January 5th, Are you ready?

A few weeks ago this letter came across my email:

Happy Sunday friends,

Concerned Citizens of New Jersey are committed to restoring the freedoms of education to all children.  We are confident that with your support and dedication this will be accomplished.  You have been courageous and steadfast in the past several months by making phone calls, writing letters, attending school board meetings and informing your friends and family of the dangers and threats of the Common Core State Standards.  We are still fighting to get our legislation voted on.  S2154 still remains dormant, due to the Governor’s E.O. #159.

Through social media, many of you have voiced a strong desire to “OPT OUT” of the PARCC testing that is scheduled to begin in March.  We’ve met with group leaders and folks throughout New Jersey who agree with you.  Therefore, we have set January 5, 2015 as the date for submission of opt-out forms to your local school principals.  We’re calling the movement “NO PARCCING”.  Attached is a copy of the form and instructions.   Information below is from a trusted source, received yesterday, regarding any legal ramifications. “There aren’t any”!!

There are no financial penalties that can be placed on schools if participation in a state-ordered test falls below 95%.

In fact, if opt-outs amount to more than 95% at a grade level, the test at that grade level becomes invalid and unreliable and its results cannot be used for ANY purpose.

Only school board members can set penalties of any kind against students who have opted out (declaring them truant or absent or needing to make up the test at a later time). Administrators cannot set these penalties arbitrarily, whether in the school district or at a DoE or on a Board of Education.   These penalties (if there are to be any) must be discussed in public and voted on openly by a board (not likely to happen)..

Parents opting out their kids can tell their school administrators that they want an appropriate instructional session provided for children who come to school but have been opted out of the state-mandated test.   The local school board can also vote to require the superintendent and staff to provide appropriate alternative instructional sessions for opted-out students.

Mark your calendars, phones and agendas for JANUARY 5^th, 2015.  Also, share this on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email with all your friends.  We look forward to the movement and success of “NO PARCCING” for our children.  Any questions, give me a holler!  God Bless you.

Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you and your families.

Jan

CCSNJ

 

While some of the details in this letter are New Jersey specific and we can’t come up with something as catchy as “NO PARCCING” because we belong to SBAC; I think it’s time we join forces with our neighbors to the far east and others around the country as they refuse to have their children subjected to these out-of-control assessments.

We’ve been working on putting together details and support for parents.  We have the URL  www.refusethetestidaho.com and hope to fill it with information and support for parents.

Here is a refusal letter you can start with.