FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 31, 2015
CONTACT: Bill Bird @ 916-651-4029, Amanda Fulkerson @ 916-319-2012
Department of Education Reversal Seen as Victory for Parents
Following Letter from Republican Legislators, 15 years of Historical Data Restored to Website
SACRAMENTO: In a victory for public transparency and a parent’s right to know, the California Department of Education (DOE) has begun restoring 15 years of historical data that it had deleted from the most accessible part of its website.
The reversal from education officials came after it received significant pressure from Republicans in the California Senate and Assembly – that included a strongly worded letter sent to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson late last week. Within hours of sending the letter, the DOE announced it would begin restoring the data immediately.
“This decision by Superintendent Torlakson and the Department of Education to reverse the original removal of information is a victory for parents and the public,” said Senator Bob Huff (R-San Dimas), former Vice-Chair of the Senate Education Committee. “Senate Republicans will always stand with parents’ right-to-know when it comes to evaluating the education of their students.”
As outlined in a story published by EdSouce (read story here) , the historical data was deleted to discourage parents and the public from making comparisons to the soon-to-be released Common Core standards.
The DOE is scheduled to release the scores from those new tests, beginning Sept. 9.
In its letter to Superintendent Torlakson, Senate and Assembly members pointed out that “there is no substitute for the acquisition and evaluation of data in describing a condition, evaluating it, and improving it. Conversely, hiding data is antithetical to the transparency and objective evaluation that are necessary elements to improvement.” (read entire letter here)
“Erasing data from the public view was the wrong,” said Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto). “We must have the ability to compare information so parents and the public are empowered with information needed to make decisions to give students the best education possible.”
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Senator Huff represents the 29th Senate District covering portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Follow Senator Huff on Twitter @bobhuff99.
Assembly Republican Leader Olsen represents the 12th Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties in the Central Valley. Follow her on Twitter: @KristinOlsenCA