ALBANY, NY (March 26, 2021) – The Members of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus issued a letter today to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in support of the New York State Education Department’s request for a waiver of standardized test requirements for students across the state.

“After a year that has disrupted all aspects of our daily lives, it is unconscionable to expect our students to be prepared for standardized tests when their academic year has been anything but standard,” said Chairwoman Michaelle Solages. “Teachers and students have been through a difficult year since the pandemic hit New York last March. For the last quarter of the 2019-20 school year, schools went remote and had to scramble – to varying degrees of success – to provide students with access to the internet. Further, teachers had to shift their lessons on the fly to provide packets of work and lessons on the computer. All of this occurred while relatives became sick with the virus, families lost loved ones, and New York became the epicenter of the virus outbreak.”

“Many communities across our state continue to experience significant difficulties related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” said Assemblyman Nader Sayegh. “Requiring standardized testing when schools are on the precipice of potentially reopening this Spring will only serve to undermine the efforts of educators to ensure students are prepared for the next academic year, rather than preparing them for arbitrary assessments which will be of little qualitative value.”

Chairwoman Solages continued, “rather than imposing an inconsistent and near-impossible standard on students, parents, and teachers, our communities should be focused on addressing the emotional needs of students caused by the pandemic and racial unrest of the last year. Thus, we strongly urge the Department of Education to grant this waiver.”