Veto override on HB 50 shot down in Delaware
Standardized testing is a controversial topic that has a lot of parents and educators in Delaware concerned. House Bill 50 would let parents opt their child out of testing such as the Smarter Balanced Test, but just a few weeks ago Governor Jack Markell vetoed it. On Thursday, parents and legislators rallied at legislative hall to over-ride that veto – but it failed to pass.
47 ABC spoke with Senator David Lawson and he says, “I’m very disappointed in him, very disappointed in him.”
Lawson says that this bill is a parents right issue and legislators did what they needed to do and what the public wanted done, “and he single handily stops the parents rights? I think that’s pretty deplorable.”
Yvonne Johnson is also less than thrilled about this veto. Johnson is the vice president for advocacy for Delaware PTA.
Johnson tells 47 ABC, “We’re not telling parents to opt out we just want parents to make that decision on their own and that’s what this bill does it’s a parental rights bill. They want parent involvement they say parent involvement is the key to a child’s success which I completely, I live and breathe parent involvement, and this is another way that a parent is involved in their child’s education.”
Johnson also says she has two petitions with over one thousand signatures. A petition that Jill Shilling, a mother of two, agrees with.
Shilling tells 47 ABC, “It’s our right they’re our children they don’t belong to the state, the minute we drop them off at school at 8 in the morning they don’t belong to the state their still our children and we have the right to guide their education as we see fit.”
After opting her two children out of the testing, Shilling was sent a letter from the school, one that she called threatening. That’s when she decided enough was enough. She removed both children from school and sent them both to private school.
Shilling tells 47 ABC, “It hits true to our hearts because these are our children, these are our children were fighting for we have raised them from birth and we believe we know what’s best in their education and I want to be respected in my school system when I make that choice.”
Even though lawmakers voted to not override the veto, Johnson says their fight will not end there. They will continue to fight for house bill 50 until they get the answers they want. Governor Markell has said allowing students to opt out of standardized tests could marginalize the highest-need students and threaten millions of dollars in federal funding.
