Fairview High School seniors protest last fall’s CMAS tests (Paul Aiken, Boulder Daily Camera).
An alliance of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats is behind a bill that would protect teachers, principals and schools from consequences if test participation rates drop because of parents opting their children out.
The Senate bill would make Colorado one of a very few states to explicitly allow opting out of state and federally required assessments. The Denver Post obtained , which could be introduced as soon as Monday as education issues take on greater urgency at the Capitol.
“This is to make sure there is not punishment for teachers, principals and districts if parents opt their kids out,” said Sen. Nancy Todd, an Aurora Democrat and a primary sponsor with Republican Sen. Chris Holbert of Parker. “It doesn’t say, ‘Hey, we encourage you to opt out.'”
Todd acknowledged the legislation could put Colorado in the federal government’s crosshairs. Under federal law, all students must be tested annually in certain subjects and grades. By incorporating into state statute a pathway for students to sit tests out, Colorado could face financial or other consequences for violating its federal No Child Left Behind waiver.
“It’s the thing I think we have to be really cautious of — where we are with the waiver,” Todd said. “I think it has to be really thoughtful.”
She suggested the federal requirements could be met by locally developed assessments.
In February, the state Board of Education voted 4-3 . The Colorado Department of Education is seeking to amend its NCLB waiver as a result of the vote.
Under Colorado’s accountability system, districts can face a lowering of accreditation ratings and schools can be put on improvement plans if they fall short of that mark, which is meant to give districts expected to test every last student leeway for regular absences.
The Holbert-Todd bill would go further, requiring schools to develop written policies spelling out what parents must do to excuse students from state or local standardized tests.
Nancy Todd
The state Department of Education, in turn, would not be able to penalize the student, the student’s teacher, principal, school or district as a result of opt-outs.
Districts would be held to the same standard — no penalties for teachers or anyone else. The impact of this would vary by district. Denver Public Schools, for example, gives scores of zero to students who don’t test, which could impact teacher bonuses under the district’s pay-for-performance system, DPS officials have said.
Todd, a former teacher, said teachers shouldn’t be punished for a parent’s decision to opt a child out. She said her opposition to tying student test scores to teacher performance reviews is a factor for her.
Student academic growth will count for at least half of a teacher’s evaluation under Colorado’s 2010 educator effectiveness law, which is supposed to take full effect next academic year .
Todd stressed she is not in the camp that believes the state should exit the PARCC testing consortium or abandon the Common Core State Standards.
“We just need to be very prudent and thoughtful about where things are going,” she said.
Holbert took a different tack, emphasizing the rights of parents to opt children out of tests.
“We have to clarify — reinforce — the fact that a parent has that right,” he said. “I think that is a critical step to restore trust in public education and government in general. We can’t force students or parents to take these assessments. That is the perception of many parents.”
Chris Holbert
Asked about Republicans being aligned with teachers unions on an issue, Holbert said: “This isn’t about the teacher’s union. It’s about people on both sides of the political aisle hearing parents — especially moms — and hearing students.”
The bill’s Senate sponsorship includes Democrats Morgan Carroll — the Senate minority leader — and Mike Merrifield, a former music teacher who sponsored .
Republican co-sponsors include Senate Education Committee members Owen Hill, Vicki Marble, Tim Neville and Laura Woods (note: the draft linked to above does not include the Republicans but Holbert assures us they’re on the version queued up and ready to go).
The primary House sponsors are Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, and Kim Ransom, R-Littleton. Seventeen others have signed on.
would cut the state’s required assessments with the oldest and youngest K-12 students. An advisory task force whose work provided the foundation for that bill also recommended the state provide more information to parents about opting out, but did not go as far as the Holbert/Todd bill.
. So far, schools publicly reporting high rates of opt-outs are in wealthy, suburban areas that have boycotted tests in the past — including Fairview and Boulder high schools in Boulder and Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village.
State laws and regulations are not always clear about opting out, according to
Few states — Utah and California are two — have explicit language expressly allowing parents to opt out of assessments for any reason, it said. Legislators in New Jersey and North Dakota recently introduced bills that would allow parents to opt out of assessments, it said.
The New Jersey bill would also require districts and schools to provide activities for students who aren’t testing. That is not the case in Colorado, where some schools provide activities and others do not.
Denver Post political reporter Lynn Bartels contributed information to this report.
