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SDLA Compliance Resource

Honor a Written Parent Request to Excuse a Student From CAASPP

A neutral intake-and-documentation process that distinguishes a legally sufficient written request from a phone call, staff solicitation, or an assumed exemption.

  • CAASPP
  • Parent Rights
  • Written Request
Date(s)During the CAASPP cycle; process promptly enough to prevent unintended testing
Applies toCalifornia public-school pupils whose parent or guardian submits a written request to school officials

In Plain Language: A parent or guardian may submit a written request asking that the child be excused from any or all CAASPP parts, and the school must grant it. The state does not prescribe magic words or a mandatory form.

Why this matters

A clean process protects the family’s choice, keeps staff neutral, prevents accidental testing, and gives coordinators an auditable scope and student match.

Joint ownership

Intake: principal/designee. Implementation: CAASPP coordinator and test-site staff. Partners: parent, registrar, teacher, and records staff.

From a written parent request to confirmed non-participation in CAASPP: the SDLA ITO workflow

The request is handled neutrally and applied before any testing session. This SDLA ITO (Input, Transformation, Output) graphic shows how the written parent request, pupil and school identity, and testing-system controls become the retained request, the implementation controls, and the final participation reconciliation.

SDLA ITO: eleven steps from the written parent request, pupil and school identity, and testing-system controls, through date-stamping, scope clarification, marking the pupil, and confirming, to the retained request, the implementation controls, and the final participation reconciliation.
Read down each column, then move to the next: Input identifies what to collect; Transformation covers date-stamping, scope clarification, marking the pupil, and confirming; Output covers the retained request, the implementation controls, and the final participation reconciliation. Process promptly enough to prevent unintended testing.

Open the full-size workflow graphic

Operational workflow

  1. Date-stamp the writing and verify parent/guardian identity, student, school, school year, and requested scope.
  2. If scope is unclear, neutrally ask the parent to clarify in writing; do not expand or narrow the request.
  3. Mark the student in local and testing controls before any session; notify only staff who need to implement it.
  4. Confirm receipt/implementation, retain the request, and reconcile the final participation record.

Practical wording—not a state-required script

“I am the parent/guardian of [student], [grade/school].”
“Under Education Code section 60615, I request that my child be excused from [all CAASPP assessments / named parts] for 2026–27.”
Parent/guardian name, date, and contact information

Evidence to retain

  • Original written request and received date
  • Identity/scope clarification
  • Testing-system and roster controls
  • Implementation confirmation
  • Final reconciliation

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current federal and California law, CDE and test-contractor manuals, local board policy, adopted instruments, individual student circumstances, and live system status before acting.