ALTERNATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR OPT-OUT STUDENTS

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR OPT-OUT STUDENTS

ag2240BAdopted May 1, 2014Revised January 13, 2020

2240B - ALTERNATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR OPT-OUT STUDENTS

Situations may arise in which the parent has requested that their child not participate in a particular instructional activity. Board of Education policy authorizes that such requests are to be honored if the reason relates to a conflict between the subject matter and religious or philosophical beliefs held by the parents. Requests may not be honored, however, if the reason relates not to subject matter but to pedagogy or other concerns. In such cases, the parent should be referred to the curriculum director or Superintendent.

When a student is to be excused from an activity, the teacher should:

  1. prepare an alternative activity in the general subject area which the student can work at on his/her own to reinforce and/or extend acquired learning of content and/or skill or develop new knowledge or skill;
  2. arrange for a work location for the student that is properly supervised and provides access to help, if and when needed;
  3. try to ensure that there are no repercussions for the student either academically or socially as a result of not participating in the regularly- scheduled activity;
  4. keep a record of the alternative activity for communication with the parents, if such information is requested.

Student Options for Animal Dissection Coursework 

In accordance with Michigan State Board of Education policy, written requests regarding objections to animal dissection shall be honored. A student who objects to dissection activities shall be permitted to demonstrate competency through an alternative method. Teachers shall provide the student with an alternate project (i.e., completing modules on interactive computer software) that does not involve participating in or observing dissection and through which the student can learn and be assessed on the material required by the course. The alternate project shall be selected by the teacher and include a comparable amount of work to the dissection activity. As with other Opt-Out situations, there shall be no repercussions for the student, either academically or socially, as a result of not participating in the regularly scheduled animal dissection activities.

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