[Mdpobc] PARCC Testing

Fri Jan 30 20:31:33 UTC 2015

I was also told that Derrick will be taking the PARCC test in braille with extended time.  I don't know if it's just a Carroll County thing ( Chris is also Carroll County ) but at Derrick's IEP meeting 3 weeks ago, that is what I was told.  In light of this issue,  I will dive further into the issue.
Mom of a 9 year old blind child,
Chrissie Day-
cmdayrdh at aol.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Nusbaum via Mdpobc <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>
To: Trudy Pickrel <tlpickrel at hotmail.com>; Maryland Parents of Blind Children List <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Fri, Jan 30, 2015 03:16 PM
Subject: Re: [Mdpobc] PARCC Testing

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All,

Miss Trudy, thank you for this information. Has anyone received word from your school as to whether the PARCC tests will be administered in Braille? At my last IEP, these tests were discussed at some length and we were assured that accemmodations would be provided—Braille, extended time, etc. These reports, however, have me a bit concerned. Moreover, a TVI here in Carroll County told me that neither the PARCC organization nor the test administrators could refuse accommodations if they are outlined in a student's IEP. Other reports, however, have explained that accommodations for PARCC must be placed in a separate "supplementary" section of the IEP, apart from the section which would contain the normal accommodations to be provided in the classroom. It's not clear to me, then, what accommodations are allowed by the PARCC organization and how to go about receiving them. Those who are seeking difinitive answers to these and similar questions may want to contact Lauren McLarney of the governmental affairs team at our national office. She has been actively working on improving accessibility for the PARCC tests, and is very involved in the lawsuit NFB has now filed against PARCC. She may have clearer and more authoritative information on these issues than I do. Meanwhile, I will keep you apprised of any information I learn as I prepare to take the PARCC in May. 

Chris Nusbaum, blind high school student

On Jan 30, 2015, at 2:50 PM, Trudy Pickrel via Mdpobc <
  <a target="_blank" href="mailto:mdpobc at nfbnet.org">mdpobc at nfbnet.org</a>> wrote:

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    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span>Parents,</span></font>

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span></span></font> 

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span>As many of you may be finding out our Students Test accommodation are being removed from their IEP's without a meeting, because they are not allowed on PARCC.</span></font>

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span>Items like a human reader, CCTV, Talking Calculators, etc.</span></font>

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span></span></font> 

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span></span></font> 

    <font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman,sans-serif" size="3"><span><span class="aolmail_UFICommentBody"><span>Another parent was just told the same thing. She has  a link to a sample test that her two sons took and they stated they would need more accommodation then is allowed by PARCC to take the test. She was told we have to advocate for accommodations <font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">all o</font></span><span><font style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">ver again</font>. We were told no readers and no CCTV. And the results don't count this year ???</span></span></span> </font>

    <font face="Times New Roman"></font> 

    <font face="Times New Roman">I was told our children could not opt out  but they could refuse to take the test, sit for 2 hrs and stare at the wall.  Keeping them out of school is not a option because there is a 2 -3 week window that they have to administer the test when ever the student comes back. </font>
    <font face="Times New Roman"> </font>

    <font face="Times New Roman"></font> 

    <font face="Times New Roman">Attached in word form is a sample letter to your principle to opt out on the bases of privacy. Please become informed and make the best decision for your student. </font>

    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/">Student Privacy Matters</a> has recently posted information to support parents in understanding how they can exercise their rights to protect their children’s privacy under federal law.  As we have reviewed the documents there are a couple things that stand out as 
    <strong>absolutely urgent for all parents to know</strong>. First, for parents of children under age 13, you have the right to review and REFUSE any online programs and online testing that your child is using – programs in which 
    <strong>your child is entering the data</strong> (this does NOT include online programs the teacher is using to enter student data). The Children’s Online Privacy Protecting Act (COPPA) allows parents to control what information is collected online from their children twelve and under. Therefore, as a parent, you have a right to find out what information is being collected, you can review what information is being collected, and 
    <strong>you can REFUSE to allow your child to participate in the online program.  You can simply opt your child out of the program – or the online test.</strong>

    <h4>This has serious implications for the Opt Out movement. As PARCC and SBAC and other online tests roll out <strong>we have a national strategy</strong> that can be used, for all children under age 13, as we  opt out/refuse the tests. Currently, any other online programs and online testing in use for under age 13 can be halted.  We know that there will be many questions to answer as we move forward with this strategy – understand that the only way to get our questions answered  is to try it. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/">Let’s do this</a>.</h4>Parents also have rights under FERPA (although those rights have been reduced 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/?page_id=455">thanks to the US Dept of Ed</a>). Rights include inspecting and correcting information in your child’s records and more – see here at 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/?page_id=317">Student Privacy Matters</a>.  Parents have additional rights under PPRA in regard to federally funded surveys and more – see this 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/?page_id=317">link</a> for more information. For an overview of all information please see this 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/?page_id=317">link</a> at Student Privacy Matters (there are additional forms and strategies to use at their website, so we recommend taking time to review them all).  In addition, there are concerns for teachers who are allowing children to participate in online programs and/or online testing without parental consent – it may be viewed as forgery of parental consent – see this 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://all4ed.org/webinar-event/oct-29-2014/?token=323313b14bd5836bbb9fabdeba7db2f9">link</a> starting at 14 minutes for more information – this might prove useful for teachers who refuse to administer tests and/or online curriculum. The UOO team is very grateful for all the work Student Privacy Matters has done to protect the privacy of our children and end the data mining that is being used to privatize our public schools. Many many thanks.

Here is the COPPA opt out form taken directly from the Student Privacy Matters website at 
    <a target="_blank" href="http://www.studentprivacymatters.org/">www.studentprivacymatters.org</a>.  This form will instruct your child’s school/district to contact the vendors/service providers (online curriculum and test programs)  on your behalf.  Student Privacy Matters states that you must keep all your records in case you need to file a complaint.

    <font color="#5f497a" face="Comic Sans MS" size="3"><strong></strong></font>

    <font color="#5f497a" face="Comic Sans MS" size="3"><strong><a target="_blank" href="http://unitedoptout.com/">http://unitedoptout.com/</a></strong></font>

    <font color="#5f497a" face="Comic Sans MS" size="3"><strong></strong></font> 

    <font color="#5f497a" face="Comic Sans MS" size="3"><strong>Trudy L. Pickrel</strong></font>

PS. Thank you Teresa Graham for the Link to Opt Out

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<PaRCC testing.docx>

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