Miranda Warnings and the Common Core
You’ve heard of Miranda rights. You probably watched hundreds of TV shows where the police offer warns the perpetrator, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say and do can and will be used against you in a court of law….”
Enter Common Core. With reports of schools treating parents like criminals, maybe it’s time to have an educational style Miranda warning. In honor of Arne Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education, we’ll call this the Duncan Warning.
Which Candidate Do You Support in the Republican Primaries?
You have the right to refuse the test.
Any answer on the test can and will be used against your child for the rest of his or her life.
You have the right to advocate for your child and exercise your parental rights. If you choose not to be your child’s advocate, he or she will be forced to take the test.
Your child has the right to refuse the test. Your child has the right to stop answering questions on the test after the test begins. However, if your child refuses the test, the school may bully and intimidate your child to take the test. The school may coerce your child by offering candy, good citizenship incentives, and other measures deemed necessary.
The school may also bully and intimidate you—the parents—by threatening not to promote your children to the next grade, handing out guilt trips on potential loss of federal funding, and making spiteful comments that undermine parental authority.
The school may punish you or your child for refusing the test. Punitive measures may include unexcused absences that lead to truancy proceedings, denial of entry into the school to attend classes during the testing window, and other consequences to communicate their displeasure.
Do you understand these rights as explained to you?
With these rights in mind, do you still wish to refuse the test?
