Whitmer To Devos: ‘Do The Right Thing’ And Waive Student Testing This Year

By Lori Higgins, Chalkbeat Detroit

Michigan’s education leaders are calling on the federal government to grant a nationwide waiver from rules that require students take state academic exams.

The request came in a letter from state Superintendent Michael Rice and Casandra Ulbrich, president of the state Board of Education, to Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education from West Michigan.

It comes a week after the U.S. Department of Education last week issued guidance saying it will consider waiving requirements for statewide tests.

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The state officials say they learned late in the week that the guidance doesn’t apply in Michigan.

“Last Friday, we inquired of the United States Department of Education if we were permitted to cancel or waive the requirement to do annual state testing under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. We were told that such permission was possible only if the window for state testing overlapped with the closure period. In Michigan, ours does not,” the letter says.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week ordered all public and private schools in the state to close through April 5 because of concerns about the coronavirus, with classes resuming for many on April 6. Some schools, though, have spring break scheduled during the week of April 6, Rice and Ulbrich said.

Testing begins the week of April 13.

“For a variety of reasons, this is not simply an undesirable situation; it is a completely unacceptable one. Many children will struggle with the long absence from school. It will take many districts a considerable period of time to resume normal functioning, not to mention refocusing on the instruction of children,” they wrote.

“It’s time for Betsy DeVos to do the right thing on behalf of our students and waive statewide assessments,” Whitmer said in a statement. “When our kids get back to school, our number one priority must be ensuring they have the resources they need to get back on track.”

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here.