ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Gary Bracken's youngest children are not yet in school, but he's already preparing for a struggle.

Not with the children, who are triplets, but with the Spencerport (N.Y.) Central School District.

Bracken fears that the district will want to split the kids into separate classrooms, as some districts do. Bracken wants to keep the kids together and is pushing for passage of a state law that would strengthen parents' rights to decide.

So many parents are concerned about this issue that state and national groups have been formed to advocate for the rights of parents.

"What most school districts will say is, they have a policy of keeping the kids separated," says Misty Fry, executive vice president of the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club. "What they'll say is, they need to be individualized. But there has been no research done, whatsoever, that shows that that is beneficial."

Kathy Dolan of Queens, N.Y., started a Web site about the topic when her twins, now 8, were starting first grade. She fought a downstate New York school district and got her twins in the same class. Since then, she said, she has been in contact with people in more than 400 cases in New York alone and is fighting to get a state law on the books.

"I get inundated with hundreds of contacts throughout the country with parents going through the same thing," she says. "I'd say that more than half of the districts mandate separation. It's always the same excuse, to promote individuality. But that's just an old wives' tale. It's ridiculous."

UP TO THE DISTRICT

The New York State Education Department leaves the decision up to individual school districts, says department spokesman Tom Dunn. In the Greece (N.Y.) Central School District, principals meet with parents of "multiples" who are entering kindergarten and share research data that supports separating the children, says district spokeswoman Laurel Heiden.

"After that, the parents make the decision," Heiden says. "About 90 percent put them in separate classes for kindergarten."

After kindergarten, school officials evaluate the situation and recommend whether to separate the kids for grade school or keep them together. But again, "it's ultimately up to the parents," Heiden says.

Proponents of parental choice said they know of no studies that conclude that separation is better. They said dozens of studies have reached the opposite conclusion.

One study that was completed in 2004, known as the Tully Report, examined more than 800 pairs of twins over a three-year period. That study, done in collaboration with Kings College and the University of Wisconsin, concluded that separation leads to poorer academic performance, emotional trauma and other problems.

Dolan and others say they would prefer a collaborative decision between parents and school officials. Too often, she says, school officials have the ultimate decision.

"If there was collaboration, there wouldn't be a need for legislation," she says. "Unfortunately, it's not a collaborative effort. It's a constant battle."

KNOW THE KIDS

Minnesota, in 2005, was the first state to pass a law giving more authority to parents. Georgia and Texas have followed, and other states, including New York, have bills pending approval.

State Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, was a co-sponsor of the New York bill.

"Scientific evidence seems to lead to the conclusion that it would be better to keep (multiples) together," he says. "Regardless, the parents should be able to decide. I believe New York should follow suit and pass the bill into law, for the benefit of the kids and the parents."

Sherra Klasner of Webster, N.Y., who has identical twin daughters named Carson and Selene, says her girls have been placed together and apart. The girls, now 11, are together at DeWitt Road Elementary.

Klasner said she discussed the issue with school officials, who relented to her desire to have the girls together for kindergarten. "But their initial reaction was 'no,' " Klasner says. "There was definitely some pushback. It is pressure."

Lori Connolly of Webster let the Webster Central School District decide about her fraternal twin boys, Justin and Stephen, who are now 7 and attend Plank Road Elementary North. The boys were put in separate classes but have thrived, she says.

"Their friendships have widened. Justin knows kids in Stephen's class, and Stephen knows kids in Justin's class."

Connolly still thinks parents should have the right to decide.

"They know their kids," she says. "School districts don't know the kids."

What many don't understand, say parents of multiples, is the unique situation involving twins or triplets or other multiples. Klasner said that when one of her twins stays home sick, the other misses her like she hasn't seen her sister for weeks.

Young children also don't understand why they are separated, Dolan says, and equate the separation to something bad.

"When you have a set of twins, and invariably they act up, the first thing you do is separate them," she says. "Immediately in their minds, it's punishment when they are separated. It's the same at school. They don't understand, and that can affect their learning."