Noteworthy: No Federal Sanctions for New York Opt-out.
In July 2015, both House and Senate passed versions of the proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The current version of ESEA– eight years overdue for reauthorization– is the defunct No Child Left Behind of 2001 (NCLB). The proposed ESEA revision from the House, the Student Success Act (SSA), includes a blanket provision for parents to opt their children out of the annual tests that remain a part of SSA.
The proposed ESEA revision from the Senate, the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (ECAA), includes language that allows for states to set their own opt-out policies regarding the annual testing that remains a part of ECAA.
In reporting on SSA, ECAA, and opting out of federally-mandated annual testing, I have heard from individuals who are concerned that if it were up to the state, there would be no opt-out provision for the federal tests. Their concern is centered on the ECAA opt-out language and what might happen regarding federal sanctions if the state “guarantees” the federal government a 95 percent participation rate in federally-mandated annual testing without any conditions to account for opt-outs.
I have noted that the state officials who try to force the public into not opting out by not providing for the possibility only set themselves up for federal sanctions that might have been avoided if the states included an opt-out provision as part of their future ESEA application for Title I funding. (Annual testing is part of Title I, which is the big money of ESEA.)
However, I now think thatNoteworthy: No Federal Sanctions for New York Opt-out. | deutsch29: