Delaware Governor Vetoes Bill to Let Kids Opt Out of Standardized Tests

Gov. Jack Markell has vetoed a controversial bill that would allow parents to pull their kids out of Delaware's standardized test. Lawmakers and parent groups who supported the bill are furious and demanding the General Assembly override the action when it returns in January, which would require a three-fifths majority in both chambers.

 

In the session that just ended, both houses approved the bill with such majorities — 31-5 in the House and 15-6 in the Senate.

 

Markell has opposed the bill since its inception and rallied business and civil rights leaders against it.

 

The legislation "would undermine the only objective tool we have to understand whether our children are learning and our schools are improving," Markell said in his veto message to lawmakers. "It has the potential to marginalize our highest need students, threaten tens of millions of dollars of federal funding and undermine our state's economic competitiveness – all without adequately addressing the issues that motivated many to support the legislation."

 

This is the first education-related bill that Markell, who considers himself an "education governor," has vetoed.