NEW YORK – NYSED guffaw finds EngageNY endorsed quizzes that contained graphic violence and smut at the time NYSED linked to and endorsed the site as resource for students.
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Where’s NYSEDs Mea Culpa?
WARNING: THE MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT, OFFENSIVE, XXX RATED LANGUAGE, THEMES AND IDEAS THAT MAY BE DISTURBING. THIS MATERIAL WAS LINKED ON NYSED/ENGAGENY PAGE, ALLTHETESTS.COM, A WEBSITE ENDORSED BY NYSED/ENGAGENY FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO USE AS A FUN COMMON CORE TEST PREPARATION TOOL. THE MATERIAL CONTAINS PROFANITY, THEMES OF RAPE AND VIOLENCE. PLEASE PROCEED ACCORDINGLY.
It continues to boggle my mind that I have been reduced to posting disclaimers on my posts because EngageNY offers students an education in smut.
Since accidentally finding an “are you a sexy bitch” quiz being offered to students as a fun Common Core test preparation tool, I continue to feel like I’m in the adult entertainment version of the Twilight Zone.
I’m appalled at recent events , but lets face it, I’m not that surprised. NYSED doesn’t have the best track record, after all.
Our state’s public schools, are extremely important to me, my family, and my community as I am sure of the same from readers of my blog. Parents and educators across New York State are facing the harsh realities of education reform measures that impact our children. Excessive high stakes testing, APPR tied to student assessments and the collection and sharing of our children’s data is a grave concern. The untested and developmentally inappropriate standard known as Common Core has been forced on our school administrators and teachers resulting in a very skewed and unreasonably challenging curriculum.
By now some of you may be aware of recent events surrounding NYSEDs latest bombshell indiscretion. Commissioner King/NYSED has endorsed graphic and offensive materials as fun Common Core test preparation resources for our children on its Student Support Services website page Engage NY.
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These materials have been endorsed by NYSED on their website and made available to our children for over 1 year. For the duration of the year thus far, King writes “parents and educators will come together by making students college and career ready.”
As will be discussed more fully below, apparently, being college and career ready in NY involves an education in sex and violence according to NYSED.
I broke that story after stumbling across an explicit quiz located on NYSEDs Student Support Services website of EngageNY. You can read the deluded story and see it unfold here.
Since then, media has been reporting on the piece.
The Washington Post and Carol Burris addresses the most recent NYSED indiscretion and Common Core concerns here.
Class Size Matters, public education advocates, addresses these concerns among others here.
Times Union covered a story about a link to an inappropriate website that SED posted on an Engage NY page called Student Support Services.
Despite the growing body evidence that demonstrates NYSEDs hasty decision making and deficits associated with Common Core, some parents and educators continue to have a hard time believing that NYSED would endorse and offer explicit and inappropriate material to children on their website. Many people trust NYSED because they assume that NYSED will do their job to monitor and provide quality resource materials and instruction to our children. Unfortunately, that is not the case. In fact, NBC News NYC covered this story in an effort to alert parents and educators across the State of these disturbing facts.
As you heard in the NBC new piece, NYSED claims that they post hundreds of links and resources on their website so they simply cannot monitor or guarantee the quality and integrity of every single link and/or resource on its webpages. This is very disturbing.
Parents and educators across the State have a right to know and should be made aware of the type and nature of offensive material that was and is probably still available on NYSED/EngageNY endorsed pages. These resources were provided to our children by NYSED to use as Common Core/testing preparation resources. It is clear that the content and quality of resources being provided by NYSED/EngageNY are questionable at best. Based on this most recent bombshell, parents and educators have very good reason to be wary of using NYSED/EngageNY materials and resources. The fact that NYSED refuses to guarantee the quality of these materials and that they are appropriate speaks volumes.
Indeed, here is what NYSED had to say about sexy bitch gate. This announcement was posted on their website.
“We recently became aware of offensive and inappropriate content on a non-NYSED link that appeared on our website. The content at the non-NYSED link has changed since we originally posted the link. As soon as we became aware of the inappropriate content, we removed the link from the NYSED website. We’re glad it was brought to our attention.
Please note every NYSED web page includes a link to our Terms of Use, which states “the documents posted on this server may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. If you click on these links, you will be leaving the New York State Education Department’s website. These links and pointers are provided for the user’s convenience. The New York State Education Department does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to particular items in hypertext is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.”
Well, Id like to chime in. NYSED claims that “the content at the non-NYSED link has changed since we originally posted the link”.
From the Times Union piece:
“A spokesman for SED noted that the content was indeed both “offensive and inappropriate.”
He said that about a year ago, the state had added the link to a page offering links to resources for teachers, but at that time the content at allthetests.com was relatively innocuous, including quizzes that might help teachers planning after-school programs.”
Is NYSED really trying to claim that the site has educational value? In what, sex ed?
NYSEDs claim that the site was clean when they endorsed it is utterly false.
Behold.
A snapshot of allthetests.com from 2010:
A snapshot of allthetests.com from August 2012:
The site has contained smut, explicit, graphic and violent content since its inception.
This “are you a man whore?”, quiz was created and available to students on the site since July 2012. NYSED claims they linked to the site October 2012.
So, as you can see this xxx quiz was already active and on the site at the time NYSED linked to the site and endorsed it as a student resource!
Are you a man whore? Quiz:
The link endorsed on the official NYSED website was found in student support services section of the EngageNY pages labeled “Make Test Prep Fun,” Clearly, the same link was directed at children and students as a test prep resource from EngageNY. So, I dont follow NYSEDs argument and excuse.
If NYSED endorses and provides a resource to children then NYSED sure as heck better make sure that the links provided are sound and of good quality to protect students and children who will use them. Is NYSED really saying that they cant be held responsible for the content of material provided to children as a common core test prep resource which was directly linked to NYSEDs website nor are they responsible to monitor or supervise the same in the presence of children who they knew or should have known would be using such resources? I beg to differ.
Unfortunately, here we have yet another situation where NYSED refuses to take responsibility for poor planning, poor implementation and lack of proper resources that they provide to parents, students and educators.
First Core now the man whore quiz.
Thank NYSED for the opportunity to witness the freak show known as “Make Test Prep Fun”. The Regents Reform Agenda has turned into a 3 ring circus with the Governor Cuomo, the Regents and Commissioner King giving quite the performance.
Given this most recent guffaw, I have to wonder whether NYSED is the clown.
NYSED claimed that when they included the link, allthetests.com website was clean, appropriate and helpful for teachers as a fun way to prepare for tests. As you can see, that is the farthest thing from the truth.
I captured the pages on allthetests.com that existed over a year ago and then as far back as October 2002 which clearly demonstrate the content of the allthetests.com website is explicit and not helpful for students or teachers. There is no educational value to the site whatsoever.
In short, the information NYSED gave was false.
There is sufficient notice in materials that were found consisting of explicit and offensive material. The site was not clean prior to 2012 it contained explicit and graphic material not suitable for children thereby impeaching Commissioner King’s contentions.
Here is more proof.
WARNING CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE, THEMES AND MATERIAL
I went to the waybackmachine website located here.
In the search option where it says browse history I typed in allthetests.com which brought me to a calendar page that provided years and months of saved cached history from that website to choose from.
I randomly chose calendar years and dates opting to search primarily in the men, women, love and relationship sections. Why did I choose these subjects? They are all made available to the site user. The children section is not separated or isolated in anyway a child user has access to every link on that website. So, frankly, I searched the ones that I thought might be most appealing to hormonal teens or curious children.
From there, I just looked around until I found something that was salacious. I took screenshots of it this afternoon just in case.
The other option, is If you open my word document on your computer, you should be able to click right through to the quizzes I cited straight from my word document to get you there. You can look around from there.
Took me 20 minutes. I found smut all over the site dating as far back as 2002. There is probably more, but I stopped there, frankly.
NYSED would have found this offensive content had they made any effort to look. I cant imagine that NYSED made any attempt to vet the site. There is no educational value to the site. Quite the opposite, the content is graphic and harmful to minors.
Here is what else I found that existed on the site at the time NYSED endorsed it as a student resource:
Are you a gay whore or what quiz.
Man panties quiz:
Are your man panties too tight?
Don’t be afraid boys….
The quiz is developed on: 20.01.2009
Top of Form
Time left:
Bottom of Form
This quiz is developed by Gregg.
Masturbation quiz circa 2008
Masturbation for Women: What your habits say about you?
Statistics tell us that most women masturbate, yet few will discuss or admit it. This is your chance to get it all off your chest anonymously and find out if your behavior is normal or “out there”.
The quiz is developed on: 23.12.2008
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Are you a sociopath?
One more explicit test, there is a sexy bitch quiz circa 2002. See attached or at this link.
This site is and was clearly explicit and offensive prior to October 2012. NYSED probably looked no further than the front page and failed to do any due diligence in vetting the site prior to endorsing it as a fun test prep resource for children on NYSED/EngageNY website!
I took screen shots of the most disturbing quiz, the Man Whore quiz as you can see above. As to date, the captures state October 6, 2012- June 25, 2013 but it was created on the website in July 2012.
While the smut is offensive, what really bothered me were the references and quizzes promoting killing and violence.
Here are a few examples:
The “are you capable of killing people quiz”
Are you capable of killing people?
What form of government execution are you?
Do you tune in, in fascination, to the latest execution? Regardless of whether you know who the guy is or not? Do you ever tape it and play it back thinking, I could’ve done that better? Now you can find out just how much of a heartless bastard you are!
What about the are you a serial killer quiz linked by NYSEd?
Are you a serial killer?
This test uses data from the FBI’s human behaviour department to identify various early warning signs that will determine if you are, or are going to be, a serial killer.
And as if students dont have enough problems with bullying in schools, here is the are your friends trying to kill you quiz linked by NYSED as fun test prep:
Are Your Friends Trying To Kill You?
Aaah… friendship. You love your friends. But do THEY love you? How many of your friends are plotting your death? Find out now, and be afraid. Be very afraid.
Given Columbine, Sandy Hook and other school related tragedies, I would imagine that an educational institution such as NYSED would at least make an effort to prevent gun violence particularly since schools seem to be a hot spot these days. What about DASA? Bullying is a problem in schools. Why would NYSED link to a site that promotes violence and encourages inapproprate and disparate thinking?
What say you NYSED? Someone was grossly negligent in making this decision!
Moreover, a parent brough to my attention that allthetests.com contains endorsements from media and magazines that are clearly not part of the intended demographic nor suitable for children.
“if you check the press release page for allthetests.com it is quite clear that this site was NEVER a teacher resources site. Did they think we wouldn’t check this? Someone played a bad joke and got caught.. But this website was exactly what it is today as far back as 2001. It wasn’t a school appropriate site in 2012. http://www.allthetests.com/pressclips.php3. Shame on you NYSED for thinking we were too inept to just look into it.”
Indeed, under the press and endorsements section of allthetests.com it claims the following:
What is AllTheTests.com (Press releases)
Selected articles about AllTheTests.com:
AllTheTests
I hated taking tests in school. Most of us probably did. You would have to be warped not to! On the other hand, you may have liked tests, and that could be considered weird. Well, whatever side of the coin you come up with, today’s Warped site will whet your interests for tests of any kind. The name of the site is All The Tests. Here you can find thousands of tests in more than 20 different categories, and you can choose any of them depending where your interests lay: fun, personality, IQ test, love and relationship, quizzes, fan tests – anything and everything is possible on AllTheTests.com. Want to check your knowledge in particular disciplines? Here you are, anxious about your new relationship – don’t hesitate! Test your second half, just in a mood to relax on a lazy sunny afternoon – a perfect fun test collection is waiting for you. Crank up your keyboard and mouse, because no matter what your background, what your age or life experiences, you can learn something about yourself here. If you wish, you can also get the detailed report with your scores in different forms of intelligence, explanation and reasoning of the right answer choice, your strength and your weakness and suggestions how to improve your intelligence level. The Warp-o-Meter gives this site an 8.5. But that may change when the test results are in. Lockergnome wrote on May 8, 2006
Yahoo Internet Life made AllTheTests.com Useful Site for 06/11/01: :
Quiz Yourself
We love a good quiz at Incredibly Useful Sites, and you can find pointers to tests of all types at AllTheTests.com. Whether you want to test your knowledge of eating disorders, French, or organic chemistry, start here. Just choose the type of test you want to get a list of links with estimated times and ratings. You’ll also find personality and relationship tests too. If you need some self-knowledge, you can find it here.
AskMen.com made AllTheTests.com Site of the day (07/01/2001): :
AllTheTests.com
AskMen.com Rates This Site: 8/10 Description: AllTheTests.com has a huge amount of tests you can take. What We Think: Some tests aren’t serious at all, but others are intensely mind boggling. Best Feature: Take the “Purity Test” and find out how pure you really are.
Yahoo Internet Life made AllTheTests.com Useful Site for 06/11/01: :
Quiz Yourself
We love a good quiz at Incredibly Useful Sites, and you can find pointers to tests of all types at AllTheTests.com. Whether you want to test your knowledge of eating disorders, French, or organic chemistry, start here. Just choose the type of test you want to get a list of links with estimated times and ratings. You’ll also find personality and relationship tests too. If you need some self-knowledge, you can find it here.
HEREontheWEB.com made AllTheTests.com Website of the Week (16.04.2001):
All The Tests
What’s your IQ? You can find out at AllTheTests.com. It’s your online guide to online tests. You’ll find IQ tests, language tests, Personality tests, tests for kids and more. Go ahead. Take a test!
AACRAO NetNews wrote in Volume IX, Number 1 February 27, 2001:
Test yourself
If you are one of those folks who enjoys constant self-analysis, or if you want to evaluate some of those faculty, students, or colleagues who surround you, check out AllTheTests.com. This is a directory of tests of the Web, including IQ tests, personality tests, career tests, etc. The site is browsable by category or keyword searchable. Site listings include the name and URL of a site, a brief description, and some idea of how long the test will take (longer than an hour, less than 30 minutes, etc.) Additional icons denote whether the test is form-based, if you can take it offline, whether you get the results via e-mail, and the test’s rating.
American Cynic made AllTheTests Website of the Week January 15, 2001 Volume 06 Issue 03:
All the Tests
We’ve featured IQ tests before. We’ve featured personality tests before. We’ve even featured comic relationship tests before. Why not just end the repetition and feature “All the Tests”? This web site is a directory of tests on the Web, including IQ, personality, career, and purity. You can review the site by category or by keyword search.
researchbuzz.com made AllTheTests Today’s Thursday, January 11, 2001:
Riddle Me This, Batman! (Test Search Engine)
If you’re one of those folks who is into constant self-analysis, this is the site for you. AllTheTests.com provides a directory of tests of the Web, including IQ tests, personality tests, career tests, etc. The site is browsable by category or keyword searchable. Site listings include the name and URL of a site, a brief description, and some idea of how long the test will take (longer than an hour, less than 30 minutes, etc.) Additional icons denote whether the test is form-based, if you can take it offline, whether you get the results via e-mail, and the test’s rating.
Refdesk.com made AllTheTests Reference Site-of-the-Day November 30, 2000:
Online Tests
An online test search engine and your guide through the jungle of different tests on the Internet from IQ to Personality.
NetConnect Communications made AllTheTests Website of the day November 13, 2000:
All the Tests
I spoke about one of these sites a couple of weeks ago, this one is better, it has thousands of tests for you and your friends to try out! All online all the time, IQ tests, Career tests and even Personality test. Do them with your friends and find out more than you should ever know!! This is some of the best fun!
AllTheTests.com was Webmaster’s Pick by Pacific Internet November 13, 2000:
All the Tests
Get tested here! IQ, EQ, Career, Language, Children, Purity and more tests online!
Netsurfer Digest wrote about AllTheTests.com (6.36, 2000):
Testing, Testing…
You can never take enough tests. That’s the guiding principle of AllTheTests.com, a search directory of online tests that measure IQ, EQ (“the social equivalent of IQ”), infotech comprehension, and more. We never realized there could be so many kinds of tests online till we got here. We dabbled in the fun category, which links to the lipstick personality test, Find Your Star Wars Twin, “Are You A Spammer?”, and many other self-assessment challenges you’d likely never find without this site. Relationship tests also abound, including the Relationship Auto-Blender, the Two-Partner Match-o-Matic, and Can You Survive a Long Distance Relationship? The Knowledge category covers learning styles, plant and animal trivia, and more – even the AA9PW Commercial Radio Exam. The site rates each test with icons to indicate whether results are sent by e-mail, whether the test requires paper and pencil, and whether you can take it offline. As you might guess, this site has much to offer both occasional and obsessive visitors.
kmsp.com’s Wired Site October 15, 2000:
All The Tests
Are you a perfectionist? Do you drink enough water each day? Are you a visual learner? “Allthetests.com” is a huge index of online exams. They’re categorized by subjects, like personality, health, and IQ. Click on the category, and you’ll get a list of topics to test yourself. The exams are multiple choice and usually about 10 questions long.
AllTheTests.com won the Echo Web Award:
TheLaughIn.com’s Hot Sites September 22, 2000:
All the Tests All the Time
Like to take tests? Then, you’ll dig this site. They have IQ Tests, Health Tests, EQ Tests, Personality Tests, Career Tests, Knowledge Tests, Language Tests, Relationship Tests, MCSE + IT Tests, Fun Tests, Purity Tests and more! Go ahead, take a test today!
YouMeWorks.com wrote:
AllTheTests.com
Do you like tests, quizzes, questionnaires? Here is the site for you! They’ve got health tests, IQ tests, EQ tests, career tests, MCSE and IT tests, language tests, personality tests, and relationship tests!
Klastv.com Channel 8′s Gary Waddell takes you surfing to find the latest links and sites on the Internet:
All The Tests
If you’re looking for another way to waste time at work, there is a great site to find a distraction. At AllTheTests.com, you can find dozens of different online tests, from personality tests to career and knowledge tests, surveys on health and relationships. Some are very accurate, but others are just for fun.
The Kim Komando Radio Show made AllTheTests.com Kool Site (Friday, August 18, 2000):
All the Tests All the Time
Like to take tests? Then, you’ll dig this site. They have IQ Tests, Health Tests, EQ Tests, Personality Tests, Career Tests, Knowledge Tests, Language Tests, Relationship Tests, MCSE + IT Tests, Fun Tests, Purity Tests and more! Go ahead, take a test today!
Newradiostar.com made AllTheTests.com Hot Website of the day (Tuesday August 15, 2000):
ALL THE TESTS
Hey, school’s opening up again so even if you’re not going back, take some tests..everything from serious IQ and Health tests to things like testing your knowledge of chocolate…Find out what a brilliant person you are after all…..yeah….right.
USATODAY.com made AllTheTests.com Hot Site of the day (Monday, Aug. 14, 2000):
Online Tests
In our alternative-to-work category: Test yourself to the virtual limits at the aptly named AllTheTests.com. Online quizzes ranging from IQ and health to relationship and fun.
ITHAN PELTAN, Of Globe Online (08/08/2000) wrote:
Exam time
So you think you’re smart, do you? …Go to Allthetests.com to find many test web sites arranged into categories including IQ, personality, EQ (emotional quotient), etc. Some of the tests are pretty silly, the kind of thing they would put in the magazines like “Seventeen” and “YM” that my sister reads. But nevertheless, they’re pretty fun though, and I wouldn’t recommend it to you if it weren’t a good waste of time.
men360.com – the Online Community for Men – (08.08.2000) wrote:
Web Review: AllTheTests.com
Sites like this are the reason your boss doesn’t want you on the net. Not so much a site itself as a gigantic splash page, you browse their lists of self-tests sorted by category ( IQ, EQ, MCSE, Relationships, Career, etc.) and quality rating. Especially helpful are the notations next to each test that tell you how long they take. Many can be dashed off in less than 10 minutes, some take nearly an hour. The results are definitely not etched in stone, these are after all quick tests taken over the internet, but they are food for enough thought to keep your mind off actual work, and isn’t that what workplace surfing is all about?
Corey and Jay Show – (08/15/2000) wrote:
AllTheTests.com
Back to school time huh ? Why not take a damn test now and get it over with.
Endorsed by Ask Men.com? USA Today’s Hot Site of the Week? “Sites like this are the reason your boss doesn’t want you on the net?”
You couldnt get any more clear that this site is NOT FOR CHILDREN than if you took a red flare and shot it into the sky right in front of King’s face as a warning!
What were they thinking?
Hey, everyone makes mistakes. But, to make excuses and try to justify the site has educational value to students or teachers is inexcusable. Absolutely inexcusable.
To be honest, Im sure parents and educators would have accepted NYSEDs brief mea culpa so we could all just move on. But, I dont appreciate excuses and justifications and Im sure no one else does in this case either. Shame on NYSED! Just admit it, say you’re sorry and move on. MEA CULPA!
If NYSED had done some simple due diligence, they would have clearly concluded that this site is inappropriate for students. There is no excuse for this guffaw.
With regard to concern about NYSEDs defense about Terms of Use, I have no experience in media law, but I did some quick research and will weigh in just for fun. This is just my opinion, not legal advice.
Preliminarily, I would argue that NYSED terms of use policy is not an enforceable argument because they used a browse wrap (hyperlink) that does not put the user on sufficient notice of ther terms of use to create an “agreement” as to those terms.
Contract principles apply here, requires both “offer” and “acceptance.” On the NYSED page, the user was merely directed to a red tiny text hyperlink located at the middle of the bottom of the page of the website (see screenshot 1 attached).
Moving to the student support service page, the terms of use is located at the bottom in tiny print in black which blends in to the surroundings, its not conspicuous and there is no manifestation of “assent” provided to the user to establish an agreement or to alert the user that if they clicked on the allthetests.com link, they would be leaving NYSEDs page (contrary to what NYSED says on their FB page). The hyperlink was a direct hyperlink endorsed by NYSED and the user could not have reasonably known that they were leaving NYSEDs page or that materials on that website would be explicit in nature or offensive, there was no warning between click and redirecting to the allthetests.com site. Users including children are able to click through from NYSEDs page, trusting the integrity of the resource as well they should, endorsed by NYSED. (screenshot 2)
Without some way of demonstrating acceptance, I would argue that there is no agreement so Terms of Use cannot be a defense. There was nothing on NYSEDs webpages requiring an affirmative action on the users part to show that they read, understood and agree to terms of use. Typically, clickwrap agreements would suffice. A user would need to click the link and then “agree to terms of use” in order to move on to the webpages contained on the site. That didnt happen here.
A mere “browsewrap” agreement – where website terms and conditions are posted as a hyperlink at the bottom of the web page – which NYSEDs is – is typically not enforced as a contract, unless there is an indication of assent, because it’s not sufficiently clear that the user actually saw and “accepted” those provisions. Again, this is not my area of expertise, but I would want to argue this based on what I looked at preliminarily.
Moreover, isnt the student support services page with the allthetests.com link supposed to be used by students? I would argue, how could minors read and then give capacity to assent to terms of use?
Additionally, its not like parents, students and educators have a choice in the matter. Core was so swiftly adopted, without field tests or pilot studies, and implementation was done in haste that there is no experience or resource available to parents, students and educators other than the EngageNY Core resources and/or test prep material. We have no choice, but to use them so agreeing to terms of use is of no moment. In order to implement core in classrooms and prepare for tests, we MUST use NYSED/EngageNY website whether we would actually agree with terms of use, or not. Its a stretch, but I would argue it’s plausible.
As to the nature of the site, its clearly a junk site. There is no educational value to it. What teacher on earth would provide students this link or use the site for test preparation? A teacher would be disciplined or fired. NYSED, makes excuses for themselves. The fact that they are claiming its a teacher resource is immaterial. Again, mea culpa.
Which brings me to my next point.
With regard to the fact that Commissioner King endorsed “Sexy Bitch” Quizzes and offensive material as fun test prep for NY Students on its official student support services website page, isnt that a breach of some sort of duty of care or law that exists to protect minors from inappropriate explicit content online?
Although this article below relates to schools, I think we can all agree that NYSED is an institution at the top of the educators/administrators food chain.
In this weblink, the American Association of School Administrators states that “we, as educators, are required to protect students from inappropriate material whenever we can”. That includes blocking most social networking sites and inappropriate content.
The Children’s Internet Protection Act, or CIPA is in place to protect children from being exposed to harmful material via internt. However, CIPA is much broader than just social networking, and schools and districts must constantly improve their protection strategies to keep students safe from inappropriate materials.
The article states that “as school leaders, we also must be mindful of our legal responsibilities in CIPA and the concept of in loco parentis.” Why would NYSED be exempt from such a standard?
Im not sure about application of the CIPA law as I am not familiar with it offhand, but I have to imagine that if not CIPA, then some law or policy must exist to hold them accountable to assure sound educational policy and resources are made avaialble particularly to children/students. The resource page was titled “Make Test Prep Fun” and was directed to minor students.
NYSED has made it clear that they are not looking out for our children. Therefore, it is incumbent on us as parents and educators to do so.
I hope you are concerned about this most recent bombshell and will choose to get involved.
For those interested, Senator Greg Ball has advanced a petition challenging Core.
We also need to make sure that every legislator understands and pushes for meaningful legislation to protect student data and privacy.
There are also advocacy groups that seek to hold NYSED accountable and to facilitate sound educational policy in our State on behalf of students and teachers.
NYASPE has issued a change Boar of Regents action alert.
Stop Common Core in NY advocates for children.
Students are more than a test score, Lace to the Top.
There are many more ways to get involved to change the trajectory of public education in INYS.
Together, parents and educators can take back our schools so we can stop providing offensive and useless curriculum and test preparation materials to our students and get back to real and meaningful teaching. Every child in New York deserves our best efforts.
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