Pennylane2011

You have to have a note from a religious leader (Rabbi.. etc) for religious exemption. Although the majority of testers are probably Jewish I think there are other religions as well (7th Day Adventist?). As far as I know, one can only take the Sunday test for religious reasons, and it is not offered everywhere.
I don't think they know the OP's religion, but that there was not a religious exemption on file.
In general, strict rules to prevent cheating are a good thing. In this case, an honest student's goals were disrupted and that is really unfortunate. If they were not willing to take his photo, I doubt they would waive the religious exemption without prior arrangement.

intparent

We were able to use D2's regular school photo, scanned the 8 1/2 x 11 (that photo that always comes in the cheapest package that almost never gets given to anyone because it isn't THAT good...). We had tried a couple of other pictures that are more attractive before that, but they were rejected by the website because they were not detailed enough resolution. Just saying that if you happen to have that sitting around from last year (or the year before if they have not changed too much in appearance), it worked for us.

scubasue

Pennylane...thanks for the explanation. Of course, I guess it does make sense that there has to be documentation of a legitmate religious "excuse" for the exemption.

At first, I thought the suggestion for a lawyer was a huge overreaction, but after reading the OPs latest post, I see that the consequences to this student are so significant that maybe one is warranted anyway.

OP....that being said, I DO think the ACT is your only solution to your immediate issue. Your son's stats are higher than my son's. After trying the SAT twice, I signed him up for the ACT and only gave him a few days notice. I didn't tell him anything about the test and told him not to worry about preparing. He literally did not know a single thing about the ACT (we're on the west coast--no one out here takes that test). Long story short--he did better on the ACT (significantly better on the math) than the SAT. After he saw the results, he did a one practice test from the book to get the timing down and took it a second time. Long story short: his 2nd ACT score was better in all subjects than his SAT score--so much so that he didn't send SAT scores to any of his schools.

In my opinion (I've studied both tests in great detail now), the timing is just not going to be a big issue for your son. It can't hurt to at least have him try it.

perazziman

Would most people in such a situation use a local lawyer or someone in Princeton?

Pennylane2011

I just purchased my child's school photos. I sent an e mail with the new SAT and ACT photo rules to inform the company of these new rules. I suggested that they include an e mail photo that meets the requirements in the packet that parents buy. Even if they charge a small fee for it, a high quality uploadable photo would be a great service and convenience to families.
I know different companies do photos for different schools, but every child gets one taken, and hopefully a low cost packet with this would make it possible for students to have one. If everyone writes their photo company, it may help.