Opt Out Hall of Fame – The Districts
Updated: 2/14/22
Waco ISD
The district worked with parents to create on campus alternate activities to STAAR testing.
Houston ISD
Created a district refusal procedure that promises no adverse action against students for opting out.
Austin ISD
Created in office refusal for opt out kids, allowing them to refuse assessment with parent witnessing, and return to class on the first makeup day. This was a negotiated agreement after parents retained counsel.
Peaster ISD
A campus principal called an opt out parent whose kid was on campus on a make up day to let the parent know that they needed to pick the child up to avoid having the assessment presented to the child. Recently, the Superintendent called our Gov. Abbott’s campaign rhetoric on parent’s rights noting that his administration had never supported a parent’s right to opt out of STAAR and calling for the elimination of STAAR based accountability.
Modified:
I feel Burleson ISD belongs on this list. We’ve opted out the past two years with zero push back, including a SSI year & submitting substitute assessments for EOC’s. I can provide emails from principals of 2 schools & 1 one from the testing coordinator at Centennial.
Disclaimer: my daughter will be refusing the two assessments she did not meet as a freshman & we have yet to engage the school in that conversation. We fully intend to meet the graduation requirements by meeting substitute assesment standards.