FULLERTON/PLACENTIA : 2 Districts Differ on Giving CLAS Test

One school district has announced that it will resume the controversial California Learning Assessment System, while a neighboring district decided to postpone administration of the test until the 1994-95 school year.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District decided Tuesday to resume testing after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled that the tests do not violate the state’s Education Code. The district will continue to give parents the option to exempt their child from the tests.

Critics of the test claim portions of the language arts section contain questions about a student’s personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality and religion, topics that require parental permission under Section 60650 of the California Education Code.

But Judge Robert H. O’Brien ruled the tests do not contain questions “designed to elicit the prohibited information.” O’Brien also ruled that the code’s reference to family life and morality, if constitutionally challenged, would likely be ruled too vague.

The decision to resume CLAS testing was announced at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, which was attended by dozens of parents opposed to the test.

Most of the speakers urged the board to vote to halt the tests, which is mandated by state law.

But school board members, who were allowed to read the tests, said even though they share many of the concerns expressed by parents, they were unwilling to violate the state law.

“The state has threatened to withhold funding (from districts that do not give the test),” said board member William Kielty. “I am not going to advocate civil disobedience.” Not all the board members were opposed to the test. President Judy Miner, who is a language arts teacher in the Tustin Unified School District, said the literary selections on the test were “inspirational and a springboard to creative expression.”

Meanwhile, the Fullerton School District Board of Education voted 5-0 this week to defy the state mandate requiring school districts to give the California Learning Assessment System tests by May 31.

They said teachers received the testing materials last week and did not believe one week was sufficient time to prepare students for the tests.

Teachers, who were scheduled to begin testing students Wednesday, agreed with the decision.