Janice Lenox and Michelle Mellon formed Concerned Citizens of New Jersey to work with parents and teachers to get Common Core curriculum out of NJ public schools. For a brief John Stossel video explaining why, please click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5q_6ifEYCE
During the past year, they made phone calls, wrote letters, attended school board meetings, and met countless state, county, and local officials. They even persuaded the NJ Assembly to pass a law rejecting Common Core. However, at the last minute, Democrat State Senator Sweeney made a deal with Republican Governor Christie. Sweeney agreed not to let State Senate vote on law (S2154) until a committee appointed by Governor completes a study. It appears that both Sweeney and Christie are using this “study” to delay and kill any concrete measures to reject Common Core until it is too late.
Through social media, many parents voiced a strong desire to ?OPT OUT? of the PARCC testing that is scheduled to begin in March. The PAARC tests are a critical first step to implement the Common Core Curriculum. If enough students refuse to take the test, it will be very hard for schools to implement Common Core.
After discussions with Common Core opponents around the state, Janice Lennox and Michelle Mellon are recommending that parents opposed to Common Core complete and submit opt-out forms to the principal of your child’s school. If you cannot get the form from your school, please request a form from us or Janice Lenox. Email us at info@libertyandprosperity.org or telephone Janice Lenox at (609) 846-7842. Common Core opponents originally recommended that these forms be submitted by this Monday, January 5. However, because we are late in getting this notice out, we recommend that the forms be submitted no later than January 15.
We are not experts in school law, but we have been informed 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.
Please share this information on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email with all your friends. We look forward to the movement and success of ?NO PARCCING? for our children. For further information, please contact Janice Lenox of Concerned Citizens of South Jersey at (609) 846-7842