Utah Officials Accept Participation Rate Provision as Part of Approval
July 14, 2018
According to Benjamin Wood in the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah schools are “poised to take a hit from parents who excuse their children from year-end tests.” After several requests for flexibility under ESSA’s participation rate provisions, the Utah Board of Education has “agreed to count opt-outs as students who took tests but failed in order to achieve a minimum participation rate of 95 percent.” Utah’s plan was approved last week by the U.S. Department of Education, “following several delays as the state requested and failed to receive a waiver from the participation requirements, or a one-year reprieve from ESSA’s mandate.”