Title: Mom on ISTEP: 'We are not going to participate in this anymore'
Headings: Mom on ISTEP: 'We are not going to participate in this anymore'
Mom on ISTEP: 'We are not going to participate in this anymore'
'Opt-out' movement
Gray area
Hard decision

Content: Often decisions on how to handle those cases are left to local school districts. "Indiana state law is silent on whether or not a parent may opt their children out of taking ISTEP+," said Julie Slavens, an attorney with the Indiana School Boards Association. As Washington Township parents are told, “Indiana law neither provides for an ‘opt-out’ procedure nor recognizes ‘opting out’ of assessments.” AP: Indiana official had say in independent ISTEP report
According to Washington Township Assistant Superintendent Jon Milleman, “Parents are never told to keep their children at home.” Yet: “ As a public school district, we are required to test all students (who are in the grade or subject designated for a state standardized test) in attendance during the state testing window,” he said in a statement. The Department of Education advises school districts that students who stay home to avoid an assessment are in violation of state attendance laws. That means an absence would be considered “unexcused,” according to Milleman. Comparatively, in Wayne Township Schools, “We work with parents individually who ask that their children not take ISTEP.