My daughter's middle school requires students to take language arts as well as reading every day. I'd like my daughter to skip the reading class so that she can take both French and art as electives, which I believe better meet her needs. She reads on her own for pleasure anyway.

Does a parent have the right to make this kind of decision? My daughter is a B+ student and recently tested in the 90th percentile on the standardized reading comprehension test.

If your daughter earned an A+ in both language arts and reading, they might allow her to substitute an elective for one of the classes — but I doubt it. Although she's academically successful and it's certainly worth asking, the school will probably insist that she take both required courses. The only exemptions from classes that the California Education Code addresses are medical exemptions from P.E., exemptions from P.E. because the student is on a school team, and exemptions from sex education and HIV/AIDS-prevention education. (See sections 51937-39 of the California Education Code for exemptions from sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention education.)

There's one other possibility: you could propose that your daughter take her reading class as an independent study course. Then she'd have a class period freed up for French or art. Since she reads on her own anyway, handling reading as an extra class shouldn't be a burden. If your district approves independent study classes, you need to speak with the coordinator of this program. Then you, the teacher, and your daughter would sit down and develop a contract indicating the material your daughter would be expected to learn, how often she'd need to meet with the supervising teacher, when she'd need to turn in any work, the grading criteria, etc.