Assessment Exemptions

All students enrolled in a public school district are expected to take part in Rhode Island’s statewide academic assessment program in one of three ways:

participate in the general education assessments without accommodations
participate in the general education assessments with accommodations
participate in the alternate assessments

Students may only be exempted from testing under certain, limited conditions.

Rhode Island defines a serious illness or medical condition as one that prevents the student from receiving classroom instruction and from participating in statewide assessments for the remainder of the testing window. The tabs below contain the information and guidance necessary to complete a request for a medical exemption.

Guidance and Forms

Guidance Documents:

Information on how to submit an exemption request begins in Appendix E: Requesting Medical Exemptions from Statewide Assessments, in the RISAP Test Coordinator Handbook posted at www.ride.ri.gov/tc. This section explains the criteria a student's situation should meet in order to receive an exemption from statewide testing, the steps districts and schools must take to complete an exemption, and directions for entering the exemption request into the RI Portal system.
Recorded presentation on medical exemptions (12.2023)

Individual Forms:

Form 1: District Assurances Form (pdf): (posted 10/13/2023) This online RI Portal form must be completed by the superintendent of the district where the student is enrolled. This pdf is an example of the online form - there is nothing to fax to RIDE.
Form 2: Parent Forms (pdf): The parent or guardian of the student must sign this form and submit it to the school or district office. Keep on file at the district office; do not fax to RIDE.
- Portuguese version of Form 2 (pdf)
- Spanish version of Form 2 (pdf)
Form 3: Treating Physician/Mental Health Professional Form (pdf): This form must be signed by the physician or mental health professional who is treating the student. Keep on file at the district office; do not fax to RIDE.
- Portuguese version of Form 3 (pdf)

NOTE: The online testing platforms may allow for schools to enter "not tested" codes, such as a medical or other exemption types. RIDE does not consider these approved exemptions. The only way to receive an approved exemption from testing is to complete the process outlined in the Medical Exemption Guidance section of the RISAP Handbook.

Directions for Submitting a Medical Exemption Request through the RI Portal system.

Districts must enter the exemption request into the State Assessment Exemption Requests application in the RI Portal in order for the request to be considered for approval.

Instructions for entering the exemption request into the State Assessment Exemption Requests application in the RI Portal can be found in Appendix E of the RISAP Test Coordinator Handbook.
Recorded presentation on medical exemptions (12.2023)
Link to log into the RI Portal: https://portal.ride.ri.gov/Account/Login

NOTE:

Outplacement schools cannot enter exemption requests into the RI Portal. The sending district must complete the request in the RI Portal.
The superintendent's office has access to the State Assessment Exemption Requests application in the RI Portal. Principals and other school administrators do not.

Dates for Submitting Medical Exemption Requests

In order for an exemption request to be considered complete, the request must be entered into the State Assessment Exemption Requests application in the RI Portal by your district. Sign-in is required. Dates for completing medical exemption requests are listed below. Please see the other tabs for information on completing a request.

2024 Dates for completing medical exemption requests in the RI Portal State Assessment Exemption Requests application. Districts can begin the process for completing the forms at any time. The medical exemption request must be entered into the RI portal before a request is considered complete and can be reviewed:

TEST	EXEMPTION REQUEST OPEN	EXEMPTION REQUEST CLOSED
ACCESS / Alt ACCESS	March 1	April 1
NAEP	N/A	N/A
DLM	April 26	June 30
SAT	April 26	June 30
PSAT10	April 26	June 30
RICAS ELA	April 26	June 30
RICAS Math	April 26	June 30
NGSA	April 26	June 30

NOTES: The online testing platforms may allow for schools to enter "not tested" codes, such as a medical or other approved exemption. RIDE does not consider these approved exemptions. The only way to receive an approved exemption from testing is to complete the process outlined in the RISAP Test Coordinator Handbook.

Directions for Outplacement Schools

Outplacement schools are responsible for the following:

ensuring the request meets the criteria for a medical exemption
communicating to the sending district the reason a medical exemption should be requested
completing Forms 2 and 3 (the parent and physician/mental health professional forms).
ensuring the sending district has copies of Forms 2 and 3. The outplacement school should keep the original copies.

Sending districts are responsible for the following:

reviewing the reason for the request to ensure it meets the criteria for a medical exemption
discussing the reason for the request with the outplacement school
reviewing Forms 2 and 3
entering Form 1 assurances into the medical exemption application on the RI Portal
answering any questions RIDE may have about the request
keeping medical exemption documentation in a secure location at the district office