Are you being constantly bombarded with reminders of a “mental health crisis?” A crisis?
Do you view your life and that of each of your children as “individual” free human beings?
Or, do you view your and your children’s lives as being mere elements of and accountable to society’s global systems of education, health (physical and mental), family, vocation, and service?
“Mental health refers to how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life’s situations.” Pretty much encompasses EVERY facet of our lives, doesn’t it?
“’New beliefs’ and ‘new thinking’ are KEY to the global management system. Adults as well as children MUST trade truth, facts and logical thinking for myths, UN values, and the consensus process. The masses must learn to see themselves, not as individuals, but as part of a greater whole: a group, a community, the planet. Finally, the United Nations is nearing its goals: to create a unified, socialist world made up of COMPLIANT work citizens ready to adapt to what Al Gore called a ‘wrenching transformation of society.’”[emphases added]
This all requires systems to MONITOR citizens, beginning at the earliest ages. Think Social Emotional Learning, school mental health programming, technology in the classrooms, surveying, home visits by community agencies, doctor office questions, etc..
Monitoring each child and his “appropriate” mental health progression is essential to managing the masses.
“We believe that mental health is just as important as physical health maybe even more so.”5 Donna Shalala, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
“The challenge to humanity is to adopt new ways of thinking, new ways of acting, new ways of organizing itself in society in short, new ways of living.”20 Our Creative Diversity, UNESCO
Don’t be deceived by nice sounding labels such as Healthy Start, Healthy People, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities, and Healthy Cities. These and other “local” campaigns for public and mental health follow a global blueprint. They all fit into a worldwide system of “health management” and surveillance led by the World Health Organization, a UN special agency that equates faith with hate and truth with intolerance.1 The goal is conditioning the masses to willingly conform to new “universal” values, environmental guidelines, and a global management system.
Dr. David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon-General and Assistant Secretary for Health, gave a progress report at a National Healthy People Consortium in November 1998: “We have a clear blueprint in place,” he announced. “Currently, 47 states are actively involved in Healthy People 2000 and’Healthy City and Healthy Community‘ initiatives are being pursued throughout the country. Hundreds of national organizations have reviewed the Year 2000 objectives and have adopted them as their own.”
Dr. Satcher then drew the connection between Healthy Start, Healthy People, mental health and the World Health Organization:
“Every child should be given the opportunity for a healthy start… No priority yet has generated as much interest and enthusiasm as this one on mental health…” “…our efforts will be focused on maintaining a system of global health surveillance…
“Healthy People 2010 is the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization‘s call to the nations of the world to renew their commitment to health for all.”
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
In a 1996 speech at The National Children’s Mental Health Initiative, Donna Shalala, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), said,
“From fully immunizing children by age two… to stopping domestic violence, we’re working to improve the lives of young people from the cradle to young adulthood. And a strong part of our vision is the mental health of children. We believe thatmental health is just as important as physical health …maybe even more so…” 5
As head of the DHHS, Shalala helped organize The National Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN). Ponder its definition for mental health:
“Mental health refers to how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life’s situations. It is how people look at themselves, their lives, and the other people in their lives …and explore choices.” 6
Do you wonder what Dr. Shalala and her network of health planners would consider good thinking? Or bad thinking? This definition doesn’t tell us. How do they want people “to look at themselves” or “explore choices”? The answer is clear when you study UNESCO’s psycho-social strategies for conforming the minds of our children to its anti-Christian world view. But without background information, these ambiguous, open-ended phrases hide the true intentions.
However, Dr. Shalala and other self-proclaimed “change agents” do tell us that the old ways “a person thinks, feels, and acts” must change. They don’t fit the new global ideology or the consensus process. According to Professor Benjamin Bloom, called the Father of OBE, the new “purpose of education and the schools is to change the thoughts, feelings and actions of students.”7 So it’s not surprising that UNESCO’s Commission on Culture and Development in its report, Our Creative Diversity, wrote that –
“The challenge to humanity is to adopt new ways of thinking, new ways of acting, new ways of organizing itself in society, in short, new ways of living.” 8
Referring to the management and monitoring of its education program, the Kansas State Board of Education made a similar statement, “QPA [Quality Performance Accreditation] is a process which demands new thinking, new strategies, new behavior, and new beliefs.”
“New beliefs” and “new thinking” are key to the global management system. Adults as well as children must trade truth, facts, and logical thinking for myths, UN values, and the consensus process. The masses must learn to see themselves, not as individuals, but as part of a greater whole: a group, a community, the planet. Finally, the United Nations is nearing its goal: to create a unified, socialist world made up of compliant world citizens ready to adapt to what Al Gore called “a wrenching transformation of society.” 9
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
In 1946, the first head of WHO laid the foundation for today’s mental health program. Having implied that Christian parents indoctrinated “their defenseless children” with “poisonous certainties” that cause war and conflict, Canadian psychiatrist Brock Chisholm, added,
“The problem is no longer the germ of diphtheria, but rather theattitudes of parents who are incapable of accepting and using proven knowledge…
“Surely the training of children in home and schools should be of at least as great public concern as their vaccination…. Individuals who have emotional disabilities of their own–guilts, fears, inferiorities–are certain to project their hates on to others… [S]uch reaction now becomes a dangerous threat to the whole world….
“We must be prepared to sacrifice much…. If it cannot be done gently, it may have to be done roughly or even violently…” 10
Half a century has passed since Dr. Chisholm called for UN controls that would abolish divisive Christian “certainties”. Today, WHO commands an international networking agency that helps nations around the world change and monitor the ways their people think, choose, and act. Called Nations for Mental Health, it links each member state to the UN agenda and promises to steer each nation toward the UN goal:
“Governments will be assisted to formulate, implement, monitor and evaluate mental health policies.
“Mental health policies should enable all individuals whose mental health is disturbed or whose psychological balance may be compromised to obtain services adapted to their needs, and to promote the optimal development of the mental health of the population.” 11
To develop “the mental health of the population” and to prevent dissent and conflict from blocking progress, everyone must participate in the consensus process. Assessments for all — young and old — will show who might be “at risk” of not meeting the new mental standards for healthy communities.
For a glimpse at the vast network already in place, look at some of the mental health partners in the WHO agenda:
World Health Organization (WHO)
Nations for Mental Health
Dept. of Health and Human Services
National Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN)
Healthy Cities
Healthy Communities
Healthy Families
Healthy People
Healthy Start
Children, in private as well as government schools, practice compliance by signing the Healthy Practices Pledge. It sounds innocuous at first — just promise to “brush with a fluoride toothpaste,” choose “snacks such as fruits and vegetables,” and “make our home a smoke-free zone,” then sign the pledge. But the contract is open-ended. It suggests that other “healthy” behaviors will be added later. 12 What if the next contract adds “cooperation with” and “tolerance for” something that conflicts with a child’s faith? What if a refusal to sign the contract brings ridicule and persecution? Is your child ready to follow God, even when pressured to conform?
HEALTHY CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
The Healthy Cities project was launched by WHO in the early eighties. Its web site explains its purpose: “The Healthy Cities Project helps change the ways in which individuals, communities, private and voluntary organizations and local governments think about, understand and make decisions about health.”13
Today, its guidelines are followed by leaders across America — whether they use the label “Healthy City” or not. Remember Dr. Satcher’s report at the 1998 Healthy People Consortium:
“‘Healthy City and Healthy Community‘ initiatives are being pursued throughout the country. Hundreds of national organizations… have [adopted] the Year 2000 objectives… Healthy People 2010 is the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization‘s call to the nations of the world to renew their commitment to health for all. 14
It’s no accident that the last three words, “health for all,” sound like UNESCO’s 1990 World Conference on Education for All (EFA). The latter introduced the same six education goals President Bush announced in 1991. EFA’s counterpart in the health arena is WHO’s Health for All (HFA). And, like Goals 2000, the US branch of UNESCO’s outcome-based education system, “a Healthy City is defined in terms of process and outcome.”
WHO’s Healthy Cities program works with America’s Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities, whose members may or may not use the WHO labels. But they must all follow the Total Quality Management process which calls for continual monitoring of change and progress. They must also agree to:
“measure our progress. “
“address the root causes of problems.”
“promote a broader definition of health that includes physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions.”
“focus on prevention, wellness and change incentives.”
PREVENTING CONFLICT AND MENTAL PROBLEMS
The key to prevention is continual and controlled training, monitoring, and remediation.15 As Clinton suggested at the 1997 White House Conference on Hate Crimes,
“There would almost have to be some sort of club or organization at the school, because if you think about it, your parents are still pretty well separated … We have to find a disciplined, organized way out of this so that we reach every child in an affirmative way before something bad happens.”
In the UN plan for Healthy Cities, prevention becomes a personal duty. Since the group counts more than the person, friends and neighbors would be asked to report on one another — just as in Nazi Germany.
“I challenge our young people to realize their important role in this seamless system,” said Donna Shalala. “Many times, you as friends are the strongest link in the chain of contact. You know best when your brother, your sister or your friend is facing problems…”5
President Clinton suggested the same tactic during the above hate-crimes conference: “The Justice Department will make its own hate crimes training curriculum available. A lot of hate crimes still go unreported... If a crime is unreported, that gives people an excuse to ignore it.” Then he announced a Justice Department website which invites children to tell “trusted adults” about “hateful” or exclusive attitudes they see in their relatives at home or in friends in school.
Hard to believe? It all makes sense when you consider the United Nations’ hostility toward traditional values. Ponder the words of Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO:
“The mission of UNESCO… is that of advancing… international peace and the common welfare… We have witnessed… the resurgence of nationalism, the growth offundamentalism and of religious and ethnic intolerance. The roots of exclusion and hatred have shown themselves even deeper and more tenacious than we had feared… Peace… requires, in the words of the Constitution, ‘the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind’.”16
MOLDING THE MINDS OF THE MASSES
Children who refuse to conform may be considered handicapped. According to a Teacher Training Manual from the National Training Institute for Applied Behavioral Science,
“Although they appear to behave appropriately and seem normal by most cultural standards, they may actually be in need of mental health care in order to help them change, adapt, and conform to the planned society in which there will be no conflict of attitudes or beliefs.”17
Conflict must be replaced with solidarity, and — as in the USSR — everyone must be monitored for compliance with the new global beliefs and values. Such a surveillance system is at the heart of President Clinton’s Executive Order 13107 (See “Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules.” It establishes “an Interagency Working Group on Human Rights Treaties”, and its functions include:
the monitoringof the actions by the various States for their conformity with relevant treaties,
the provision of relevant information for reports and other monitoring purposes, and
the promotion of effective remedial mechanisms;” 18
Monitoring the progress of mental Health for All (HFA) is essential to the process of managed change. Non-compliance or dissent must be spotted, reported, and corrected before it spreads. Even “a substantial risk” of failure to conform could bring preventative correction. Remediation, conflict resolution, and other mind changing strategies include these steps:
challenge traditional values
evoke strong feelings
produce cognitive dissonance, a form of mental and moral confusion
dialogue to consensus
elicit a response that
1. demonstrates a change in attitude
2. can be measured
3.becomes part of a child’s individual electronic data file
The goal of brainwashing in the Soviet Union was to create the new “Soviet Man.”19 The UN goal is to mold global citizens so committed to the new ideology that they cannot be turned back even by the most logical arguments. UNESCO’s 1995 report, Our Creative Diversity, said it well:
“Education must inform… but it must also form, it must provide them with a sense of meaning to guide their actions…
“Education should promote ‘rational understanding of conflict, tensions, and the processes involved, provoke a critical awareness… and provide a basis for the analysis of concepts that will prevent …chauvinist and irrational explanations from being accepted.’…
“Its primary task is to provide information, explain and analyze problems and subject them to criticism… “It should cover adults as well. The principle of lifelong education should be the aim of all societies.” 20
Edward Hunter wrote the book Brainwashing, an insightful report on the experience of prisoners who survived Soviet brainwashing strategies in Communist Countries during the fifties. His warnings should shine a red light into our foolish presumptions that this process couldn’t be used in our nation. 21 Compare his words with the above UNESCO report written over four decades later:
“Even when he stands by himself, the truly indoctrinated communist must be part of the collective. He must be incapable of hearing opposing ideas and facts, no matter how convincing or how forcibly they bombard his senses. A trustworthy communist must react in an automatic manner without any force being applied.” 22
Having learned to process away facts and fear truth, these conditioned masses would resist logic and hate God’s Word. It’s natural. After all, “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) Therefore, Jesus warned His disciples long ago, “If they persecute me, they will persecute you. for they do not know the One who sent me.” Are you and your children ready to face hostility and rejection for your faith? If so, you will delight in this promise:
“Blessed are you when men hate you exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for great is your reward in heaven.” Luke 6:22-23
For practical information about the consensus process and other psycho-social strategies, read chapter 3 in Brave New Schools. To understand the worldwide feminist movement’s goals and influence on mental health regulations, read chapter 9 of A Twist of Faith.
Endnotes:
1. See “Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian Values”
2. Healthy Start was summarized by Robert Holland in his article, “Statists Seek to Monitor All Newborns and Train Their Parents”, Richmond Times Dispatch (February, 1999): “Armed with backing from private foundations and the federal government, advocates of Hillary Clinton’s It-Takes-a-Village ideology are beginning to implement a plan for cradle-to-grave tracking of the newborns of first-time parents.
Part of the scheme entails sending agents into private homes to “train” parents for up to 50 visits annually per family. Expectant parents are enlisted by being asked to sign permission forms at the hospital, where amid all the excitement of a first birth they may not be aware of the implications for their privacy and parental rights.
Information that the agents collect from families will be put in a nationwide system called the Program Information Management System (PIMS), which will contain medical and psychological entries and observations on family relationships. PIMS’ tracking of newborn’s development could easily be linked with other preschool and public-school databanks currently being expanded. Eventually the information in a comprehensive, permanent record could be shared with employers when an individual applies for a job.”
17. B-Step, Teacher Training Manual, National Training Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 1240 North Pitt, Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22314 (800-777-5227). (Was in Bethel, ME) Cited by Cherrilyn Gulbrandson, 183.
18. Executive Order 13107, Section 4 (v).
19. See quotes and exerpts from Edward Hunter’s book Brainwashing at http://www.crossroad.to
20. Our Creative Diversity, UNESCO, p.169, 171.
21. See a comparison between Communist brainwashing strategies and tactics used to change values in U.S. classrooms at http://www.crossroad.to
22. Edward Hunter, Brainwashing: The story of the men who defied it (Pyramid Books, 1956), 201.
Buzzwords: groupthink, discovery learning, work collaboratively, teachers facilitating (rather than teaching), conceptual understanding (rather than facts), problem-solving and perseverance.
This type of “teaching” leaves kids feeling incapable, confused, frustrated, etc. “… the progressivists’ requiring children to solve problems of a type they’ve never seen before, theoretically as a means of showing insight and understanding. Students struggle to figure this out (‘productive struggle,’ as touted by progressivists), much as a non-swimmer struggles to reach the side of the pool without drowning. Even if he survives, he likely still doesn’t know how to swim.” (Also, think about all the social and emotional “grading” they are doing. They are purposefully creating a frustrating learning paradigm and then documenting – and possibly suggesting interventions/services – their frustration, implying that it’s the kid’s issue, rather than a destructive education environment and methods.)
Also, note the constant “21st century” verbiage that permeates education talking points as a reason for “change.”
“… the traditional approach [of math instruction] … is inadequate for 21st-century needs (reformers never explain why necessary math skills change from one century to the next).” (Emphasis added)
Then, here are recent videos published by Blue Valley. Note the things Blue Valley is implementing – already proven to be failed teaching paradigms.
Posted by BVSD 6/5/18; Video on Blended Learning by Brad Moser
What does Blended Learning look like in Blue Valley? Take a peek inside our classrooms and you’ll see! Collaboration, teachers engaging with students, students helping one another…and at the heart of it all? Strong student-teacher relationships that allow for personalized learning. #StudentCentered #ThisIsBVBlendED #TechTuesday
Video transcription:
Blended Learning at times may look a little different than what than what we normally see in a classroom. But at the heart of it is this student-teacher relationship that allows for personalized learning and those those students to grow in the ways that they need to grow uh to become who they need to become. When I walk in a classroom before it was blended, I might see a teacher standing leading the class in a whole class lecture instruction, kids taking notes on their papers and then stuffing them in their binders and then you know going and dropping them in their locker. Well now when I walk into a classroom, a blended learning classroom, I might not even first see the teacher. I might see other students standing up in smaller groups helping each other and the teacher is maybe is collaborating with a small group. The technology is so versatile that it can meet the needs of each one of the students in the classroom and allows the teacher to focus more on the students in that classroom.
Posted by BVSD 5/29/18; Video on Blended Learning by Brad Moser
Blue Valley’s Blended Learning Impact Study provided district students and staff the opportunity to learn more about the impact of technology on learning. What did we find? Technology is a game-changer! From opening doors for students to collaborate and create, to providing a platform for all students to have a voice, Blended Learning in Blue Valley takes student-centered, future-ready learning to the next level! #TechTuesday #BVBlendED
Video transcription:
From the research, BL allows students to work together collaboratively. BL allows them not just work together face-to-face but work together with students that aren’t in the same physical space as them. BL learning opens up an element of creativity that didn’t exist before in a lot of our classrooms that maybe didn’t have a lot of creativity built into it. These tools allow them to produce and publish and share where before it was maybe a written document that was turned into the teacher. We put devices in there (smile). We’ve powered them up with some learning (smile) and sort of opened the door and let them lead us. We had a middle school kiddo that told us he appreciated the ability to have an on-line discussion, not have to raise my hand as fast as I can and get called on first by the teacher, and then everyone else just kinda sits and watches. But, he could ponder and have that time to kind of compose his thoughts and then share that. But not to share it to the teacher; share it so that every student in the class has an opportunity to read it. So, really, technology provided a voice for that student, and it’s providing a voice for all these students in our classrooms.
Posted by BVSD 5/24/18; Video on Blended Learning by Brad Moser and Kelly Ott,
“Classrooms that are loud with learning.” That’s what Blended Learning in Blue Valley is all about! Blended Learning leverages the power of technology to enhance instruction and empower students to connect, create collaborate and learn. Check out what district leaders have to say about Blended Learning in Blue Valley!
Blended Learning:
It combines Digital Media like computers, tablets and online resources.
With traditional face-to-face instruction:
Lectures, text books, and assessments.
Blended Learning:
Embodies our commitment to remain student-centered and future ready by:
Increasing access to technology …
Increasing the mobility of technology…
To enrich and personalize the student learning experience
Blue Valley School District will use the results of the ongoing blended learning study.
To determine best practices for utilizing technology as an instructional tool.
Blended Learning equips teachers with better tools while empowering students to learn anytime.
Blended Learning equips teachers with better tools while empowering students to learn anywhere.
Blended Learning equips teachers with better tools while empowering students to learn at any pace.
Video transcription:
Kelly: We’re looking at ways to leverage the power of technology with the creative mind of humans (smile) to really take kids places they’ve never been before.
Brad: BL puts together the teachers and the students and powers them up with the tools they need to become students that are future ready.
Kelly: They are re-imagining what skills and knowledge that students will need to be successful in the future. Technology is one of those skills. Using it appropriately. Using it to deepen learning. Using it to connect, to create and innovate. Technology will be at their fingertips when they step outside of our walls; so it needs to be at their fingertips when they’re inside of our walls.
Brad: We’ve already begun this process this year by implementing our impact study. Next year, we plan to power up our teachers; helping them embrace some of the platforms and tools that they already have at their disposal. We’d like to follow that up by powering up our classrooms and our students, giving them greater access and mobility. And, then finally, we focus on power up the learning and making sure that our classrooms are loud with learning.
Kelly: We knew that we needed to be very deliberate about our decisions. Make purposeful moves that are both fiscally responsible, keeping kids safe, making sure our infrastructure is robust enough to support it. But, in the end, really making a difference impacts learning so that we are not just giving them devices, but opening doors.
On March 22 the Kansas House of Representatives heard HB2292. This is the bill where Representative Grosserode took a comprehensive and outstanding bill (the “old” 2292) and turned it into a “do nothing” bill. (The “new” 2292.) There were many amendments heard. One of them was our amendment to replace the “new” 2292 with HB2676 and add an amendment addressing textbooks and AP/IB. If you’ll recall, the bill that we revised at the start of this session was 2676 and then it turned into 2292 (“old”).
Representative Houser took up the cause on the floor for this amendment and presented it. His willingness and professionalism in doing so is something we will not soon forget and are quite grateful for. We thank him and hope you will too.
Other representatives who voted “yea” for the 2676 amendment are Barton, B. Carpenter, Corbet, Davis, DeGraff, Dove, Fronfelter, Garber, Huebert, Hutchins, K. Jones, Kahrs, Kelley, Kelly, Lunn, Macheers, Osterman, Pauls, Peck, Read, Rhoades, Rubin, Scapa, Sutton, Weber, and Whitmer. Don’t be lulled or fooled here. Some of these people are the same people who voted to gut a good common core repeal five days earlier like Hutchins, Jones, Lunn, Machers, and Rhoades.
Despite Representative Houser’s efforts, the amendment, like all the other amendments presented, failed.
It is worth noting that there are a number of so-called conservatives who either sponsored the “old” 2292 or who voted to pass it out of the House Ed committee, but who subsequently failed to support (either by a “nay” vote or by not voting at all) the 2676 amendment that Representative Houser offered on our behalf. Speaker Merrick, Speaker Pro Tem Mast, Chairman Highland, Representatives Bradford, Bruchman, Estes, Hedke, Vickrey, Kiergerl, Clays, D. Jones, O’Brien, Goico, R. Powell, Rahjes, Seiwert, and Grosserode all failed to support the 2676 amendment.
When it came time to vote on the “new” 2292, Grosserode’s eleventh hour single paragraph “do nothing” bill, it too failed, despite the support of many of these same people as well as others.
From listening and watching the entire proceedings yesterday, it is clear that many of our elected representatives do not understand what is at stake. A number of democrats stepped up to oppose all parts of the repeal common core proceedings and offered their same, old, and flat out wrong ideas about common core and what is at stake. Very few so-called republicans stepped up to the podium to refute those claims or offer support of the 2676 amendment. For the most part, this caucus folded.
It is clear that leadership provided the grassroots, the parents, the people of Kansas, nothing more than a dog and pony show. They want it to appear that they “really tried hard” this time, but the truth is, there wasn’t much more from them than deception and agenda in an election year. It was like watching D.C. unfold and descend upon Topeka. Despite the thousands and thousands of you who have sent emails, signed petitions, made calls, showed up at rallies, and much more, you were absolutely not heard yesterday. You were barely even represented. If that doesn’t fire you up to replace representatives who act this way I don’t know what will. All House seats are up this year…opportunity is brewing.
So, the questions are thus: What do you want to do? What are you prepared to do? How are you going to do it?
We know exactly what we are going to do. The first two things that we are going to are:
1. Seek out truly conservative candidates to run against incumbent KS BOE members and many of these so-called republican representatives who miserably failed you, me, and our kids yesterday.
2. Continue to speak out. We will continue to inform people–all people–who these elected officials are and what they have done or failed to do.
The only way this is going to get solved is if we grow our numbers and get even louder and we find people to represent us who actually LISTEN to what we want and then do as we ask of them.
If you really want Common Core stopped in Kansas, then this is the week for you to fight like the dickens for what you want. All House leadership, House Education Committee Republicans, and YOUR representative need to hear (and read) your frustration with these shenanigans. This bill can still be saved, but it will take you and your best and continued efforts to get this done. You are the grass roots. Make your voices heard! At the bottom of this message is what we need you to ask for as well as a list of names and numbers.
Speaker Merrick purportedly sent HB2292 back to committee, after it had been passed favorably out on February 17th, to have language added clarifying AP. Representative Barton had already met with the revisor to draft that language, and had it ready for the meeting.
To start the meeting on March 18th, Chairman Highland called on Representative Grosserode who, after bringing up the same points she has brought up in previous years, had the revisors hand out and “idea – being conceptual in nature” to adopt as a substitute for the current language of HB2292.
Representatives Trimmer and Lusk were the first to be called on by the Chair. Multiple representatives were called upon to speak. Notably, Representative Trimmer spoke multiple times. Included in the discussion of the committee were multiple language changes. It was observed that Representative Barton even had his hand raised many times and was never called upon by the Chair.
By the end of the hour-long meeting, the committee asked for a couple of readings of the language of the substitute bill based on changes made per the comments of committee members. The members voted on a final reading of the language. It went from an idea/concept on paper to an oral reading of new language to passing within an hour. The language was never made available for public information or response. It was a complete Nancy Pelosi moment—“We have to pass it so we can find out what’s inside.”
The following were noted to have raised their hands in support of the substitution language: Grosserode, K. Jones, Hutchins, Rhoades, Hedke, Macheers, Lunn, Bruchman, and Bradford. Then, the same members voted the bill favorably out of committee.
On Friday, March 18th, 2016, the House Education Committee gutted a five-page bill and action that you have supported and elected people to vote for for multiple years, and substituted it with a PARAGRAPH that was not seen prior to Friday’s committee meeting, was written within an hour, and passed favorably based on an oral reading. It is clear that legislators are not serious about removing Washington D.C. education from Kansas. It was clear that the members were going to vote favorably for whatever motion Amanda Grosserode brought.
The Education Establishment (lobbyists, teacher union members and administrators being paid by YOUR tax dollars) has been putting in overtime, flooding your legislators with calls, cards, and emails. Even the PTA is promoting Common Core! We know you have been calling, as well. But, as you will see below, your legislators—especially the Republicans you elected to bring conservative principles—are only responding to the Establishment. Take note of the legislators’ actions from Friday, and unless they act to reverse their mis-informed actions, remember it this coming November. Make sure your dissatisfaction is heard at the voting booth.
Briefly, the new bill language does not address Kansas College and Career Ready Standards and all its alignments and entanglements, including assessments and data. THE NEW BILL LANGUAGE IN NO WAY AFFIRMS PARENTAL RIGHTS TO DIRECT THEIR CHILD’S EDUCATION.
It is noteworthy that while Amanda Grosserode sports a libertarian label and is “known” for her high ratings on the Freedom Index (as several fellow legislators like to bring up), she has never proactively brought any legislation since being elected to office to remove Common Core and all its entanglements and aliases from the state of Kansas. She has repeatedly, and during every legislative session with pending Common Core legislation, bemoaned the difficulty of the Common Core issue and how there just isn’t any perfect way to address it and how there are never “the votes” to do anything about it.
Her talking points have never changed. Representative Grosserode has consistently brought amendments to the committee at the eleventh hour. These are never available for public review prior to their presentation, and are always effectively used to kill legislation that would actually remove Common Core and all its entanglements from Kansas.
As well, she has stayed far away from addressing anything in regard to the massive and intrusive data collecting and profiles being amassed on kids at the state level. This data collection is required as one of the four assurances agreed to when Governor Parkinson agreed to bring Common Core into Kansas. Not surprisingly, Representative Grosserode homeschools her kids. From her desk in Topeka, she has been able to protect her kids from the things public school kids have no protection from. Does she view the protections she desires for her own children differently than those she desires for other parents’ children? She has never brought any anti-Common Core legislation at the beginning of the session; she only brings eleventh hour legislation to kill other legislation.
While many members of the legislature espouse their dislike of Common Core and their commitment to having it removed, as you can see, when it comes to actually doing it, they can only coalesce around killing legislation or passing essentially do-nothing legislation.
HB2292 was drafted over several months of work by a committee that specifically crafted the legislation to be in accordance with the Kansas Constitution. In recent weeks, THOUSANDS of Kansans have SIGNED PETITIONS in favor or HB2292. This is in addition to years of the public telling the legislature (through phone calls, emails, rallies at the capitol, statements made at campaign events, testimony submitted in support of anti-Common Core legislation, previous petitions signed, etc.) to end Common Core and all its entanglements in Kansas. The actions of legislators are contrary to what Kansans elected them to do and continue asking them to do.
THE ONLY VIABLE ACTION AT THIS TIME IS FOR THE LANGUAGE PASSED ON 3/18 TO BE REMOVED AND THE PREVIOUS BILL LANGUAGE BE RE-INSERTED. CONSTITUENTS MUST DEMAND THIS OF THEIR LEGISLATORS AND THEN LEGISLATORS NEED TO BE OVERT IN DEMANDING THIS HAPPEN, AND INSIST THEIR VOTE BE PUBLISHED. ONLY THEN WILL CONSTITUENTS KNOW FOR SURE HOW TO EVALUATE THEIR LEGISLATOR ON THIS ISSUE FOR THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS.
+Speaker Ray Merrick
785-296-2302
ray.merrick@house.ks.gov +Speaker Pro Tem Peggy Mast
785-291-3500
peggy.mast@house.ks.gov +Majority Leader Jene Vickrey
785-296-7662
jene.vickrey@house.ks.gov +Assistant Majority Leader Mario Goico
785 296-7663
mario.goico@house.ks.gov +Majority Whip Willie Dove
785 296-7677
willie.dove@house.ks.gov +Education Committee Chair Ron Highland
785-296-7310
ron.highland@house.ks.gov +Rep. Tony Barton
785-296-7522
tony.barton@house.ks.gov +Rep. John Bradford
785 296-7653
john.bradford@house.ks.gov +Rep. Dennis Hedke
785 296-7699
dennis.hedke@house.ks.gov +Rep. Becky Hutchins
785-296-3971
becky.hutchins@house.ks.gov +Rep. Kevin Jones
785 296-6287
kevin.jones@house.ks.gov +Rep. Kasha Kelley
785 296-7671
kasha.kelley@house.ks.gov +Rep. Jerry Lunn
785 296-7675
jerry.lunn@house.ks.gov +Rep. Charles Macheers
785 296-7675
charles.macheers@house.ks.gov +Rep. Marc Rhoades
785 296-7671
marc.rhoades@house.ks.gov
The education establishment is talking out of both sides of its mouth and hoping you won’t notice.
While some members of the education establishment are telling us teachers won’t be able to teach basic math if Common Core is eliminated, others are telling us Common Core has ALREADY been eliminated!
You and I know both statements are utter nonsense, but sadly, there are legislators who are falling for it!
And that’s not all. . .
Inside sources at the Capitol have alerted our team to the next stage of the education establishment’s plans to destroy, warp, and weaken our bill. You see, the education establishment knows a few outrageous statements will not be enough to stop your efforts to repeal Common Core. But their plan is for these ridiculous claims to cause enough confusion that they can sneak an amendment into the bill.
They want a backdoor for Common Core. The first stage of their plan is already complete. Just last week, Speaker Ray Merrick ordered H.B. 2292 to be sent back to the Education Committee.
There is still time to stop them, but only if we act fast.
That’s why it’s extremely important you contact the representatives listed below right now.
Demand they stand strong in support of H.B. 2292, send it back to the House floor as is, and insist on a recorded vote on the House floor. Tell them you won’t stand for any amendment that leaves the backdoor open for Common Core.
Education Committee Chair Ron Highland
785-296-7310
ron.highland@house.ks.gov
Rep. Tony Barton
785-296-7522
tony.barton@house.ks.gov
Rep. John Bradford
785 296-7653
john.bradford@house.ks.gov
Rep. Dennis Hedke
785 296-7699
dennis.hedke@house.ks.gov
Rep. Jerry Lunn:
785 296-7675
jerry.lunn@house.ks.gov
Rep. Charles Macheers:
785 296-7675
charles.macheers@house.ks.gov
Rep. Marc Rhoades:
785 296-7671
marc.rhoades@house.ks.gov
Rep. Joseph Scapa
785-296-7682
joseph.scapa@house.ks.gov
Another claim from the education establishment is that our bill would get rid of AP and IB courses. The truth is our bill simply ensures accountability to Kansas standards for all courses taught in Kansas schools. While programs like AP and IB have been beneficial to students in the past, it is vital that there be proper accountability in place to ensure this remains the case. Above all else, we must protect our kids and the integrity of their education.
Unfortunately, there are already signs AP could be headed down the wrong path. You see, David Coleman — the “architect” of the Common Core Standards — is now the new president of the College Board, which creates AP courses!
If that wasn’t enough to worry you, recent changes to AP US History make this course look like it was written by Occupy Wall Street, or other radical leftist organizations.
For example:
>>> The 2014 AP US History curriculum left the Holocaust and D-Day out of World War II!
>>> The 2014 AP US History curriculum left Martin Luther King, Jr. out of discussions of the 1960’s, but included the Black Panthers.
Worse, the College Board is now creating courses for grades as low as sixth grade, to be used in lieu of regular curriculum.
It’s despicable. The education establishment is taking advantage of the good reputation of a good program and hijacking it to use as a backdoor to rebrand Common Core.
That’s right, the College Board and the education establishment wants you to allow Common Core to be repackaged as AP so it can be taught to every middle and high school student in Kansas — without any accountability to Kansans or Kansas standards!
You can be sure this will be one line of attack from the education establishment to try to weaken and warp our bill. . . and there isn’t much time to stop them.
An effort to insert an amendment to allow this kind of backdoor loophole into our bill could happen at any time.
That’s why it’s extremely important you contact the representatives listed above right now.
Demand they stand strong in support of H.B. 2292, send it back to the House floor as is, and insist on a recorded vote on the House floor.Tell them you won’t stand for any amendment that leaves the backdoor open for Common Core.
The education establishment also claims that repealing Common Core would be too expensive. The truth is there is a lot of money to be saved by getting rid of Common Core. Just one example is the $9 million we could save every year by getting rid of Common Core’s superfluous testing and related costs. The House Budget Office wants you to believe it would cost millions to write new standards and assessments, but this is only true if the most expensive option possible is selected as the path forward.
The truth is there are several excellent options for standards and assessments that are available for free if the Kansas Board of Education simply decides to use them. The pre-Common Core standards and assessments — which resulted in much higher scores than we’ve seen with Common Core — would be free!
The education establishment wants to ignore the real savings associated with repealing Common Core. And they’re telling legislators about imagined and unnecessary costs that would be caused only by really poor decisions by the Kansas Board of Education.
That is typical behavior for the education establishment in Kansas.
But without your immediate action, weak-kneed legislators will fall for it.
That’s why it’s extremely important you contact the representatives listed above right now.
Demand they stand strong in support of H.B. 2292, send it back to the House floor as is, and insist on a recorded vote on the House floor. Tell them you won’t stand for any amendment that leaves the backdoor open for Common Core.
It should be no surprise you and I would see this kind of nonsense from the education establishment. After all, we saw the same shenanigans from them last year. But it seems there really is nothing the education establishment won’t do or say to protect the status quo.
The good news is their willingness to make outrageous claims means your hard work is making a difference. You see, attacks against H.B. 2292 by the education lobby are a testimony to the fact that this bill would completely expel Common Core from Kansas schools.
The education lobby knows they must defeat this bill to preserve their power! That means the closer you and I get to repealing Common Core, the more shenanigans we can expect.
The bad news is the education establishment has enormous resources at their disposal and already have a plan in place to sneak an amendment into our bill with a backdoor to keep Common Core.
So your hard work cannot stop now; you and I have to remain vigilant. We have to double down.
That’s why it’s extremely important you contact the representatives listed above now.
Demand they stand strong in support of H.B. 2292, send it back to the House floor as is, and insist on a recorded vote on the House floor.
This year — with your help — we will get a roll call vote on the house floor. With your help, we can pass a clean bill that is not watered down or destroyed by amendments that will leave a backdoor loophole for Common Core.
So be sure to contact the representatives listed above right now.
Demand they stand strong in support of H.B. 2292, send it back to the House floor as is, and insist on a recorded vote on the House floor.
Tell them you won’t stand for any amendment that leaves the backdoor open for Common Core.
Let’s pave the way for a victory against Common Core . . . forever.
You won’t believe the latest claims from the education establishment in Kansas.
Here’s a direct quote from USD 259 School Board President, Betty Arnold: “We couldn’t even teach basic math if Common Core was eliminated.”
They want you to believe Kansas didn’t have math before Common Core.
It seems there really is nothing the education establishment won’t do or say to protect the status quo.
The good news is their willingness to make such outrageous statements means your hard work is making a difference.
The bad news is, yesterday our Common Core Repeal bill (H.B. 2292) was removed from the House floor and sent back to the House Education Committee. Our opponents are trying to destroy, warp, and weaken our bill.
That’s why it’s extremely important you call Speaker Ray Merrick and Education Committee Chairman Ron Highland right now.
Demand that H.B. 2292 be returned to the House floor immediately and given a recorded vote, without amendments.
Speaker Ray Merrick
785-296-2302
ray.merrick@house.ks.gov
Education Committee Chair Ron Highland
785-296-7310
ron.highland@house.ks.gov
Additionally, be sure to read our previous post, “Call to Action—Stop the Lies,” about the shenanigans coming from the education establishment and how your involvement can stop them.
With your help, we can fight back against the nonsense from the education establishment and expel Common Core from Kansas schools forever!
Your legislators are believing Randy Watson’s lies.
You see, several members of the Kansas House have reported that Mr. Watson, the highly paid Kansas Commissioner of Education, has been lying to Kansas legislators and saying that Common Core is gone from Kansas classrooms.
In reality, Common Core standards remain in Kansas classrooms, under the name of College and Career Ready, and under other aligned standards and curricula.
In addition, assessments used in Kansas today are all aligned with Common Core!
Randy Watson knows that if our legislators know the truth, they will be much more likely to insist on passing H.B. 2292 to fully repeal Common Core!
The simple truth is that many programs, curricula, and standards are aligned with the Common Core standards, including College and Career Ready and the AP courses, to name only two. The simple truth is that Kansas schools will continue to use these and other Common Core aligned standards, assessments, and curricula until your Kansas legislature passes H.B. 2292!
Contact your Kansas representative immediately, and tell them to stop believing Randy Watson’s lies about Common Core no longer being in Kansas! (See contact info below.)
It should be no surprise that we would see this kind of lying from the education establishment in 2016. After all, we saw the same lying last year from the education establishment and from legislators who wanted to appear to support Common Core repeal, but instead worked hard only to discredit our bill.
We expected that opponents to our bill would use the same tricks and schemes on the House floor that they tried last year in the House Education Committee, including:
>>> Lying about our bill costing taxpayers, when it will actually save money;
>>> Lying about the contents of our bill;
>>> Lying about the constitutionality of our bill;
>>> Proposing large last minute amendments to gut our bill;
>>> And even proposing last minute amendments to replace our entire bill.
But we had no idea that Randy Watson would be willing to publicly state an outright lie, repeatedly insisting that Common Core is no longer in Kansas schools! And your legislators are believing this lie!
Attacks against H.B. 2292 by the education lobby are a testimony to the fact that this bill would completely expel Common Core and all related standards and curricula from Kansas schools. The education lobby knows that they must defeat this bill to preserve their power! H.B. 2292 was written very deliberately, because your Kansans Against Common Core team did their homework. These attacks are also due to your hard work. The education lobby is running scared, because you have been sending calls and emails to your legislators demanding a full repeal of Common Core by passing H.B. 2292.
You see, over the last year, moms, teachers, and activists from all across Kansas have been going to work knocking on doors, making phone calls, writing emails, gathering petition signatures, and doing whatever it takes to force a vote on our Common Core Repeal bill.
We are proud to tell you that your hard work is paying off! Thanks to your hard work and that of grassroots activists across the state, our bill –- now officially H.B. 2292 — has been passed out of the Kansas House Education Committee! That’s right. The Kansas House now has the opportunity to pass the most thorough Common Core Repeal bill IN THE NATION.
And the education lobby is now more afraid than ever! We can expect more shenanigans, not less, from them between now and the vote on H.B. 2292 on the house floor!
So our hard work cannot stop here. If we stop now, Speaker Merrick could choose to never give our bill a recorded vote on the House floor. If we stop now, your legislator might continue to believe Randy Watson’s lies. That’s why it is so important you take action immediately!
Contact your Kansas representative immediately, and tell them to stop believing Randy Watson’s lies about Common Core no longer being in Kansas! (See contact info below.)
Repealing Common Core is now more important than ever!
With the passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) last fall, Randy Watson and many others want us to believe Common Core has been eliminated by the federal government. That could not be further from the truth!
Unfortunately, the ESSA keeps the College and Career Ready standards, which are essentially Common Core. Worse, the ESSA forces states to comply with these standards to receive money from the federal government! If Kansas complies with the ESSA, the feds will control the standards and assessments in Kansas schools, possibly forever.
The feds only contribute about 8% of total Kansas spending on education, but they want to control 100% of the standards and outcomes. The good news is H.B. 2292 will fully repeal Common Core, including College and Career Ready and other related standards and curricula.
The other good news is the original 2016 bill lists 30 cosponsors in the Kansas House.
But we could lose this opportunity if your legislator believes Randy Watson’s lies!
That’s why it is so important you take action immediately!
Last year, we got a hearing on our Common Core Repeal bill in the House Education Committee, but the debate and vote were fraught with shenanigans!
This year, however, thanks to grassroots efforts, our bill has already passed out of the House Education Committee!
But you can expect that opponents of our bill are planning to use the same tricks and schemes on the House floor that they tried last year in the House Education Committee!
And you can expect that Randy Watson will continue to lie to legislators in Topeka. Our insiders are already telling us that some folks — who claim to be against Common Core — are saying our bill will cost astronomical sums, when our bill will actually save $9 million every year on superfluous and time-wasting assessments required by Common Core!
The opposition is also already telling lies about the non-existent 2017 Kansas standards. They are falsely claiming the 2017 standards would ban AP and IB courses, but these standards are well over a year from even being prepared! You can see the despair of the education establishment in their lies and shenanigans!
We will face down every one of these lies. Truth can prevail. This year — with your help — we will get a roll call vote on the House floor for our Common Core Repeal bill.
With your help, we can pass a clean bill that is not watered down or destroyed by bad amendments. We can pave the way for a victory against Common Core, forever. But this is a slow process, and winning takes hard work.
That’s why we need your help to ensure that your legislator does not believe Randy Watson’s lies. We need your help to ensure that this important bill gets a fair debate and roll call vote on the House floor.
Contact your Kansas representative immediately, and tell them to stop believing Randy Watson’s lies about Common Core no longer being in Kansas! Tell them you want them to pass this bill, HB2292, with NO amendments!
Also, please contact these members of the leadership in the Kansas House to tell them to stop believing Randy Watson’s lies about Common Core no longer being in Kansas!
Speaker Ray Merrick
785-296-2302
ray.merrick@house.ks.gov
Speaker Pro Tem Peggy Mast
785-291-3500
peggy.mast@house.ks.gov
Assistant Majority Leader Mario Goico
785 296-7663
mario.goico@house.ks.gov
Majority Whip Willie Dove
785 296-7677
willie.dove@house.ks.gov
With your help we can expel Common Core from Kansas schools permanently!
Thank You,
Kansans Against Common Core
P.S. Thanks to the hard work of grassroots activists across the state our bill to fully expel Common Core from Kansas schools has been passed out of the Kansas House Education Committee!
Call your legislator and House leadership immediately and tell them to stop believing Randy Watson’s lies, and to assure that H.B. 2292 gets a fair hearing and roll call vote on the House floor!
Stop and think for a moment. Why do you send your kid to public school, or school at all? What is the purpose? What do you expect your kid to get out of it or be able to do because your kid receives an education? Do you think that school is about academics? What percentage of schooling should be about academics? 20%? 40%? 80%? More? Less? Who should be offering up feedback to the Kansas Education Department? Parents? Teachers? Government officials? Business leaders? In what percentages should these groups provide thoughts and information?
Randy Watson, the Kansas Education Commissioner, has been scooting all over our state with his presentation called Kansas Can. He is basically laying out the Kansas Department of Education’s marketing plan by asking teachers to “get on board” and help him promote the grand plan. He reveals what he says the Chamber of Commerce wants out of your child and his education. Why the focus on the desires of business? Is parent pro-creation merely the producing of humans for the needs of business and government? Take a look at the graph from his presentation:
That’s right. You’re not seeing it wrong. You don’t need to reach for a different pair of glasses. According to Watson’s presentation, the Chamber of Commerce tells him that only 15% of a child’s education should focus on academic skills. So, that begs the question, “What, exactly, are these “non academic skills” that the Chamber thinks that education should provide your child?” Well, evidently, young adults don’t know how to show up to work on time or know that they shouldn’t be texting their friends while they are on the clock, and that sort of thing. Never mind that kids are required to show up to school on time, every day, and never mind that schools have existing policies about texting while taking a test.
What jumps into my mind is this, “Why is it a school’s job to teach my child to be punctual? Isn’t that my job?” So now, rather than teaching our kids the “three Rs,” we are going to spend valuable teaching time with these social and emotional types of things. The teachers really do replace the parents in an “educational” environment like this.
But wait…it gets BETTER!
We have done our research. They are also planning on filling up your kids’ minds with the copyrighted, unchangeable Common Core values, beliefs, and attitudes. This includes Common Core aligned standards, such as the “social, emotional and character development standards.” Don’t expect the Kansas educational “elites” to drop this without a big fight; they helped design/implement these intrusive standards. Did you know this was going on?
Take a close look at this pie chart presented in Watson’s Kansas Can presentation with which he is currently “on tour.”
Here’s a juicy bite: This change in teaching focus violates the Kansas Constitution! Article 6 section 1 states: 1: Schools and related institutions and activities. The legislature shall provide for intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement by establishing and maintaining public schools, educational institutions and related activities which may be organized and changed in such manner as may be provided by law.
It is no wonder. When the Kansas Can marketing bus visited cities and “Delphied” the masses, take a guess how much parental involvement was included. Exactly 5.6%! Now, guess how much input the educational establishment usurped for itself? An unbelievable 74.5%! Classroom teacher involvement is expected and desired, but parental rights are supreme and guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that parents possess the “fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.”
The court has declared that “the child is not the mere creature of the State: those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” (Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S.10, 534-35).
Is anyone starting to see that things are just not adding up? Is this “Kansas Can” or is this “Kansas Scam?”
TOPEKA, Kan. (Feb. 19, 2016) – A step in the direction of upholding the U.S. Constitution and the Kansas Constitution was taken Wednesday. A step to uphold the state’s purview over Education and uphold parent rights and responsibilities to educate their children was taken Wednesday.
A Kansas bill to cut off education related ties with the federal government including the withdrawal of the state from the Common Core standards passed out of the House Education Committee on Wednesday. This bill would nullify nationalized education in the state.
A combination of thirty representatives introduced House Bill 2676 (HB2676), the Local Control of Kansas Education Act, on Feb. 10th.
HB2676 is nearly identical to last year’s bill, House Bill 2292 (HB2292), with only minor updates. HB2292 received a hearing and a vote in committee last year, but did not make it out of committee.
On Wednesday, a motion to reconsider HB2292 in committee was successful. This was followed up by a successful motion to substitute HB2676 into the bill, and finally a motion to pass Substitute for House Bill 2292 (Sub for HB2292). It was successfully passed out of committee, under Chair, Ron Highland. House members voting it out of committee were: Tony Barton, John Bradford, Rob Bruchman, Amanda Grosserode, Dennis Hedke, Becky Hutchins, Kevin Jones, Kasha Kelley, Charles Macheers, Peggy Mast, Marc Rhoades, and Jene Vickrey. Now it will move on to the full House for consideration.
The legislation declares “the state shall retain sole control over the development, establishment and revision of K-12 curriculum standards.”
Additionally, the bill forbids any Kansas entity or official from ceding any authority over Kansas education to any entity not explicitly named in the Kansas Constitution. It then voids any past or future action taken to implement Common Core or other national education standards.
“Any actions taken by any education entity or any state official to adopt, implement or align programs, assessments, testing, surveys or any educational materials or activities to the common core state standards, the social, emotional and character development standards, the national curriculum standards for social studies, the national health education standards, the national sexuality education standards, core content and skills, K-12 or any other academic standards not in the public domain, free of any copyright, are void beginning July 1, 2017.”
Local control of education is upheld. Parents’ rights to direct the education of their child through locally controlled schools is upheld. Local schools and teachers will be responsive to parents rather than implementers of state and federal education dictates. The bill mandates that new academic standards shall be developed through a state process but also makes clear that any standards developed will be “model” standards with local school districts having the authority to maintain their own curriculum.
A first of its kind step was taken to explicitly ensure parents’ and students’ rights to protect their intellectual property. The bill upholds parents’ control over their child’s data in regard to its creation, collection, use, and privacy. A significant step was taken to protect students from intrusive data mining and collection, programs that are inherent with initiatives like Common Core.
As the House Education committee learned on Wednesday, the all-encompassing federal intrusion in education is being rejected across the country including in states like Washington and New York.
However, you can be sure that the Education Establishment, including the KNEA, KASB, State School Board, and State Department of Education, will do everything they can to maintain the status quo, resulting in “rebranded” versions of the same program.
You can be sure that people you elected, who said they were against the federal intrusion into education and would work to remove it, will staunchly claim their commitment to protect the state, but will act to water down or prevent passing this bill.
Some claim that a bill recently passed by Congress, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), places a great deal more control in the hands of states, local communities, parents, and educators including cutting the federal strings of Common Core. That could not be further from the truth. The ESSA actually requires states to comply with College and Career Ready Standards, which are Common Core. The bill does not remove the federal government from the business of education, as it requires the federal education secretary to approve each state’s plans for education. In addition, state chief school officers continue to be held accountable for not reporting a 95% participation rate on student assessments. The ESSA also extends federal funding to states to review and improve their existing pre-K programs. We can fully expect, and have found, this extension of “assistance” to be laden with all the usual federal encroachments that accompany federal funding.
Federal involvement in education is about control, not education. The partnership between the federal departments of Labor and Education to further the development of fully functioning statewide birth-to-adulthood databases on citizens, and commonality of standards and testing across the country is reshaping the nation. It will result, as intended, in only people whose education they can control getting jobs, getting into college, and getting into the military. It’s a tool of control, not a tool of education.
It is extremely important that this bill move forward without any amendments. Changes that affect the intent or effectiveness of the bill will be attempted. “Rebranded” do-nothing bills occur when all aspects of federal intrusion are not addressed and repealed.
HB2292 (formerly HB2676) does address and repeal all aspects of federal intrusion, including Common Core.
We believe parents are those best equipped to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
We believe teachers are best able to be responsive to parents and meet the education needs of children when they are not encumbered by federal and state mandates.
We believe individual teachers are degreed professionals who are capable of creating their own lesson plans and deciding how to teach.
Rejecting nationalized education standards is the first step toward bringing true academic choice, freedom, and protection of personal property. Passage of this legislation, without amendments, into law represents a positive step forward for the children, parental rights, and the constitution.
Kansans Against Common Core 