Common Core, the federal education-standards initiative, can’t stay out of the headlines.
Black leaders have called it racist, and it’s been slammed by politicians such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
“You think the math standards are bad, what will happen once the federal government starts setting the standards for how American history is taught to our kids?” he demanded. “Under the Obama administration, the instruction would not be about American exceptionalism; it would be all about how the United States causes victimization.”
Parents and students have objected, and it’s been blasted for teaching lessons such as how to sympathize with Hamas, create a Palestinian state and divide Jerusalem.
Now, a California school district is being accused of hiding the truth about the program to try to get more children involved.
The new lawsuit alleges that the Walnut Valley Unified School District is declining to tell parents about their rights to refuse involvement in the program.
The action was brought by the Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Concerned Parents of California.
“Just like everyone else, school districts must follow the law,” noted PJI attorney Michael Peffer, who is the lead attorney in this case. “They may not agree with it, but they cannot ignore it. The statutes and regulations in this area are clear and unambiguous. The district doesn’t get to pick and choose which rules it will follow.”
The Common Core State Standards program, which is being discontinued and disassembled in some states already, revealed recently that only 44 percent of California students met the standards in English, and only 1 student in 3 in math.
“As we’ve just been reminded, the implementation of Common Core continues to be a disaster, and many parents want no part of it,” said PJI President Brad Dacus. “Parents have the right and responsibility to do what is in their children’s best interests, and California school districts have the legal obligation to make sure parents know their options.”
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles, explains K-12 schools “are required to apprise parents and guardians of their right under the law to request that their child be excused from statewide assessment testing.”
But the notices from schools to parents about the 2015 tests uniformly failed to mention the requirement.
The omission, the case explains, deprived “petitioner and its members of their rights to have legal notice that their children may be excused.”
Pacific Justice said it previously confronted Calabasas High School officials after one manager threatened to punish students who didn’t participate.
In that case, the legal team said, the principal tried “to punish incoming seniors with loss of parking and other privileges for exercising their rights.”
There, Principal C.J. Foss had sent a notice to parents saying, “Senior activities, parking, and off-campus passes require students to have participated in the CAASP testing.”
The school reversed course after receiving a demand letter from PJI.
