Grading Assessment Systems - Exemption Procedure and Information to Parents and Guardians: IKA-R
- Instruction: I
Parent/guardian request for exemption
In accordance with the accompanying policy, the parent/guardian of a student enrolled in the district may request that his or her child be exempt from participating in one or more state assessments. Students are not allowed to exempt themselves from participation unless they are officially designated as an unaccompanied youth, or as emancipated.
- The request for exemption must be submitted in writing to the school principal.
- The parent/guardian will not be required to state the reason for asking for the exemption.
- The request for exemption may apply to all or specific state assessments administered to the student during the school year.
- A request for exemption will be valid for one school year. Requests for exemption from state assessments in subsequent school years require a new written request.
- Parents/guardians are encouraged to submit their requests for exemption at the earliest possible date each school year and at least one week in advance, so that the district may plan accordingly for a safe, supervised alternate school setting for the opt-out student during assessment administration. Students who are opted-out will receive supervision, but not instruction during the assessment administration.
Information to parents/guardians
Each school year at the earliest possible time, the district shall distribute information to students' parents/guardians regarding the state and district assessments that the district will administer that year. This information shall also be posted on the district's website.
The district shall also distribute a district assessment calendar to students' parents/guardians at the earliest possible time each school year, and shall post the calendar on the district's website.
At a minimum, the district assessment calendar shall include:
- an estimate of the testing hours required on each testing day; and
- whether the assessment is required by federal and/or state law or was selected by the district.
NOTE 1: The information distributed to parents/guardians must include: (1) the state and local assessments that the district will administer during the school year; (2) whether the assessment is required by federal law and/or state law or is required by the district; (3) the "anticipated" calendar for administering state and district assessments; (4) the "purposes" of the state and district assessments; and (5) the "manner" in which the results will be used by the district and the Colorado Department of Education. C.R.S. 22-7-1013(7)(a).
NOTE 2: Districts are not required to include "course-specific assessments that are not adopted by the [Colorado State Board of Education]" or "non-standardized, classroom based assessments" in the district assessment calendar or in information provided to parents/guardians. C.R.S. 22-7-1013(7)(c).