Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024
(1) As used in this
section, "penalize" means to put in an unfavorable position or at an unfair
disadvantage.
(2)
(a) A parent is primarily responsible for a
child's education and has the constitutional right to determine which aspects
of public education the child participates in, including assessment
systems.
(b) Parents may further
exercise their inherent rights to exempt their children from a statewide
assessment without further consequence by an LEA.
(3)
(a) A
parent may exercise the right to exempt their child from a statewide
assessment.
(b) Except as provided
in Subsection (3)(c), an LEA may not penalize a student who is exempted from a
statewide assessment under this section.
(c) If a parent exempts the parent's child
from the basic civics test required in Sections
53E-4-205
and
R277-700-8,
the parent's child is not exempt from the graduation requirement in Subsection
53E-4-205(2),
and may not graduate without successfully completing the requirements of
Sections 53E-4-205 and
R277-700-8.
(4)
(a) To
exercise the right to exempt a child from a statewide assessment under this
provision and ensure the protections of this provision, a parent shall:
(i) fill out:
(A) the Parental Exclusion from State
Assessment Form provided on the Board's website; or
(B) an LEA specific form as described in
Subsection (4)(b); and
(ii) submit the form:
(A) to the principal or LEA either by email,
mail, or in person; and
(B) on an
annual basis; and
(C) except as
provided in Subsection (4)(b), at least one day before the beginning of the
assessment.
(b)
An LEA may allow a parent to exempt a student from taking a statewide
assessment less than one day before the beginning of the assessment upon
parental request.
(c) An LEA may
create an LEA specific form for a parent to fill out as described in Subsection
(4)(a)(i)(B) if:
(i) the LEA includes a list
of local LEA assessments that a parent may exempt the parent's student from as
part of the LEA specific form; and
(ii) the LEA specific form includes
information described in the Parental Exclusion from State Assessment Form
provided on the Board's website as described in Subsection
(4)(a)(i)(A).
(5)
(a) A
teacher, principal, or other LEA administrator may contact a parent to verify
that the parent submitted a parental exclusion form described in Subsection
(4)(a)(i).
(b) An LEA may request,
but may not require, a parent to meet with a teacher, principal, or other LEA
administrator regarding the parent's request to exclude the parent's student
from taking a statewide assessment.
(6) The administration of any assessment that
is not a statewide assessment, including consequences associated with taking or
failing to take the assessment, is governed by policy adopted by each
LEA.
(7) An LEA shall provide a
student's individual test results and scores to the student's parent or
guardian upon request and consistent with the protection of student
privacy.
(8) An LEA may not provide
a nonacademic reward to a student for a student's participation in or
performance on a statewide assessment.
(9) An LEA shall allow an educator to provide
an academic incentive for a student's performance on a statewide assessment in
accordance with Subsections
53E-4-303(4)(b),
304(3), and 305(4).
(10) An LEA
shall ensure that a student who has been exempted from participating in a
statewide assessment under this section is provided with an alternative
learning experience if the student is in attendance during test
administration.
(11) An LEA may
allow a student who has been exempted from participating in a statewide
assessment under this section to be physically present in the room during test
administration.
