Dive Brief:
- New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan put her foot down on testing, vetoing a bill that would have allwed parents to opt their kids out of Common Core-related exams without any consequences.
- Hassan says she made the decision because too many students opting out could put federal funding in jeopardy, and she also indicated that opt-outs send a message that New Hampshire doesn't care about high standards.
- Hassan's veto follows her receipt of a letter from the statewide chamber of commerce urging her to block the bill.
Dive Insight:
The bill isn't totally dead yet — the legislature has a chance to override the veto if it can muster up approval from two-thirds of each chamber. State and federal law requires schools to give yearly standardized tests to students in grades 3-8, and one exam over four years to students in grades 9-12. If less than 95% of the student body sits for an exam, federal funding can be put in jeopardy.
While we have yet to see those consequences in action, last month, the federal government denied Colorado education officials' request to give schools leeway due to large numbers of students opting out of standardized testing. When the state put in a request for impunity, the U.S. Department of Education said that failing to hold schools with high opt-out rates accountable would hurt overall efforts to better schools and close the achievement gap. It also implied that funding could be cut if the state did not get its act together.