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North Country Sen. Joe Griffo says schools shouldn’t be penalized when students opt out of Common Core tests

Posted 7/20/16

Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, is calling upon the U.S. Secretary of Education to remove a regulation that would require states to punish school districts that have too many students opt out of …

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North Country Sen. Joe Griffo says schools shouldn’t be penalized when students opt out of Common Core tests

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Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, is calling upon the U.S. Secretary of Education to remove a regulation that would require states to punish school districts that have too many students opt out of standardized tests.

Griffo is also encouraging the public to submit comments online concerning the proposed regulation, before the Aug. 1 deadline.

Griffo represents the 47th Senate District. It includes a swath running through the middle of St. Lawrence County, from Massena to Fine, including Potsdam.

In a letter to Secretary John B. King Jr. of the U.S. Department of Education, Sen. Griffo described the proposed regulation as “disconcerting.” This move, Sen. Griffo states, appears to be contradictory at a time when the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) suggested that the federal government was finally returning more control to states and local school districts over their education policies.

While the ESSA is seeking a 95 percent participation rate on standardized tests, Griffo believes that Secretary King is pushing the law too far by requiring states to develop a mechanism through which school districts will be penalized if more than 5 percent of their students fail to take any of these annual assessments.

“When the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law, many education stakeholders believed that this was the moment when the federal government was finally going to empower states and, more importantly, local school districts to govern their own education systems,” Griffo’s letter reads. “However, this proposed regulation seems to indicate that the federal government has no interest in getting out of the business of telling states, school districts, parents and their children what to do.”

“This proposed regulation seems to fly in the face of the law’s intent,” Griffo added.

The public has also been invited to comment on this proposed regulation, and Griffo is encouraging people to share their thoughts at the following link:

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=ED-2016-OESE-0032-0001

To submit an online comment, individuals can click on the “Comment Now!” button in the upper right corner of the website. All comments must be received by the deadline of Monday, August 1, 2016. 

In the New York State Senate, Senator Griffo has firmly believed in a parent’s right and choice to opt their children out of taking standardized assessments.

In fact, Griffo has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation – known as the Common Core Parental Refusal Act, S4161A – that would further empower parents to opt out their children by requiring school districts to notify parents of this right.

In supporting parental choice to opt out, Griffo believes school districts should not be subjected to punishments by the federal government if parents choose to exercise this right. And through ESSA, the federal government has signaled to states and localities that it was going to ease up on the burdensome requirements imposed through No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.

It is now Griffo’s hope that the U.S. Education Secretary will honor the spirit of the federal ESSA law that was enacted on behalf of our children, parents, teachers and other education stakeholders, and allow local communities to determine what’s best for their students.