An odd and controversial book that our daughter has to read for 11th grade English...

[Ms. Toad]

77. You seriously misunderstand the law.

And I say that both as a lawyer (currently) and a secondary teacher (for 11 years).

In California (which I am only using because I quickly found a clear recitation of the law regarding parental rights regarding curricula, with citations to the underlying law), a parent does not have a legal right to have her child not read a particular book (which is what opt out means). The school district, or a particular teacher, may choose to accommodate a request - but it is not a legal right.

As for schools not being able to tell teacher WHAT to teach, I'd love to see your legal references for that, since it is just not true.

And, to be clear, I am not saying your practical advice is a bad way to proceed - just that you have your law wrong.

ETA: As to your suggestion that the language you used ("you have the legal right in all states to determine the content of your child's learning&quot and the language I used ("opt out&quot were addressing different issues - the introduction to the document I quoted from makes it clear the document used them interchangeably:

Public school administrators, board members, and teachers in California may face the difficult task of balancing their responsibilities to make decisions about the content of curricular and other school activities, against parents’ desire to control the content of their children’s instruction, and/or “opt out” of controversial aspects of the curriculum