Steiner schools say the national standards in reading, writing and maths are at odds with their educational philosophy.
They say the Government is forcing them to use the standards anyway and that is creating a crisis for them.
There are eight Steiner schools in the state system, which generally teach reading, writing and maths later than in regular schools.
Principals say that means many of their younger students might not meet the national standards and they want to ignore the standards for those students.
But the Government says that if Steiner schools do not want to use the standards, they can cancel their integration agreements and become private schools.
Raphael House Rudolph Steiner School principal Karen Brice-Geard of in Lower Hutt says the schools will talk to parents to decide what to do about the problem.
