ICE PAC

ELA tests are over! At ICE 89% of eligible students refused the test. Many school districts around the state very actively tried to suppress opt out this year, leading the state's highest education officials, Chancellor Betty Rosa of the Board of Regents and Commissioner Elia of the State Education Department, to issue a statement today affirming opt out rights. We at ICE PAC are happy that our school needed no such reminder and view our work in the context of another statement, released earlier this week by the grassroots group Jackson Heights People for Public Schools. An excerpt (it's long!) appears below.

In a system of school choice championed by Trump, DeVos, and leading Democrats, middle and high-income parents will almost always choose the schools with higher test scores, which enroll wealthier students and fewer students learning English. Zoned schools that accept all students face intense pressure to raise test scores and resort to excessive time for ELA and math classes at the expense of a well-rounded curriculum. On the other hand, students at schools that serve disproportionately wealthy and white children are offered a more balanced and arts-enriched curriculum.

Jackson Heights People for Public Schools rejects state tests that are used to further segregate our schools, and unfairly evaluate children in our community and the educators who serve them.