The Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution on April 16 sponsored by Majority Leader Joseph Lorigo, Legislator Edward A. Rath, III and Legislator Ted Morton voicing support for the Common Core Parental Refusal Act.

The Common Core Parental Refusal Act (CCRA), would require schools to provide parents written notice outlining their child’s right to opt out of Common Core testing for grades three through eight.

“This past week, several schools had a record number of students opt out of the state’s standardized test for English. However, in the days prior to the test, there was reportedly a great deal of confusion and untruths circulating. Based on these issues, I think it is important that parents have the facts so they can choose what is best for their children,” said Legislator Lorigo.

“Each school handled the high number of students opting out differently. Some schools were proactive in explaining the issue to parents while others appeared to lack the proper communication. I recommend a standard requirement for schools,” said Legislator Rath. “For the past two years my wife and I chose to opt out and not have our daughters take the tests. We found that in researching our decision that getting the correct information was burdensome. Parents should have easy access to the facts.”

The Legislators also supports an explicit law that ensures school districts, individual schools, teachers and students are protected from any withholding of state funds, sanctions or negative impact on a teacher’s evaluation associated with the outcomes related to test opt outs.

“We are simply supporting improvements to how parents are notified. Discussions about Common Core’s effectiveness still need to continue, however that is not what we are discussing today. We simply want to ensure that parents know what their rights are,” said Legislator Morton.

More than 11,600 students in Erie and Niagara County reportedly opted out this past week. The percentage of students varies greatly from district to district. For example, in Williamsville, 28 percent opted out but in West Seneca, 70 percent opted out. The disparity between the percentages raises some questions and improved communication will better serve all parents and schools.