Today, Assembly Committee on Education members, Assemblymen Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and Dean Murray (R,C,I-East Patchogue), called on the New York State Education Department (SED) to release the number of students who refused to participate in the state’s English Language Arts test. Based on self-reporting, thousands of New Yorkers are refusing Common Core for their children.

“Since the hasty roll out of the Common Core curriculum, our conference has diligently fought to make the concerns of New York’s students, teachers and parents heard,” said Ra, Ranking Minority Member of the Assembly Committee on Education. “While our efforts to implement meaningful reform have been unwavering, I believe the profound movement by thousands of parents to boycott the first round of high-stakes testing has been a defining moment. I am calling on SED to release the exact number of students and parents who refused testing, as these numbers will emphasize the need to fix our broken education system once and for all.”

“A message has been sent loud and clear by parents across this state by refusing Common Core for their children,” said Murray. “The State Education Department should do the right thing and release statewide numbers showing just how many parents stood up to Albany's inappropriate testing mandates so New Yorkers can see the true outpouring of opposition to high-stakes testing and the governor's so-called education reforms.”