Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Board Votes Again Not to Give CLAS Test : Education: Acton-Agua Dulce district questions the exam’s goals and content. State officials have warned of a lawsuit.

Despite the threat of a lawsuit by state officials, the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District board has reaffirmed its decision not to administer the controversial CLAS test to its students.

At a meeting Thursday attended by more than 100 parents, the district’s board of trustees--as it did April 28--voted 4 to 1 against giving the California Learning Assessment System test because of objections to the test’s goals and content, which critics say denigrate the family.

The second vote was taken in response to a recent letter from William D. Dawson, acting state superintendent of public instruction, who had asked the board to reconsider its position.

State officials have vowed to go to court against any district that refuses to give students the test. The first such suit targeted the neighboring Antelope Valley Union High School District, and is scheduled for a hearing June 6 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

But at Thursday night’s meeting, the Acton-Agua Dulce school board “voted to stand as we are,” board President Laurie Browning said. “We asked our attorney to write to the acting superintendent of state schools and inform him of our decision.”

Allan Keown, an attorney for the state Department of Education, said Friday that his office would have no response to the Acton-Agua Dulce board’s decision until at least next week. He said the department may await a court ruling in the Antelope Valley district case before deciding whether to pursue legal action against Acton-Agua Dulce.

Some residents have expressed concern over whether the small district, with four schools and about 1,700 students, can handle the cost of a legal battle with the state. But Browning said, “We have been offered legal assistance from other sources who also oppose the CLAS test.”

Aside from its content, critics of the test have objected to the secrecy surrounding it and have complained that it asks students personal questions. Supporters of the test say it is a commendable way of measuring critical thinking skills.

“I have read the test,” said Browning, an Acton resident. “I found the material far too morbid in the writing section. I feel the test needs to be reviewed and that it is out prematurely.”

This week’s lone vote against withholding the CLAS test was cast again by Peg Spry, a retired schoolteacher. She said Friday that she believes the district should give the test because it is mandated to do so.

Spry said she also had read the test. “I don’t feel there is anything in it that will harm any child,” she said.