New Jersey Schools with High PARCC Opt-Out Rates May Face Slashed Funding

The statewide PARCC opt-out movement may come with a price.

In a recent Star Ledger report, state education commissioner David Hespe said that schools that fail to meet the federally mandated 95 percent participation rate for the PARCC test will face potential federal and state funding cuts.

According to the report, Hespe said funding cuts wouldn’t be automatic:

“Before levying any additional sanctions, the state would take into account whether this is the first year a district missed the 95 percent target, how much it missed it by and whether the school took actions either to prevent or promote opt outs.”

During a Town Hall appearance on Thursday in Cedar Grove, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – whose hometown, Livingston, reported a one-in-four refusal rate - told a packed auditorium that the PARCC opt-out movement will have ramifications beyond his control.

“It’s their right if they want to opt out… There’s nothing I can do to stop them,” Christie said. “But then don’t come later and complain you don’t get the money that you’re used to.”

LOCAL OPT-OUT RATES

While many local school districts reported widespread resistance to the exam, Hoboken was not among them.

On March 15, Hoboken Assistant Superintendent Miguel Hernandez told The Hudson Reporter that only 22 of the nearly 800 students scheduled to take the test in Hoboken over the past two weeks opted out.

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