Bill on test-taking options clears Legislature,

Schools can’t punish students who refuse to take state tests if Deal signs measure.

Students will have a clear right to refuse to take state tests in schools without being punished if Gov. Nathan Deal signs legislation approved by the Georgia Senate Monday.

House Bill 425 says schools cannot punish students who refuse to take standardized state tests, and it encourages state and local school boards to let students take the tests with paper and pencil rather than on a computer.

The bill by Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson, passed 44-9 after passing the House of Representatives on March 3 by a comfortable margin.

Deal vetoed similar legislation, Senate Bill 355, last year.

The Georgia Department of Education has argued that parents can already refuse the tests, but advocates for the measure say the law is unclear and schools punish students by subtle means, such as denying them ice cream after testing or making them stare at a wall during testing.

Parent Stacey Gyorgyi worked with lawmakers on both bills.

She said this one was designed to discourage a veto by not specifically saying that students can opt out of testing.

Instead, the legislation focuses on possible consequences.

”The parent has a right to refuse whether it’s in law or not,” she said. “What I need is a law that says when the parent refuses, the child will not be punished.”

The legislation requires school districts to develop “alternate instructional activities” during testing periods for students who refuse the test.