Parent letter opting out of Read to Achieve portfolio

Yesterday I posted a parent letter to lawmakers that referenced a letter to a principal/school.  This is the letter that this parent is sharing in hopes that others may find it useful.

Dear Principal,
I am the parent of (name), a third grade student at your school. I acknowledge I have a right to guide the upbringing and education of my child and the Supreme Court has upheld this right. According to the U.S Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, my rights to religious/spiritual freedom protect me; and this federal law supersedes state in regard to parental control over one’s child. Under the law, you cannot deny my request.
Parental rights are broadly protected by Supreme Court decisions (Meyer and Pierce), especially in the area of education. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that parents posses the “fundamental right” to “direct the upbringing and education of their children.” Furthermore, the Court declared that “the child is not the mere creature of the State: those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” (Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35) The Supreme Court criticized a state legislature for trying to interfere “with the power of parents to control the education of their own.” (Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 402.) In Meyer, the Supreme Court held that the right of parents to raise their children free from unreasonable state interferences is one of the unwritten “liberties” protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (262 U.S. 399). In recognition of both the right and responsibility of parents to control their children’s education, the Court has stated, “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for the obligations the State can neither supply nor hinder.” (Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158)

This letter is notification that I am opting out my child, (name of child) of the Read to Achieve test. I do have a reasonable expectation that I will not be harassed or coerced to change my decision.

-Many thanks to the parent who shared these letters!