No American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic; black, not of Hispanic origin, and white Child Left Behind
This is an article published in the NY Post.
I have contacted the reporter with hopes of getting in contact with the couple who are fighting this as well. This is all part of a federal law called the No Child Left Behind law. Surprise surprise.
I called Gabbys school and told them that they are not to question her about her ethnicity or I will press charges. The assistant principal sounded very nervous and said "omg dont worry- we will just put in a code that says none of the above!"
Bullshit. I want to know if this code even exists or if like stated on the letter, they will fill in whatever race themselves.
I will keep everyone posted. And thank you to so many of you for your support and advice!
May 25, 2006 -- A biracial Staten Island couple has vowed to challenge a state Education Department system for classifying students by race - claiming their 5-year-old daughter doesn't fall into any category the agency provides.
States are required under the federal No Child Left Behind law to identify the ethnicity of public-school students to determine whether they and their school districts are meeting state performance standards.
But New York state compiles data only for five racial categories, none of which Adrian Carr, who is black, and Marcy Carr, who is white, say fits their daughter. Ada is a kindergartner at PS 13 in Rosebank.
"There's never been black and white in her life, there's only been brown and pink, Adrian said. "She says her daddy's brown, her mommy's pink and, as she puts it, that makes her beige."
The story was first reported in the Staten Island Advance.
The categories offered by the state are: American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic; black, not of Hispanic origin, and white, not of Hispanic origin. The city offers an "other" category, but it is not recognized by the state.
Ada was one of 8,444 city students who did not have an "ethnic/racial category" on file with their school that met the state's approval, according to the city Department of Education, which recently notified those students by letter of their standing.
The letter stated that if the parents or guardians of those children did not select one of the five races laid out by the state, their principal would choose a category for them.
In the case of the Carrs, they refused to check a box that "denied part of our daughter's heritage," and the principal declined to select a category.
Seven states, including Oklahoma and Kansas, have successfully appealed to the federal government to include "other" or "multiracial" options.
But state education spokesman Tom Dunn said New York state did not include an "other" category because the federal government does not recognize more than five categories.
"Until the federal government accepts more than five categories, we will only collect five," Dunn said. "It is our understanding that the feds are adding a sixth and possibly a seventh category next year. If they do, we will follow."
Dunn cited the federal Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, which breaks down school-district data into the five categories.
U.S. Department of Education spokesman Chad Colby said: "That doesn't mean that a state with a large subgroup shouldn't be counting it for their accountability purposes."
He said New York was welcome to add another category.
The limited number of categories "has nothing to do with what No Child Left Behind requires, which is that states can choose racial categories for accountability purposes."
Marcy Carr, Ada's mother, said there will be a revision because "I will make it so."
"We don't want money, we don't want fame, we want what's right," she said.
david.andreatta@nypost.com
I have contacted the reporter with hopes of getting in contact with the couple who are fighting this as well. This is all part of a federal law called the No Child Left Behind law. Surprise surprise.
I called Gabbys school and told them that they are not to question her about her ethnicity or I will press charges. The assistant principal sounded very nervous and said "omg dont worry- we will just put in a code that says none of the above!"
Bullshit. I want to know if this code even exists or if like stated on the letter, they will fill in whatever race themselves.
I will keep everyone posted. And thank you to so many of you for your support and advice!
May 25, 2006 -- A biracial Staten Island couple has vowed to challenge a state Education Department system for classifying students by race - claiming their 5-year-old daughter doesn't fall into any category the agency provides.
States are required under the federal No Child Left Behind law to identify the ethnicity of public-school students to determine whether they and their school districts are meeting state performance standards.
But New York state compiles data only for five racial categories, none of which Adrian Carr, who is black, and Marcy Carr, who is white, say fits their daughter. Ada is a kindergartner at PS 13 in Rosebank.
"There's never been black and white in her life, there's only been brown and pink, Adrian said. "She says her daddy's brown, her mommy's pink and, as she puts it, that makes her beige."
The story was first reported in the Staten Island Advance.
The categories offered by the state are: American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic; black, not of Hispanic origin, and white, not of Hispanic origin. The city offers an "other" category, but it is not recognized by the state.
Ada was one of 8,444 city students who did not have an "ethnic/racial category" on file with their school that met the state's approval, according to the city Department of Education, which recently notified those students by letter of their standing.
The letter stated that if the parents or guardians of those children did not select one of the five races laid out by the state, their principal would choose a category for them.
In the case of the Carrs, they refused to check a box that "denied part of our daughter's heritage," and the principal declined to select a category.
Seven states, including Oklahoma and Kansas, have successfully appealed to the federal government to include "other" or "multiracial" options.
But state education spokesman Tom Dunn said New York state did not include an "other" category because the federal government does not recognize more than five categories.
"Until the federal government accepts more than five categories, we will only collect five," Dunn said. "It is our understanding that the feds are adding a sixth and possibly a seventh category next year. If they do, we will follow."
Dunn cited the federal Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, which breaks down school-district data into the five categories.
U.S. Department of Education spokesman Chad Colby said: "That doesn't mean that a state with a large subgroup shouldn't be counting it for their accountability purposes."
He said New York was welcome to add another category.
The limited number of categories "has nothing to do with what No Child Left Behind requires, which is that states can choose racial categories for accountability purposes."
Marcy Carr, Ada's mother, said there will be a revision because "I will make it so."
"We don't want money, we don't want fame, we want what's right," she said.
david.andreatta@nypost.com
posted by Jessica @ 9:55 AM
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