Missouri Coalition Against Common Core

Today the House Rules Committee voted 7:5 to send HB616 to the House floor for debate. Many thanks to Chairman Riddle and Representatives Jones, Cox, Elmer, Guernsey, Leara and Scharnhorst for moving this bill foward!

Posted April 18, 2013

Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) has written, and is gathering co-signers in Washington for, a letter expressing serious concerns with the manner in which the US Department of Education has involved itself with Common Core standards. The letter also notes the highly irregular process used to change the Congressional FERPA allowing the sharing of individual student records. The letter was written with the oversight of the House Education & Workforce Committee and already has interest from republican representatives in UT, IN, KS, MN, MI and even a democrat in IL.

Our understanding from Congressman Luetkemeyer's staff is that Common Core is a very hot topic in DC. That must mean we are on the right path in opposing it.

See draft letter here

Posted April 16, 2013

DESE announced its plans to hold simultaneous meetings around the state to "communicate" about Common Core. The meetings are planned for May 2nd from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in these locations:

Hazelwood District Office                                    Springfield Kraft Administrative Center
15955 New Halls Ferry Rd                                   Rooms A&B 1359 East St. Louis
Florissant, MO 63031                                           Springfield, MO 65802

Lindbergh District Office                                     Marceline Walsworth Community Center
4900 South Lindbergh Blvd.                                124 East Richie (Downtown)
St.Louis, MO 6 3126                                            Marceline, MO 64658

Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center (CTC), Room 110
1080 South Silver Springs Road
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703

Camdenton School District                                 Warrensburg Middle School
Hawthorn Elementary School                              Library Media Center
296 Minor Street                                                  640 East Gay Street
Camdenton, MO 65020                                       Warrensburg, MO 64093

Center Senior High School Cafeteria
8715 Holmes Road
Kansas City, MO 64131

These meetings are unrelated to the ones called for in SB210. DESE says they will have information available in advance of the meeting at https://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/Common_Core.html  The format will be entirely up to them.

Alert your networks. Let's make sure we are there with lots of questions. They need to see how not "state-led" or supported Common Core really is.

This weekend the Republican National Committee unanimously passed a resolution against Common Core Standards and student data collection. In it they stated clearly that Republicans do not believe in a one size fits all approach to education. An excerpt from the full text reads:

... RESOLVED, the Republican National Committee recognizes the CCSS for what it is– an inappropriate overreach to standardize and control the education of our children so they will conform to a preconceived “normal,” and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee rejects the collection of personal student data for any non-educational purpose without the prior written consent of an adult student or a child student’s parent and that it rejects the sharing of such personal data, without the prior written consent of an adult student or a child  student’s parent, with any person or entity other than schools or education agencies within the state

To read the full resolution go to https://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/rnc-passes-anti-common-core-resolution-at-their-spring-meeting/

Common Core seeks to end, by fiat, the debate over what is best for teaching our children. These decisions need to be made at the local level where those who can best determine where to allocate limited resources to produce the optimal outcome have control. HB616 will return control of education to our state and to our districts and we ask you to support it.
Posted April 15, 2013

House Bill 616 - BAHR
(Co-sponsors) JONES (110), KOENIG, FUNDERBURK, SPENCER, LANT, SCHARNHORST, CURTMAN, BRATTIN, PARKINSON, FRAKER, MARSHALL, CRAWFORD, FITZWATER, JONES (50) AND DIEHL
Prohibits the State Board of Education from adopting and implementing the standards for public schools developed by the Common Core Standards Initiative.

Senate Bill 210 - LAMPING, Co-sponsor NIEVES

Common Core State Standards. The Department must also prepare, at least two weeks prior to the first of the public hearings, a report identifying any data that will be collected as a result of the Common Core State Standards and any governmental or quasi- governmental entities or consortium that collects or receives any data. These reports must be published on the Department's website and must be provided to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint Committee on Education.

Contact your legislator and tell them you want local control of education.

Think Common Core is only for public schools? Think again.

Kevin C. Baxter, the superintendent of elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles recalled attending a recent regional conference for Catholic educators where the common core came up.

"We were asked how many were going forward with it, and every hand went up," he said. Los Angeles is not a unique case. Dioces in Philadelphia, Louisville and Arlington VA are also on board with CCSS.

The reasons centered around making schools comparable and concern that college entrance exams will be heavily influenced by CCSS. 

Read more about which private schools are heading into CCSS here at Ed Week.