NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6025A
SPONSOR: Tedisco (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to
enacting the "common core parental refusal act"
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to
ensure school districts notify parents of students via written communi-
cation in grades three through eight that such students may refuse to
participate in all state testing provided by Pearson Incorporated or any
other State testing based on Common Core standards.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Amends Section 305 of the Education
Law by adding a new subdivision 51-b which calls upon the Commissioner
to ensure that school districts notify parents of students in grades
three through eight, either by mail and/or mailed letter, that such
students may refuse to participate in all state testing provided by
Pearson or any other state testing based on common core standards. Such
notification shall be given no sooner than fourteen days and no later
than seven days before the scheduled administration of such testing.
Ensures and outlines a universal notification method be posted on school
district websites as well as a universal method for parental response.
Prohibits punitive measures for test refusal against:
*A particular district in the form of withheld state aid.
*A particular school within a district for low participation rates.
*A teacher or consideration when evaluating a teacher's performance.
*A student, nor a reward for those students who do participate in such
exams.
Moreover, those students not participating in such exams will be
provided alternate educational activity at such times these tests are
being administered by virtue of this subdivision.
JUSTIFICATION: Both parents and teachers have expressed concern over
the direction testing of our children has taken in New York State and in
particular in regards to how such testing of the new Common Core stand-
ards is being applied along with the high stakes associated with the
results of such tests. These high-stakes, standardized, Common Core
tests have been widely considered a fatally flawed proxy for genuine
evaluation. In the year 2014 alone, parents of 60,000 students refused
New York State Common Core tests.
This bill codifies that parents receive proper notification of their
rights as it relates to refusing to have their children participate in
these field tests.
More importantly, it protects school districts, individual schools,
teachers, and students alike from facing any withholding of funds, state
takeovers, sanctions, negative impact on a teacher's evaluation or any
other punitive measures associated with the outcomes related to test
refusal.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to State, minimal to school districts
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6025--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 11, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TEDISCO, BARRON, BRABENEC, BUTLER, CROUCH, DiPIE-
TRO, DUPREY, FRIEND, GOODELL, GRAF, HAWLEY, JOHNS, KATZ, KEARNS,
LALOR, LOPEZ, LUPINACCI, McDONOUGH, McLAUGHLIN, NOJAY, PALMESANO, RA,
WALTER, MURRAY, PALUMBO, CURRAN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
BARCLAY, BLANKENBUSH, CERETTO, GARBARINO, LAWRENCE, MALLIOTAKIS, SALA-
DINO, STEC, TENNEY, THIELE, WOZNIAK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "common
core parental refusal act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "common
2 core parental refusal act".
3 § 2. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 51-b to read as follows:
5 51-b. The commissioner shall ensure that school districts notify
6 parents of students in grades three through eight, either by email
7 and/or a mailed letter, that such students may refuse to participate in
8 all state testing provided by Pearson or any other state testing based
9 on common core standards. Such notification shall be given no sooner
10 than fourteen days and no later than seven days prior to the scheduled
11 administration of such testing. Such notification shall read as
12 follows:
13 "It is the right of every parent to direct the upbringing and educa-
14 tion of their children. Parents may refuse to permit their children to
15 take state testing provided by Pearson or any other state testing based
16 on common core standards. Parents who refuse to permit their children to
17 take such tests may fill out and return the attached form. No punitive
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09318-07-6
A. 6025--A 2
1 measures may be taken against students who refuse to participate in such
2 testing, nor shall students who do participate in such testing receive
3 any incentive or reward for doing so."
4 The text of such notification shall be posted on school district
5 websites.
6 The response form, which shall be contained within the notification,
7 shall read as follows:
8 "As the parent or legal guardian of ___________(child's full name), I
9 respectfully and formally state my refusal to permit my child to take
10 part in testing provided by Pearson or any other state testing based on
11 common core standards. My child shall be scored as a 'refusal', rather
12 than as 'absent', in accordance with the student information repository
13 system, and therefore my child will continue to receive a free and
14 appropriate public education in his/her regular classroom environment
15 during the administration of all makeup test periods as this letter
16 provides written verification of a 'refusal' for all tests."
17 Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, it
18 shall be unlawful for any school district to require a student to
19 participate in testing provided by Pearson or any other state testing
20 based on common core standards. It shall further be unlawful for any
21 school district to take punitive measures against students who refuse to
22 participate in such testing, or provide any form of incentive or reward
23 for students who do so participate. School districts shall provide
24 students whose parents refuse to permit their testing participation with
25 an alternate educational activity during scheduled state testing times.
26 It shall be unlawful for school districts to require such students to be
27 placed in a testing room or environment during scheduled state testing
28 times or makeup times. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision
29 two of section three hundred six of this article, state aid for schools
30 shall not be contingent on or in any way affected by the student partic-
31 ipation rate for testing provided by Pearson or any other state testing
32 based on common core standards. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or
33 regulation to the contrary, score results on Pearson or any other state
34 testing based on common core standards shall not constitute grounds or
35 be considered as a factor for determining whether a school is a chron-
36 ically underperforming or failing school. Nor shall a school district
37 give any consideration to classroom participation rates in such testing
38 when evaluating teacher performance or making personnel decisions. It
39 shall likewise be unlawful for a school district to re-allocate funding
40 among or between schools within such district based on student partic-
41 ipation rates for such testing.
42 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
