Right now, I am sitting in a coffee shop while my son is at school. The Delaware PTA sponsored rally to override the veto of House Bill 50 is going to happen today outside Legislative Hall in Dover at 1pm. I hope to attend and speak. Below is what I will be saying and what I emailed to the Delaware House of Representatives today. Should circumstances not allow me to be present at the rally (as I am writing this at 10am), I wanted to make sure this got out there. This is the heart of my personal reasons why I have fought so hard for House Bill 50 and a parent’s choice to opt their child out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Jacob’s Opt-Out
I want to thank everyone who could make it today. Thank you to Yvonne Johnson, Terri Hodges, and the Delaware PTA for their incredible and outstanding support on House Bill 50. Thank you to the DSEA for their support of a parent’s right to opt their child out of standardized testing. Thank you to Rep. John Kowalko and Senator Dave Lawson for seeing the wisdom in bringing this bill forward in support of student and parental rights. Thank you to all the legislators who voted yes for the bill last Spring, and I pray you will find it in your hearts to echo your votes today.
While all of this has been going on for the past year, I have been unable to talk about my personal experience with opting my son out. Many have asked me what kind of response I received, and I said that I didn’t believe there was any. Now that matters have been resolved with my son Jacob’s former district, I feel it is important to let folks know what happened to him and my family when we opted him out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
My son had an IEP at his school. It was a very difficult IEP process as my son’s disabilities are very unique. There was a great deal of conflict with some of the members of his IEP team, I will not shy away from that. But we were always at the table and able to work through the issues. Until I opted my son out in a letter to the Delaware State News on October 7th, 2014. Immediately afterwards, my son’s situation at his school deteriorated. We received a very threatening letter from the district superintendent within days of the article posting, even going so far as advising us we would not be allowed to be involved in our son’s IEP process unless we “behaved”. While the letter did not mention opt out, it became more than obvious the school was not in the same collaborative mood they had been previously. At the end of October that year, my son was denied social skills services that were a part of his signed IEP. Accommodations were not being followed with fidelity. Communication over things going on with my son came to a stop. The principal would not address me at all. On December 23rd, after eight physical assaults against my son at his school, he received a concussion. He went on homebound instruction for the rest of the school year, and we had no choice but to pull him out of his district and send him to a private school, at great personal pain and expense to my family.
I love my son more than anything in this world. He suffered immensely, I believe, due to my decision to opt him out. I wrestle with guilt over that every single day, but I stand firm in my belief that I made the right decision for him. My son is not a test score. He is not data. He is a human being. I support House Bill 50 because it is about protecting a parent’s choice and it gives protection to students. I firmly believe, with every fiber of my being, that if House Bill 50 was put into law in October 2014, my son’s life would be completely different. This is Jacob’s story, and I hope and pray no student ever has to go through the pain, loneliness, and depression my son went through. No parent should ever have to question decisions they make for their child when it is supported by something they feel is right for their child after careful research and consideration. This is something I haven’t shared with anyone until now because of how personal it is, but I believe now is the time.
To the Delaware House of Representatives: Please vote yes for both the suspension of rules and the override of House Bill 50 today. Please put aside the political bickering over suspension of rules for this one issue today and vote for what is right for the students and parents of Delaware. The people of Delaware are watching you and they want their voices to be heard.
The Season Of Myths 