Parents are asking a Leon County Circuit Judge to order their children promoted to the fourth grade, despite their refusal to take a standardized test.
They spent much of Monday trying to convince Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers the Florida law is unconstitutional.
The case is garnering national attention and has become a centerpiece for the so-called “opt out” movement. In it, the parents of 14 children from six different counties are asking Judge Karen Gievers to order their children to be promoted to the fourth grade, even though they opted out of a reading test.
Brandy Paternoster of Broward County testified that when it came time to take the test in March, she told her twins to break the seal and push it away. Paternoster testified the school’s principal gave her the bad news, even though her children received passing grades.
“She apologized. She said she understood that my children deserved to go to fourth grade, but that her hands were tied.”
Stacey Mohr, an attorney for the state, asked Paternoster if she knew what she was doing when she told her children not to take the test.
“Were you aware that there could be implications for your children’s retention in third-grade by the choice not to participate in the Florida Standards Assessment?”
Paternoster says she studied the law carefully and understood that she had options.
“No, because the statute was met by them minimally participating in the FSA.”
Parents said they asked instead for something called a “teacher administered portfolio,” essentially an individual assessment of their child’s work. But parents testified that some schools didn’t offer the portfolio option, or couldn’t fulfill it on time.
Marie Claire Leman (LEE-man,) a member of the opt-out movement in Leon County, says the problem is the law is unclear.
“It confuses both the state, the districts, the parents.”
The state counters that standardized tests are necessary to end a decades-long practice of social promotion that breeds low expectations, especially for minority students.
Beth Overholt heads Opt Out Leon County. She complains students are burning out on standardized testing and that teachers know when their students are ready to advance to the next grade.
“DOE sends a lot of mandates down to the school that are unfunded and don’t make any sense and teachers need to be making these decisions and decisions should be made locally.”
Attorneys for the school districts want the case to be tried separately in different courts. Gievers is not expected to rule until later in the week.
