2015 -- S 0736

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LC002207

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT

     Introduced By: Senators Satchell, Lombardi, Conley, Metts, and Miller

     Date Introduced: March 19, 2015

     Referred To: Senate Education

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-97-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-97 entitled “The Rhode

Island Board of Education Act” is hereby amended to read as follows:

     16-97-8. Assessment of student performance. -- (a) The commissioner of elementary

and secondary education shall implement the state assessment program. The program shall

include performance standards and an annual report that disaggregates performance by race,

poverty, native language, and gender.

     (b) Prior to the graduating class of 2017, no state assessment conducted pursuant to this

chapter, and no other standardized testing program or assessment, shall be used to determine a

student's eligibility to graduate from high school. Any such assessments implemented prior to the

graduating class of 2017 shall be used to promote school improvement and to target remediation

programs to individual students and groups of students.

     (c)(1)The commissioner shall establish a procedure for the parent or legal guardian of a

child attending a public school in this state to opt out of such testing or assessment program set

forth in subsection (a) herein, including, but not limited to, the Partnership for the Assessment of

Readiness for Colleges and Careers ("PARCC") assessment, or similar assessments. Such

procedure shall take into consideration the fact that the parent or legal guardian is acting in the

best interest of the child, and the parent's, or guardian’s decision to opt out of the testing or

assessment program shall be given great deference.

     (2) In order to accomplish the goals of this subsection, the commissioner shall provide to

each school, for distribution to the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of a child attending a public

school in this state, a standardized form that informs the parent, or legal guardian of his or her

right to opt out of the testing of his or her child provided for in this section. The form shall clearly

spell out that;

     (i) No student shall face disciplinary action for not participating in the testing or

assessment program established in this section;

     (ii) Each school shall provide an alternative academic setting and activity for students

not participating in the PARCC assessment for the time when the PARCC assessment is being

administered; and

     (iii) No student shall have his or her academic record adversely affected for not

participating in the testing or assessment program established in this section.

     (3) Any student who was negatively impacted by his or her not participating in a testing

or assessment program prior to the effective date of this section shall have his or her academic

record changed to reflect the intent of subsection (c)(2) of this section.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT

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     This act would allow parents and legal guardians to elect to have their child opt out of

Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers or "PARCC" assessment,

or similar assessments.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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