From: Justin Escher Alpert <justinalpertesq@escheralpert.

com>
To: "dave.hespe@doe.state.nj.us" <dave.hespe@doe.state.nj.us>
Cc: "senruiz@njleg.org" <senruiz@njleg.org>; "aswcaride@njleg.org" <aswcaride@njleg.org>;
Jasey Asw. D. O. <aswjasey@njleg.org>; "csteffner@livingston.org"
<csteffner@livingston.org>; Ron Spring <rspring@livingston.org>; Pam Chirls
<pchirls@livingston.org>; "skelly@livingston.org" <skelly@livingston.org>; Jeb Bush
<jeb@jeb.org>; "info@firstliberty.org" <info@firstliberty.org>; Valerie Strauss
<valerie.strauss@washpost.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 4, 2016 9:43 AM
Subject: Personal Refusal of PARCC Brand Test as a Graduation Requirement
Want a diploma? Better pass this test, state says
Want a diploma? Better pass this
test, state says
Find out what New Jersey's new
graduation requirements mean for
students.
View
on www.nj.com

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Dear Commissioner Hespe:

I refuse for my children to take the PARCC brand test as a graduation requirement because
of religious conviction.
Three things to note:
1. God's Intent and the Right to Self-Determination. Jeb Bush, the former Governor of
Florida, once spoke eloquently about Faith. "It's not just that People of Faith can have their
views," Governor Bush said. "It's that they need the space to act on their conscience. That is
what Faith is about. The best of our Faith... anybody of Faith... Christian, Jewish, all faiths... is
when People act on their core beliefs in a way to help others... or to protect the vulnerable... or
to do whatever they think is right based on their Faith." The Laws of Man, Commissioner
Hespe, are not applicable to a Person acting on Good Faith as a matter
of conscience. Whether you believe that we were created in God's image or that God was
created in ours, you should recognize that the question as to God's intent remains the same. It
is entirely of a personal nature. It is up to the individual to define his or her own image of
perfection and then pursue it (or not). We teach our children not to look externally for their
sense of Worth, but to turn inwards and find Value inside of themselves and their untapped
capabilities, beyond the prejudicial judgments and limitations imposed by others. There is only
one time that we are forced to sit and answer in the shadow of judgment for the lives that we
have lived and the work we have done and the passions that we have pursued, and it is not for
the benefit of ascension in the eyes of a multinational corporation such as Pearson. The
PARCC brand test interferes with these core beliefs.

2. Accommodation for Religious Liberty. These beliefs are sincerely held. I do not wish for
my children to be made to suffer for any mistakes in judgment that I may make about God's
intent. I do not wish to defend my position either as to the sincerity of my beliefs or for being
factually right or wrong, because (i) I am not sure that I am smart enough to defend these
beliefs, and (ii) I have not lived my life so perfectly as a testament to God's intent as to feel
comfortable being pinned up as an example. That being said, graduation is a process,
Commissioner Hespe, not an event. By this notice, I Secure the Blessings of Liberty and refuse
for my children to take the PARCC brand test as a graduation requirement. Please let me know
if there's some sort of a standardized form that I need to fill out to claim religious liberty. Thank
you for recognizing that my local Public School district will need to make an accommodation for
me and my family. Perhaps the district may make more of an aesthetic judgment of the children
based upon the content of their character... or a portfolio of their work... or something.
3. Secular Reasoning. Never having been a particularly religious person, and not wanting to
project my beliefs onto others or become a martyr for the cause, perhaps the argument could
take on more of a secular approach. You know, you have an entire generation of parents who
were raised on the philosophical waxings of Dr. Emmett Brown of Hill Valley, that no person
should know too much about their own future. Even assuming arguendo that the PARCC brand
exam is an entirely perfect predictor of future results (which it is not... it is actually a
fundamentally flawed science that wouldn't survive defense of a graduate school dissertation),
perhaps we will discover that our own sense of self-determination by far outweighs any
preconceived notions imposed upon us. It might be fun to build out some metaphysical
discussions about infinite possibility and then have the State Legislature pass final judgment on
the PARCC brand exam. Just thinking out loud here, we might want to create some back-up
plans, you know, just in case it turns out that PARCC ain't all it's cracked up to be. Perhaps we
could explore some ways to use traditional Public Schools that are accountable to the
communities that they serve in a manner that addresses and solves Real World socioeconomic
problems exposed by prior standardized testing data. Just saying.
That's all. Thank you for respecting (and allowing me to defend the liberty of) my somewhat
mainline religious beliefs about self-determination. I do hope, Commissioner Hespe, that you
will choose to stay on and Serve into the next administration. There is so much that we could
accomplish with more-accountable and responsive Public Education policy here in The Garden
State.
Very truly yours,
Justin Escher Alpert
Livingston, New Jersey
P.S. It's funny. Public testimony seems to have been overwhelmingly in favor of intellectual
freedom from the burdens of the PARCC brand exam. It is not clear which testimony in
particular the State Board found persuasive to make the PARCC brand test a graduation
requirement. Perhaps there was a communications break down. Commissioner Hespe, when
you attend your CCSSO Meetings, do you ever discuss state school board structure? Maybe
some of the other chiefs have a perspective that an elected board is more responsive to The
Will of The People whom they Serve. Could you bring it up at the next meeting and gain some
insight and report back to us if there is a better, more-accountable way of selecting a state
board of education? We could always make some adjustments. Also, is there any way to open
up those CCSSO meetings to the public? Again, thank you for Serving.