Date change for South Carolina parent protest: October 8 at 10 AM

South Carolina parents moved the date of the protest in response to parents, students, teachers, and community members, who have expressed interest in joining the event on a more convenient day.

The new date is Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 10am on the front steps of the South Carolina State House in Columbia SC, facing Gervais Blvd.

Parents object to high stakes assessment that converts classrooms into test prep and testing centers and the denial of parental rights to waive testing in order to protect the health and well-being of their students with complex medical conditions.

NUT Report: No parent involvement wanted

Gretchen Herrera, a parent of a child with Asperger's Syndrome and Type 1 diabetes asked to opt out of testing on medical grounds. Her requests were received with threats, resistance, and ultimately denied. The professional opinions from his medical team were ignored. Her son liked the virtual charter school and took the first round of tests, not wanting to "disappoint" anyone.

Mom checked his blood sugar level after the test and it was sky high, just as the lead of his medical team indicated the testing would affect blood sugar levels. In a posting on Facebook, Herrera says that she will not infict the rest of the tests on her son.

Why must I be forced to do what my doctors, my son, and I know will harm him? I want my son to have access to the joyful, useful, relevant, real, and interesting learning experience that our tax dollars pay for? I’d happily take my tax dollars elsewhere, but unfortunately, our compulsory system of compliance doesn’t afford parents such options. I am forced to subject my son to that which will make him physically and emotionally ill if he is to get the education he he deserves. The system has failed and my child is being left behind.

Read the full story here.

NUT = No Unnecessary Tests