On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-30-20 to waive the 2019−20 statewide standardized testing for all California students. In order to waive the statewide testing, however, the state must seek approval from the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
Today, March 20, 2020, Governor Newsom and the state’s local educational agencies (LEAs) received some welcome news from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos as she announced that the ED will grant a waiver to any state that is unable to conduct its statewide standardized testing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, any state that receives a one-year waiver from its statewide assessment may also receive a waiver from the requirement that testing data be used in the statewide accountability system because of the ongoing national emergency.
While the state will still need to go through the formal process of submitting its waiver to the ED and officially getting approval, this announcement means that LEAs will not have to worry about finding a way to conduct statewide testing for the 2019−20 academic year.
We will be sure to update you via the Fiscal Report when the state’s testing waiver is officially approved by the ED.