SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended April 7, 2015 SENATE Amended 2nd Reading April 6, 2015First Regular Session Seventieth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 15-0789.01 Julie Pelegrin x2700 SENATE BILL 15-223 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Holbert and Todd, Carroll, Merrifield, Marble, Woods, Neville T., Lundberg, Scheffel, Hill, Sonnenberg HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Lebsock and Ransom, Primavera, Danielson, Winter, Salazar, Esgar, Saine, Brown, Buck, Conti, Everett, Klingenschmitt, Navarro, Roupe, Sias, Thurlow, Van Winkle, Windholz, Neville P. Senate Committees House Committees Education A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning ensuring that the exercise of a parent's right to refuse to have his or her child take standardized tests does not result in negative consequences due to a reduced student participation rate. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill requires a school district, a board of cooperative services that operates a school, or a charter school (local education provider) to allow a parent to excuse his or her child from participating in a standardized assessment that is required by the state or by the local education provider. Each local education provider must adopt a written policy that a parent may follow to excuse his or her student from taking the standardized assessment. The department of education and the local education provider cannot penalize the student, the student's teacher and principal, or the public school that the student attends, and the department cannot penalize the local education provider that enrolls the student, if the parent excuses the student from taking the standardized assessment. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-1006, add (6) as follows: 22-7-1006. Preschool through elementary and secondary education - aligned assessments - adoption - revisions. (6) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article, section 22-7-409, or the rules of the state board to the contrary, the parent of a student may excuse the student from participating in a standardized assessment that is part of the system of assessments adopted pursuant to this section and administered pursuant to section 22-7-409. Each local education provider shall adopt a written policy as described in section 22-7-1013 (3.5) that a parent must follow to excuse the parent's student from participating in a standardized assessment that is part of the system of assessments. The department of education shall not penalize the student, the student's teacher, the principal of the public school that the student attends, the public school that the student attends, or the local education provider that enrolls the student because of the parent's choice to excuse his or her student from participating in the standardized state assessment. (b) If the overall assessment scores of the students who take a standardized assessment result in a lower effectiveness rating for a teacher or principal, pursuant to article 9 of this title, or a lower performance plan for a public school or a lower accreditation status for a local education provider, pursuant to article 11 of this title, the lower effectiveness rating, lower performance plan, or lower accreditation rating is not a penalty and is not prohibited under paragraph (a) of this subsection (6). SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-1013, add (3.5) as follows: 22-7-1013. Local education provider - preschool through elementary and secondary education standards - adoption - academic acceleration. (3.5) (a) Each local education provider shall adopt and implement a written policy and procedure by which a student's parent may excuse the student from participating in one or more of the standardized assessments that the department of education administers as part of the state system of assessments adopted pursuant to section 22-7-1006 and administered pursuant to section 22-7-409. (b) At a minimum, the written policy must specify: (I) The purpose and use of the standardized assessments and the student academic performance information that the local education provider receives as a result of administering the standardized assessments; (II) The manner by which a parent may excuse his or her student from participating in a standardized state assessment; (III) The timing by which a parent must submit the excuse to the local education provider; and (IV) Whether a single excuse may apply to standardized state assessments in multiple instructional areas or multiple administrations of one or more standardized state assessments or whether a parent must submit a separate excuse for the standardized state assessments administered in each instructional area and each administration of a standardized state assessment. (c) Each local education provider, before classes commence in the fall semester of each school year, shall make available to the parents of the students enrolled in each public school operated by the local education provider paper and electronic copies of the written policy for excusing students from taking standardized state assessments. The local education provider shall post a copy of the written policy on its web site. (d) The local education provider shall not penalize the student, the student's teacher, the principal of the public school that the student attends, or the public school that the student attends because of the parent's choice to excuse his or her student from participating in the standardized state assessment. (e) Each local education provider shall continue to make good faith efforts to ensure that all students take the standardized state assessments in accordance with the requirements of federal and state law and shall not in any manner encourage parents to excuse students from taking the standardized state assessments. (e) If the overall assessment scores of the students who take a standardized assessment result in a lower effectiveness rating for a teacher or principal, pursuant to article 9 of this title, or a lower performance plan for a public school, pursuant to article 11 of this title, the lower effectiveness rating or lower performance plan is not a penalty and is not prohibited under paragraph (d) of this subsection (3.5). SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-1003, add (11.3) as follows: 22-7-1003. Definitions. As used in this part 10, unless the context otherwise requires: (11.3) "Parent" means a biological parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian. SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 5, 2015, if adjournment sine die is on May 6, 2015); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2016 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.