Allows parents and legal guardians of children with an individualized education program to opt such children out of the "common core standards" and certain testing.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1938--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. PANEPINTO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to allowing parents and
legal guardians of children with an individualized education program
to opt such children out of the "common core standards" and certain
testing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The legislature finds that the primary federal law govern-
2 ing the education of children with special needs is the Individuals with
3 Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IDEA was enacted by the congress
4 of the United States in 1990, and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004. The
5 intent of the IDEA was to ensure the right of children with disabilities
6 to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE), striving to grant
7 equal access to students with disabilities, and provide them special
8 education services. Further, to implement the IDEA, special education
9 services and procedures are established, created on an individualized
10 basis, so as to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.
11 The legislature further finds that the tool utilized to fulfill these
12 rights for children with special needs is the individualized education
13 program (IEP). Nothing in this section shall preclude New York state
14 from adopting laws, rules and regulations which may be more stringent or
15 comprehensive than relevant federal laws.
16 § 2. Section 4402 of the education law is amended by adding a new
17 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
18 9. a. Any parent or legal guardian of a child with an established
19 individualized education program (IEP) may, with written notice to the
20 principal of the school the child is attending at any time prior to the
21 administration of the test, opt that child out of any standardized test
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06536-02-5
S. 1938--A 2
1 including the "common core standards", or those tests administered
2 pursuant to chapter one hundred three of the laws of two thousand ten.
3 b. Any child who is opted-out of a test shall be provided alternate
4 educational programming concomitant with the time established for those
5 standardized tests. Such educational programming shall be appropriate
6 and consistent with the child's IEP.
7 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
