.”
Here is the legislative language:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 50:
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION ASSESSMENT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 151(k), Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:
(k)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section to the contrary, any parent or guardian of a student in any public school or charter school shall have the right to opt out of the statewide assessment.
(2) The parent or guardian must notify the student’s school in writing at least 2 school days prior to the scheduled exam. Schools shall honor any timely request and provide alternative educational activities during testing times.
(3) There shall be no academic or disciplinary repercussions on the student’s record for opting out of participating in the statewide assessment.
(4) The Department shall maintain a data system to track the student’s opt-out decisions.
(5) The Department shall report opt-out numbers in accountability ratings to provide context and impact on school and district ratings; however, the opt-out numbers shall not factor into the accountability ratings.
(6) The districts and charter schools shall notify all parents and guardians of this right no later than 15 days prior to the start of the assessment via its website and mailing. The Department shall also post a notification on its website no later than 15 days prior to the start of the assessment.
(7) A student having reached the age of majority shall solely possess the opt-out rights under this subsection.(l) Rules and regulations pursuant to this subchapter shall be proposed by the Secretary subject to approval by the State Board of Education.
SYNOPSIS OF THIS LEGLISATION:
This bill creates the right for the parent or guardian of a child to opt out of the annual assessment, currently the Smarter Balanced Assessment System.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks so much for sharing this! We worked hard to get it passed. Now if only our Governor would follow the will of his people and sign it….
Are there any other strong opt out laws that were enacted recently besides this one and Oregon’s? Looking for model language for local policy.
Utah passed one last year. Look at (9) at this link:
http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53A/Chapter15/53A-15-S1403.html
Thanks much!
Great news. Also a compilation of references for these new laws, as suggested by Stiles would be great.
New Jersey has a bill that passed their House, but I don’t believe their Senate ever touched it. A lot of states had previous opt-out bills, but nothing attached to the Common Core assessments, PARCC and Smarter Balanced.
If everyone who reads this can please email Delaware Governor Jack Markell asking him to support the bill and sign it as soon as possible. His email is jack.markell@de.state.us and his twitter is @GovernorMarkell so please let him know parents have a right to opt their children out and this bill honors that right. If you tweet him, please use hashtag #SignHB50NOW
Thanks for getting this out there Diane!
Sorry, that email is jack.markell@state.de.us
At some point it doesn’t matter what the politicians decide. It should be the people. Even if the governor refuses to sign it the people should vote by opting out their kids. It sad when we let politicians tell us whether we have a right to opt out when we already have that right.
why can’t New York Pass one?
OOOh! I know this, Gov Cuomo, many legislators and almost half of the Board of Regents are bought by “ed reformers” and the testing/for profit educational business.
“The bill creates the right….”
No, no, no. Parents already *had* the right. Laws do not create rights. They can only restrict rights we already have. It’s bad precedent to pass laws allowing people to do things. This may be an example of winning a battle but losing the war.
Maybe “right” is the wrong word… but it does explain a procedure to opt out and the roles of all relevant parties.
We’ve been very clear in our debate and messaging to state that parents have the right and that will not change. This bill CODIFIES the right and provides clarity for those involved as to expected actions and supports for those who choose to exercise that right.
“Laws do not create rights. They can only restrict rights we already have.”
Not to quibble, but that’s not quite true. For example, the 19th amendment. In theory, universal suffrage may be an inalienable right derived from natural law, and suffrage laws merely codify that preexisting natural right. In reality, women could not vote in most US states until the 19th amendment gave them that right.
A Constitutional amendment is not quite the same as a law. The Constitution, especially the amendments thereto, is, in fact, what creates our rights (or, if you’re the religious type, it’s what codifies them, since they originate from God).
If by “a law” you mean “a statute,” that’s true: Constitutional amendments are not the same thing as statutes enacted by legislatures. But they’re each “laws” in the sense that they’re each a source of law. And the Constitution isn’t the only source of our rights. Some of our rights were expressly created by Constitutional amendments (e.g. the 19th). Other rights pre-date the Constitution itself; hence the 9th Amendment’s reference to “other” rights “retained by the People” at the time of ratification. Other rights are created by statutes: for example, the right to sue the government under certain circumstances, and copyright and patent rights. Other rights are created by courts, including many of the rights that pre-date the Constitution (e.g. all kinds of property rights).
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The New Jersey Assembly unanimously adopted A4165/S2767, which specifies that districts and charter schools must treat humanely students whose families refuse the PARCC tests.
The bill language is available here: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2014/Bills/A4500/4165_R1.HTM
This legislation has a quarter of the NJ Senate as co-sponsors and is supported by a majority of the Senate.
However, NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senate Education Chair Teresa Ruiz have so far refused to allow the Senate to vote on this bill.
That protects Governor Christie from having to sign or veto this very popular legislation.