Yes. California Education Code section 60615 allows a parent or guardian to submit a written request to school officials to exclude his or her child from any or all parts of state-mandated assessments.
Dear Principal Name, I wanted to let you know that my child, name, will not take part in the name the test this year. We ask that you make arrangements for him/her to have a productive educational experience during the testing period. Thank you for all you do.
Parents can write and submit a refusal letter to refuse their children from taking the NYS Assessments grades 3-8.
To protect your child: For many students, the Big Test can be very stressful. To improve education for all students: Opting out is an effective way to protest the overuse and misuse of standardized tests, which forces schools to focus on the demands of the tests instead of the needs of students.