Texas Parents' Educational Rights Forum

I am considering the refusal of the test. My kids sped teacher seems to be on board , in fact agrees. The kid is in 3rd grade currently in about a 1st grade curriculum.

i feel i have the support of the school in the refusal. Currently my only argument is the fact she is going to be tested on material she isn't even aware. I am keeping the language in my letter fairly friendly as of now her school has been fairly supportive.

what suggestions do you have in order to protect my kids rights.

should i outright ensure the language on my next ARD specifies this?

Absolutely, the IEP should specifically provide that promotion will be determined by progress toward goals and not by performance on standardized assessments (STAAR). This is not a big deal in 3rd grade, but get the language in there now so in so called SSI grades (5 and 8) it is already there and you don't have to have that fight.

Yes.

While it’s awesome that they’re standing with you, we still have to be mindful that they must follow what TEA says. If the kid is there, they must be presented with the opportunity to assess.

To help make things easier to opt out, keep it as a pen/paper test instead of online. And make sure that it says only 1 attempt needed (another 5th/8th grade item).

Then have conversations about the practicality. What will actually happen that week? Will my child be allowed to refuse and not be persuaded or threatened in any way? What will my child do while others are testing? If my child is absent on actual test day and arrives on makeup days, will they refuse and be sent strait to class or held for a period of time?