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Tag team persuades Newell to back down

The Newell School District went into March like a lion and out like a lamb.

On March 1, the school counselor sent all homeschool families a letter incorrectly stating that South Dakota law required all students in grades 3-8 and 11 to take the Dakota Step tests.

Only students in grades 2, 4, 8, and 11 need to take a standardized test. Furthermore, any nationally-normed standardized achievement test will satisfy this requirement.

On behalf of our members, Home School Legal Defense Association called the school counselor and explained that her letter misrepresented state law. Refusing to back down, she declared that South Dakota Department of Education officials had told her that homeschoolers were required to take the Dakota Step tests.

To track the error to its purported source, HSLDA called the state department of education. The official to whom we spoke was shocked to hear that a public school had offered the Dakota Step test to homeschoolers. It is intended to be a closed test given only to public school students. The official also acknowledged that HSLDA was correct about the required ages for testing.

At our request, the official called the school counselor to correct her misapprehensions. When we next contacted the counselor, she acknowledged her errors and promised to send a correction letter to Newell County's homeschool families.