Parent Waiver/Parent Refusal Process

Parent’s Right to Opt out of the EL Program 

Some parents of students identified as ELs may choose to waive language assistance program for their children; however, school districts are still held responsible for providing language support under Office for Civil Rights law. Although the parents have chosen to waive a formal language assistance program, the students have been identified and coded as ELs and will continue to be coded as such until the students reaches an English proficiency level that meets the state requirements for exiting the language instructional program. 

Parent Waiver/Parent Refusal Process 

If the parents wish to waive or refuse the ESOL program, the ESOL teacher must hold an initial meeting with parents at the onset of the school year and document that participation in the ESOL program has been waived by completing a Parent Waiver Letter (available in Project ELL). 

Parents must initiate the Parent Waiver Letter annually. Once notified, ESOL teachers will generate the form in Project ELL then send the waiver home for parents to sign and return. Once complete, ESOL teachers will send a copy of the signed waiver to APSESOL@atlanta.k12.ga.us and the student’s status will be updated in Infinite Campus by District ESOL Personnel. The status is coded as EL under the EL tab in Infinite Campus. However, under the EL Services tab, the student is coded as NonESOL01:Parent refusal - indirect serv and must be coded as such each year with the letter of consent until the student reaches an English proficiency level that meets the state requirements for exiting the language instructional program. A copy is also placed in the permanent record. ELs whose parents have waived are still eligible for accommodations for standardized testing. ESOL teachers must monitor the progress of all students whose parents have waived the EL program through the monitoring form in Project ELL. 

Reminder: Waived ELs must participate in the ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 annually until exiting criteria is met (5.0 or above Overall Composite ACCESS Score).