Humble ISD fully respects and acknowledges requests to have students “opt out” of STAAR/EOC testing; however, under state and federal laws, the district is unable to honor this type of request because it is not an option offered in Texas.

Does a parent have the right to “opt out” his/her child from STAAR testing?

No, according to the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Texas public schools are required to provide all eligible testers who are in attendance during the administration (including make-up testing days) with an opportunity to participate in the test. Specifically, Texas Education Code 39.023(a) requires “all students” to be assessed by the appropriate level test. Consequently, school districts do not have a choice as to whether they administer state tests, End-Of-Course (EOC) tests, or STAAR assessments to all eligible testers; they are required to do so by Texas law. If a school district does not abide by the law, the district is required to report this violation to the Texas Education Agency and thus, face consequences for those actions.

Why doesn’t the Texas Education Code Chapter 26.010 apply to state testing?

The district realizes that the Texas Education Code Chapter 26, “Parental Rights and Responsibilities” can be confusing.  TEC section 26.010 (a-b) clarifies that a parent is not entitled to remove the parent’s child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject for an entire semester.  

What are the student consequences for not completing state testing?

If a student attends class but refuses to take the STAAR or STAAR EOC test, the test must still be scored, as required by the Texas Education Agency.  Students who refuse to take the End-of- Course (EOC) exams in high school may not be able to graduate.

What are the campus/district consequences of not completing state testing?

As part of the state and federal accountability systems, eligible testers who are not present for required testing will impact campus and district achievement scores.  This impact will be reflected in final accountability ratings. These are consequences that a parent should consider.

What are parent options?

Humble ISD knows that standardized testing is a sensitive topic for many parents, and, as noted above, we respect these viewpoints on this subject.

Parent options are:

• The student participates in STAAR/EOC testing on campus.
• The face-to-face student does not attend school during the administration (including make-up testing days) and will be marked as absent.
• The student attends school, is provided an opportunity to test, and then refuses to test.  The STAAR/EOC test will be sent to the testing vendor for scoring.  The student will receive a raw score of “zero” on the assessment and the lowest possible scale score for the grade/subject.
• A virtual student who does not come to campus to complete the STAAR/EOC testing will be considered a refusal. The STAAR/EOC test will be sent to the testing vendor for scoring. The student will receive a raw score of “zero” on the assessment and the lowest possible scale score for the grade/subject.
• Eligible testers who do not participate in STAAR/EOC may be subject to completing 30 hours of accelerated instruction for each subject.

Who do I contact at my child’s school for additional information?

Please contact your child’s principal or assistant principal.