It Takes A Village...To Stop Common Core

Because ROPE has worked for so many years chipping away at the issue of Common Core, our email boxes and Facebook pages have been flooded over the last couple of days with many sweet messages congratulating us on the passage of HB3399 - the strongest bill in the nation passed against Common Core to date.  While I know all of us at ROPE (Lynn and Julia and I) really appreciate the acknowledgements and kudos, I keep reminding people the fight isn't over until Governor Fallin signs the bill, passing on links to the letter-writing campaign and the GOP petition aimed at cajoling her signature.

I also try to continue to remind people that, while we might have lain the groundwork, there is no possible way we could have continued this mission or gotten as far as we have this year - first and foremost without God and prayer - but also the countless emails, phone calls, Tweets, Facebook posts and Capitol visits made by the THOUSANDS of Oklahomans concerned about Common Core and its effects upon the children of Oklahoma.  We would be nowhere if not for you!  For that, every single person who has sent even a single email can take some sort of ownership in whatever victory we are handed.

Though grassroots have been all-important, many Oklahoma legislators have carried the Common Core ball at one time or another.  One of the legislators ROPE appreciates most is Representative Sally Kern.  From nearly the first moment we came to her in late 2010 with what little research we had developed on Common Core by that time, she was on board to stop it.  She had been in many of the meetings during which SB2033 - the bill that began many of the education 'reforms' today including Common Core - had been hashed out.  She'd already done quite a bit of research on her own and was not in favor of Oklahoma even taking a Race to the Top grant, let alone adopting standards written outside the state.

Though none of us were really sure how to attack the problem, Representative Kern wrote the first bill to stop Common Core in 2011 (HB1714).  This bill simply took the phrase "Common Core State Standards" out of law, yet the bill failed to get a hearing in either the House Education committee and died.  That October, however, Kern was back with an Interim Study where she had us - and Lindsay Burke of Heritage Foundation - present our information alongside Dr. Barresi.  I think we can call that Baptism By Fire!

In 2012, since HB1714 wasn't given a hearing, Representative Kern reinstated the bill.  Again it wasn't given a hearing at the Committee level and the bill died.

Representative Gus Blackwell wrote HB1907 in 2013 to create a task force to study the cost of Common Core.  That made it through Committee (Gus went around the troublesome Common Education Committee that had stopped 1714 and had it heard in his Rules Committee), but Speaker T.W. Shannon kept it off the floor because the Governor had said she wouldn't sign any task force bills that year.  Instead, Blackwell was offered an Interim Study even more comprehensive than Kern's.  We didn't wait for that, however.  Immediately, Gus authored HJR1011; a joint resolution against Common Core and undaunted we held a successful Common Core is NOT Ok rally and press conference (Lynn dreamed up the slogan just in time for the event!) in the Senate hallway in late March.

Though we were unable to get ANY bill, including Blackwell's HJR heard that year, over the course of four days in October, Blackwell (and Representative Dan Fisher - Vice Chair of the Rules Committee) led a veritable parade of parents, teachers, administrators and numerous out-of-state experts who testified against Common Core - data collection, cost, math standards, English/LA standards, developmental inappropriateness. We even brought in Jaime Gass from the Pioneer Institute and Dr. Everett Piper from Wesleyan University for a quick rally at the capitol prior to the start of the Interim Study to gear everyone up.

Then, of course, this year there were no less than SEVEN bills authored in the legislature against Common Core.  After much political wrangling and positioning, Representative Jason Nelson got HB3399 out toward the end, and, after much more political wrangling, the bill finished the session as the toughest CC bill in the nation.  I have yet to record all the inside baseball on that process, but I'm sure after my head stops spinning I'll find the time.

In the meantime we absolutely have to thank Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman for including us early on in the process, Representative Jason Nelson for his countless thousand hours of study and meetings about and on the bill to make it the very best it could be, Senator Josh Brecheen for having the gumption to bring a Common Core bill directly to the floor because the issue wasn't getting a hearing in the Senate Education Committee - and for his tireless defense of and work on the bill, Senate Pro Temp Brian Bingman for including us in meeting after meeting on the Senate side to help work through the process, Senator Anthony Sykes for his legal expertise on rules, and of course (though there are many others to be singled out as well) Representatives Gus Blackwell and Sally Kern for their continued desire and commitment to make Common Core a dead issue in Oklahoma.

Now, as we wait to hear whether or not Governor Fallin will sign HB3399, the amount of time and effort we've actually put into this fight comes back.  Yes, I've briefly described each previous session's bills, but what I haven't described is all that has gone on in the background - all the meetings and phone calls and research and emailing and lobbying and event planning and logistics and long-range planning and volunteer wrangling.  Then there's the traveling.  I promise, as I've traveled all over this state the last four years - from Grove to Woodward, from Skiatook to Durant - educating people on Common Core, I've put thousands and thousands of miles on my Expedition, spent thousands in gas and worn my family out.  We've set up tables at festivals, GOP rallys and conferences - all without pay - taking any gas money participants would throw our way.  We've attended the Education Policy Conference in St. Louis every year for four years at our own expense - and other conferences besides.

A thousand times for a thousand different reasons (speaking engagement, lobbying, meeting, etc.) I've dumped my poor kids off on my mom Phyllis Morrow, my mother-in-law Martha, my friend Nancy Blalock, my sister-in-law Catherine Wagner, or my friend Tammy Case and I so appreciate their understanding and constant support.  I thank Kelly McCurry, Dawn Shelton, Bobbie Wallace and all the other instructors at our Classical Conversations home school campus for their understanding and support when I've done nothing some days but ignore my own kids while I talk or text on my phone from 9am to 3pm. I've stayed up past 2 and 3 in the morning countless times (including tonight!) writing emails or papers or press releases just to have to get up at the crack of dawn and start household and farm chores that also include educating 3 kids who stay home with me all day, all the while trying to find the time to fold the 5 loads of clothes from the dryer.  I guarantee without the good graces and support of my husband, there would have been no ROPE in the first place, let alone after all these years!  Truly, I have been blessed with an unbelievably precious husband.

One of the best things about this journey has been the hundreds and hundreds of truly wonderful people I've met over the years.  People that just couldn't possibly be nicer individuals.  People that just want their government to leave them alone and quit 'helping' them raise their kids and grandkids - people like Cyndi and John McArtor with Get America Back in Grove, Jerry and Shirley Waddle of the Konawa Tea Party, Tonya Nix and her crew of PTO moms in Canton, Andie Hutchinson near Ceiling, Thompson and Gina Spier from Okemah, Gary and Celia Lanham from Osage County Republicans and Cheryl Carman and the merry band of Republican women in Miami (to name a few) - all have become like extended family and I love them dearly!

Fortunately, over this year there has been a huge influx of education activists!  Though I hate things are going so poorly for so many kids that so many moms are up in arms, it has been great to meet so many of them and watch them activate their friends and neighbors to also get involved.  Moms like Joy Collins of Bartians for Academic Freedom, Kim Wheeler of Sapulpa Against Common Core, Kristal Picolet of Owasso Against Common Core, Jama Harris of Oolagah Against Common Core, Melissa Harcrow and Dr. Barbara McClanahan of Tri-County Parent Action Committee, teacher Jaime Minter and moms Angela Little and Melissa Wilkins of Oklahoma Parents and Educators For Public Education - and so many more I've forgotten to mention - but it's been such a blessing to have them out there fighting for Oklahoma's kids.

Longtime Oklahoma education stalwarts Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE) and former Oklahoma State Superintendent candidate (and unconfirmed Secretary of Education under Governor Frank Keating), Linda Murphy, also jumped into the fray; POE providing an extraordinarily helpful survey of their teacher membership showing only a very few supported Common Core - Murphy providing historical research showing Common Core's roots in Outcome Based Education.

Though I truly believe God called me to this journey, there have been plenty of bumps along the way - Board members that have moved on, loss of friendships for reasons unknown, my apparent ability to rub the wrong way those that could have been better allies, the inevitable 'circling of the firing squad' I've seen happen over and over again to Conservatives as they try to activate toward a cause (this is the most harmful because the collateral damage from infighting ruins more than just the person or persons at which the guns are aimed - it can ultimately destroy the cause.  I've seen it happen and this, in my opinion, is why Conservatives lose so many political battles.).  I guess it matters not in the end so long as we end up helping kids and parents, but I'm only human and that part sucks.  I mean really, politics is a dirty, confusing, frustrating enough steer to wrestle all on its own, why anyone would want to make it harder or more unpalatable, I just don't understand...

Troubles are often offset by joys and it has been a joy to have met moms (and dads) fighting Common Core all across America through the Truth in American Education (TAE) network we were asked to join in 2011 - Heidi Huber in Ohio, Kristen George in Kansas, Gretchen Logue in Missouri, Yvonne Gasperino in New York, Alisa Ellis in Utah and Christy Hooley in Wyoming, Emmett McGroarty of American Principals Project and James Wilson and Shane Vander Hart of TAE to name a few.

It's also been a blast to have been flown out to be on the Glenn Beck show with Dana Loesch, talked with Wild Billl McKubby from WBYZ-FM in GA, Pat Campbell at KFAQ in Tulsa, Reid Mullins now at KZLS 1640 and get to know people like Kyle Olson of EAG News, Joy Pullman of Heartland Institute and Dr. Sandra Stotsky, Ze'ev Wurman and other amazingly smart people who have more brain in their pinkies than I have in my whole brain case.

As I wrap up at 2:20am, I need to say that no matter how far ROPE has gotten in years past, I am absolutely positive the synergy created by the working relationships formed this year after years and years of relationship building are what it took to get the job done.  This year, we not only had all our old friends backing us up - like Ronda Vouillemont-Smith of the Tulsa 912 Project, Carma Neta Morris and Karen Yates of the OKC912Project, Bunny Chambers of the Oklahoma Eagle Forum, Tracey Montgomery with ParentalRights.org - but National Republican Committee Woman, Carolyn McLarty (who wrote the RNC resolution against Common Core signed by every Committee Man and Woman from across the nation) and Holly Gerard, GOP royalty and campaign manager extraordinaire!  Joy Collins has taken over much of our calendar, event and meme-generating chores (and got her picture taken with Mary Fallin in a Stop Common Core t-shirt!) and Don Krumme of Stop Common Core in Oklahoma is doing a FABULOUS job of spreading news and action alerts far and wide across Facebook (as well as generating the most hilarious memes!).  We are also helped by one who wants to remain the "player to be named later", but without whose organizational (bordering on the obsessive/micromanagement style, lol) skills we would have been all off doing our own thing and not working TOGETHER, which is really what it is taking to finish the job.

In fact, though we've worked hard in the past, I felt this year we worked CONSTANTLY.  I mean, just when I thought I could take a break, I'd get a phone call or text to do this or that or get on a conference call so everyone could be on the same page.  Between helping coordinate capitol rallys and visits and researching/writing, I swear this seemed the hardest year of them all.  But again, all of it will be worth it when Governor Fallin signs the bill.

True story.  When I was in college, I had a microbiology professor - an old bench scientist that looked like Grizzly Adams - and I just loved him to death.  One day we were talking about a terrible grade I'd made on an Cell Physiology test and he said, "Jenni, you're never going to be a rocket scientist, but you are tenacious as anyone I've ever met.  Sometimes that's all it takes."

Even if Governor Fallin signs HB3399, the fight is not over.  We will have to stay diligent - and isn't that really our jobs as citizens anyway - to stay active and involved in the political process at a constant level - to protect ourselves from a government that won't protect us themselves?  I've seen people post comments about what a long fight it's been to stop Common Core to this point yet I'm pretty sure they mean since February of this year.  Tenacity is necessity in guarding one's liberties - like the Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us..."  No matter what happens, "Never, never, never give up," Winston Churchill.  Our kids will ALWAYS be worth fighting for and we'll always have to be ready to defend them.

Current Status Of Common Core Legislation (3/7/2014)

We started the legislative session in Oklahoma with 7 bills relating to Common Core.  I documented all the bills and gave a brief synopsis prior to the legislative session, however, now here we are - not even half way through the legislative session and we're already down to ONLY three survivors:

1. HB3399 by Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman (formerly Jason Nelson)
2. HB3167 by Gus Blackwell and
3. SB1310 by Eddie Fields

• SB1310 was the only bill by Fields to pass out of the Senate Education Committee (he had two - SB1146 was a repeal bill - SB1310 is a Task Force Bill).  Unfortunately - as I told Senator Ford - we have studied Common Core in some capacity for two separate years (2011, 2013), there is absolutely no reason to 'study' it further.  This bill is alive and scheduled for a vote in the full Senate.

• HB3167 is a full repeal bill that provides six years in which districts may try any form of standards and curricula they desire.  A Fiscal Analysis has been attached to the bill that states a repeal could result in a significant loss of federal funds.

• HB3399 as currently written does a number of things:

• It prevents the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) or any state entity or agency from ceding control over standards, curricula, tests or data to an outside entity, ie; the federal government or private entity.

• It forces the state agencies and individuals that are party to federal grants, agreements or contracts having to do with public education to amend the agreements to get out of them.

• It STOPS Common Core AND Common Core testing implementation for two years.

There has been much confusion regarding these bills.  This morning I was talking to the creator of Bartians for Academic Freedom, Joy Collins.  Below, I am pasting a section from her Facebook page today because she has so aptly described the situation there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel:

HB 3167 - Removes the state mandate and leaves a choice for the schools to keep the standards in place (personally I don't see my school district removing them, how about yours? And does this end the nightmare of the ACT and the SAT?) I acknowledge it is a start, but it is not an complete answer to our prayers. There will be a lot work left to do.

My cousin, who teaches in Texas, has been dealing with C-Scope (the evil step sister of Common Core) in her classroom, and she can attest that just because the state removes the mandate, doesn't mean the standards go anywhere. Her school district holds the opinion that they have spent too much money and aren't getting rid of C-Scope in the schools.

HB 3399 - Freezes the mandate for implementation for two years, removes the Common Core testing mandate, and puts the PASS assessments back in place until 2016-2017, and prevents federal intervention in state education. If PASS is the test, then PASS will more than likely the be curriculum. It gives us the opportunity to see the lame ducks go, vote for people who reflect our ideals into office, and get rid of this horse manure once and for all. 

Some say, Governor Fallin wants to sign HB 3399 to be a hero in her campaign for reelection. I say…praise God! With more time we will continue to educate and get better legislation in place. Whoever thought this would this would be short journey clearly didn't pack enough clothes. In the meantime, as we continue to educate and demonstrate. We must also quit assuming we know what is going on with politicians behind closed doors. A little less he said/she said would go a long way. Who knows, maybe with a little authoritative prayer, Governor Mary Fallin might just come through for us. I am only a political novice who is learning by the day, but slandering any politician without clear evidence weakens our movement and cheapens our integrity.

We agree!  Is the issue STOPPING Common Core or backing a bill number?  ROPE has been lobbying, studying, writing, and speaking all over the state to anyone who would listen in order to STOP Common Core, since 2011.  We will back ANY legislation that STOPS Common Core BEFORE it is fully implemented in Oklahoma by law next year.

Unfortunately, Common Core is like a hydra. There are way too many heads to cut off by a simple repeal.  In addition, Governor Mary Fallin, is the head of the National Governor's Association.  She has touted these standards as an accountability measure since she came into office.  According to a conversation Joy had with the Governor last night - where a group staged a protest outside her new campaign office in Tulsa - our Governor believes her Executive Order on Common Core STOPS Common Core.  Of course it does nothing of the kind, however, we have also been told she will VETO any Common Core repeal bill - especially if there is a negative fiscal impact.

We understand from numerous sources who have been to the capitol, that Katie Altshuler (the Governor's Policy Director over education) has been speaking directly to legislators - lobbying against efforts to STOP COMMON CORE.

ROPE has ALWAYS determined to assist parents in their efforts to protect their children and retain their parental rights by STOPPING Common Core, whatever that looks like, whatever the bill number is, whomever is the author. If a bill can be cobbled together that will not only pass the Senate from the House but be SIGNED by the Governor - we're IN - but it will take a UNIFIED voice to get there.  

If you want to STOP Common Core, continue to help us with emails to Katie Altshuler's office, YOUR PERSONAL Senator and Representative and the Governor.  Sign up for our emails. We will give you ideas as to how to take action.  Thank you for ANY assistance in our battle to STOP Common Core in Oklahoma!

The Politics of Common Core Part 2

Recently I gave you a rundown on the way I see the basic politics at play for the upcoming legislative session here in Oklahoma.  Since that time one very important thing has happened - Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon has declared himself to be considering a run for Senator Tom Coburn's Senate seat.

This changes things a bit.  If Shannon declares himself as a candidate for the seat, he would most probably leave his post as Speaker to campaign.  If he leaves his post as Speaker, we're not certain who would carry his bill, nor can we be certain who the next speaker would be.  There are several we have heard of that have indicated their interest in the post (among others) and the new Speaker's relationship with the governor may put he or she at odds with the grassroots desire to stop Common Core.

Currently, there are SEVEN bills relating directly to the Common Core - 5 in the House and 2 in the Senate.  

Two are simple repeal bills that delete the ONE PARAGRAPH in the 32 page SB2033 that made Common Core law in Oklahoma.  These are:

HB 2786 - authored by Representative Jadine Nollan 

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/HB/HB2786%20int.pdf

HB2849 - authored by Representative Dan Fisher

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/HB/HB2849%20int.pdf

There is no reason to think we cannot pass these bills with sufficient enough citizen pressure. Though our main opposition appears to come from two term limited senators - one, Clark Jolley has higher political aspirations and the second, John Ford, has to return to his small community of Bartlesville where a Common Core forum will occur tomorrow night (1/28/13) that has gotten media attention from the Tulsa World and the Pat Campbell show.  For the rest of the non-term-limited senators, we must remind them that this is an election year for some.  If we can't prompt them nicely to do as we ask, then they needn't be re-elected.  In fact, it is our plan to push FULL FORCE FOR REPEAL.  

We have heard these bills may have trouble in Committee because they provide no 'back-up' plan for standards outside the Common Core - they repeal the standards, but put nothing in their place.  In fact, we have long provided TWO OPTIONS:

1.  Return to PASS until new standards - developed by actual Oklahomans - can be created.  Don't forget, the stink that helped cause all this education 'reform' nonsense in the first place was created when it was learned that state superintendents across the nation, including Sandy Garrett, had lowered the cut scores on the yearly state tests (an 'A' would have been 85 and up, rather than 90 and up, for example) in order to make it easier for kids to do well on their exams in order to satisfy the requirements of No Child Left Behind.  So was NCLB repealed?  Oh no instead the feds simply began to apply a whole new set of mandates for states through Race to the Top and NCLB waivers to make up for the bad law!  What is it that's said about insanity?

2.  Dr. Sandra Stotsky, known for her participation in writing the 2001 Massachusetts' educational standards that made MA's standards some of the very best in the entire country (as determined via standardized testing), has released her standards FOR FREE on line.  She has made it possible for EVERY STATE who would like to use them to use them without copyright or strings of any kind.  Why not start with the best?  Oklahoma educators can certainly add or subtract as desired, but these are FREE AND EXCELLENT as opposed to poor and untested!

Senator Eddie Fields has authored TWO bills.  One is a repeal bill that also includes direction to the State Board of Education to remove all alignment in the standards to the Common Core, stop Common Core assessments and require the state board to revise their agreement with the feds that will allow Oklahoma to get out from under the standards.

SB 1146 -  authored by Senator Eddie Fields

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/SB/SB1146%20int.pdf

Fields' other bill would establish a task force the purpose of which would be to "review curricular standards approved by the State Board of Education and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding new curricular standards."

SB 1310 - Establishing Curricular Standards Task Force

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/SB/SB1310%20int.pdf

Speaker of the House Shannon's bill prevents the Department of Education from entering into any agreements with the Federal government that would align Oklahoma standards to the Common Core - directs the OSDE to amend any agreements with the feds so that Oklahoma may be released from using the Common Core standards.  Shannon's bill reads similarly to Fields'.

HB3331 - authored by T.W. Shannon

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/HB/HB3331%20int.pdf

Representative Gus Blackwell also has a bill that repeals the standards and then puts in place the "Local Curriculum Standards Pilot Program" in which ANY school district could adopt their own standards (even if they do not align with state standards) for five years.  After that time, there will be a comparison made among schools using the state standards and those using their own local standards using standardized, criterion-referenced tests.  This is a truly LOCAL CONTROL of education bill.

HB 3167 - authored by Representative Gus Blackwell

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20int/HB/HB3167%20int.pdf

Representative Jason Nelson also has a bill.  This bill starts by preventing federal control over state standards.  It requires any agency using federal money or programming - including those collecting data on students - to amend existing agreements to extricate themselves from any agreements that would cede control over K-12 education from outside the state. This bill would not repeal the Common Core, but instead, puts the standards on 'pause' for a full year during which the state assessments will reflect PASS and not CC.  It directs the state board to examine the English/LA and math standards, and then compare them with PASS in 9 different areas.  A written review of the comparison must be submitted to the House, Senate and Governor for their own review.

HB 3399 - authored by Representative Jason Nelson

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2013-14%20INT/hB/HB3399%20INT.PDF

Though, again, we will push for repeal, this is an excellent bill if a repeal is made completely unfeasible by Senator John Ford not hearing repeal bills in his committee and these bills not finding another avenue for hearing.

Now that you have bill numbers, IMMEDIATELY begin calling, emailing and visiting your Representatives and Senators.  Tell them you expect them to vote FOR any and all of these bills (overlapping bills are sorted out by the legislative legal staff after session ends and they know which ones the Governor will sign) and that you will be watching for their vote.

If you are still unaware of who those people are, please go here.  This is the link to the opening page of the Legislature.  On the bottom of that page is something that says, "Find My Legislator".  USE THAT!  Type in your address information and you will be rewarded for your time with a list including the names of your local Representative and Senator.  Once you have that - USE IT!  If you can't figure out how to navigate the website for our state legislature, watch this tutorial I made before Christmas.

As we begin session in February, begin to watch for emails from us (if you haven't signed up for email alerts from us, you can do so on the front page of our website in the top right hand corner) giving you an update on where the bills are in the process and asking you to make targeted legislative contacts.

As Lynn points out, there are NUMEROUS bills and shell bills regarding TESTING and school code - as well as a couple of bills regarding student privacy and data collection - one on which we are assisting Representative David Brumbaugh.  

It is going to be extraordinarily hard to keep on top of ALL that is going on at the Capitol this year, but we MUST.  In our opinion, the federal government is completely out of control.  We have the most control over our government from our own back yard.  We MUST do what we can right outside our backdoor!  We must make our state government work for us!

Daily Oklahoman Calls Common Core Detractors "Conspiracy Theorists"

Sunday (3/31), while many of us were enjoying Easter at church, with our families, one Daily Oklahoman editorial writer (see PS) was VERY busy doing damage control after the COMMON CORE IS NOT OK rally ROPE had last Wednesday.  His article, "Conspiracy theories about Common Core should be ignored", was full of nonsense and name calling.  Just like some of the 'research' that comes out of the State Department of Education, this essay had absolutely no legitimate, non-spun truth anywhere inside.  In fact, it was so ridiculous, I penned the following response:

WINNING!  Now that we're in the "ridicule" stage (we've been through the "ignore" stage) WINNING is next! 

Here are some fundamental questions to ask yourself and FACTS to research to see who the "Conspiracy Theorists" really are: 

"Would you buy a car sight unseen?" These standards were put into Oklahoma law before they were even available for review in order to get a Race To The Top grant funded by stimulus monies. So, if you're all for making school kids Guinea Pigs in an education experiment that could affect them (and private and home schooled students) for the rest of their lives just to get money from the feds, you're all for the Core!  

"Would you show up to buy a car without knowing how much it cost?"  The legislature never studied the cost Common Core would place on the state before enacting them into law in 2009/2010.  The Superintendent never answered that question when asked by legislators at a 2011 Interim Study, or when asked by Pat McGuigan of Capitol Beat that same year.  Since that time schools have had to apply for eRate grants and raise school bonds to pay for the technology costs associated with giving students the tests tied to the Standards. If you're all for having your property taxes raised and the superintendent asking for another140 MILLION dollars more for education spending, you're all for the Core! Sadly, that money won't go to students or teachers, but to buy computer and testing software and wiring.  If you're all for having less money in the classroom, you're all for the Core!  

As for Gus Blackwell and his voting record on the bill (SB2033 - 2010) that placed the Common Core into Oklahoma state law, read it.  You will find that the bill died the first time it went to the floor of the House 60 to 36.  Also, you will find that this was a 34 page bill titled "Schools; relating to teacher incentive pay plans; modifying requirements. Effective dates. Emergency."  The part about Common Core equals exactly one paragraph on page 30 in Section 11-103.6a  B.  WOW!  I can totally see how Gus Blackwell and all other legislators that signed on to the bill THE SECOND TIME it came to the floor, missed it.  Oh, but that's probably a conspiracy theory!  What am I thinking?  So, if you're all for a set of standards based on zero transparency to the people of Oklahoma, you're all for the Core!  

This editorial indicates that the Common Core is voluntary.  That is correct.  Now you know the process by which they were adopted in Oklahoma.  Voluntary for whom exactly?  Because the STATE adopted the standards, all state school boards now have to follow the Common Core without any input into their adoption, or risk getting poor grades on state tests aligned to the Common Core.  What happens if a district school board doesn't adopt the standards for their schools?  They do poorly on their Common Core-aligned state tests.  What happens if that brings down their school grade (calculated through the very controversial A-F gradingsystem) to a D or an F?  According to the No Child Left Behind waiver for which Governor Fallin and Dr. Barresi applied (against 10 out of 15 comments made on the process), the state can take over the school and either administrate it through the Department of Ed or hire a contractor to do so.  So if you're NOT for local education, you're all for the Core and if you're NOT for voluntary standards, you're all for the Core! 

What about state led?  I guess, if you consider either the National Governor's Association (NGA) or Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSO) NOT private, dues-supported, trade organizations not subject to Open Records, that works.  

I definitely hope the writer of this editorial doesn't call himself an advocate for Public Schools, or education, or children. We at Restore Oklahoma Public Education care about teachers and students - that's why we say COMMON CORE IS NOT OK!  

PS: The husband of Superintendent Barresi's ex-chief of staff (Jennifer Carter left the department after a tenure in which she referredto Jenks administrators as "dirtbags" in a Twitter post - and a stink was raised by state board members over the fact that her salarywas paid by a private donor prior to acceptance of her employment by the state board) is a writer for the Oklahoman.  This editorial certainly argues a connection...yet I don't know that matters so much as the time-worn notion that when you have no evidence to stand on to make your case, you just call others names!

Common Core Is NOT OK Rally Summary

And so it was that Wednesday, March 27, somewhere between 150 and 200 people came to the Oklahoma State Capitol to rally against the Common Core State Standards!  We were so grateful to look out and see such a fabulous crowd!  We know the time and energy it takes to leave your home and put aside your day to do something like this and we truly appreciate your willingness to work with us to stop the de-humanization and de-localization of public education.

I'm not going to take the time today to rehash all the reasons why we object to the Common Core in this post, but I will make sure that those of you who wish to have ammunition to give your friends, family members and neighbors, can get that here - in a one stop shop of sorts!

A brief list of Common Core educational materials

Here is a link to our one page information sheet called, "What Oklahomans Need To Know About Common Core State Standards".  If you're not in Oklahoma and wish to have something more generic, please use this handout from our friends at the Truth in American Education website.

Here is the paper that really helped to spread the word about CCSS, "Common Core State Standards, An Introduction To Marxism 101"  This should help you put the background together on where the Common Core came from - it's political background and who's behind the push.

For those of you interested also in the data collection aspect, our paper, "How Much Data Is Enough Data? What happens to privacy when bureaucracies exceed their scope?" might be of interest.  We also have another one page information sheet called, "What Oklahomans Need To Know About The P20 Council" that you can hand out to those seeking information.

A number of media outlets were represented at the Rally.  Below, are posted the links to the stories the rally generated.


Educators Protest New Guidelines At State House (added 4/1) - I totally forgot to post this video/story from NewsChannel 4.  I thought their reporting was absolutely great!  Both sides, no spin.  Two thumbs up!

Lawmakers Urged To Reject Proposed Nationwide Academic Standards - this was a video from our Daily Oklahoman.  We thought this video - and the news story - very fair.

Protestors Rally Against New School Curriculum - this was from our FOX affiliate.  Not bad, but didn't really get to the meat of the matter, just more about 'federal takeover'.  Also, in this story, I lost 3 of my children!  My husband, who watched the story with me said, "Do we get to pick which ones we lose?" (David and I have 5 children, not the 2 depicted in the story!)

Opponents of 'Common Core Standards' Education Rally At State Capitol.  This was from the AP and instead of doing their own reporting, LOCALLY OWNED KWTV-Channel 9 picked up the AP report.  So did Glenn Beck!  The reporting in this 'article' (if you can call it that) was SO atrocious that Glenn Beck picked it up off the wire and skewered it on the radio!  This was HORRIBLE.  I imagine News9 will lose a number of viewers over this - they lost me!  It was so bad in fact, that I penned this reply:

Hunter (a very liberal hate-speak blogger), you might get some sleep...that might help your disposition a bit. This 'loon' would like to ask you a question, "Would you buy a car sight unseen?" These standards were put into Oklahoma law before they were even available to read. So, you're all for making school kids Guinea Pigs in an education experiment that could affect them for the rest of their lives? You must not like kids very much! Here's another question for you, "Would you show up to buy a car without knowing how much it cost?" I wouldn't. I research that kind of stuff pretty thoroughly. We had no idea how much the Common Core would cost before they were enacted into law and two years later, our superintendent simply said she anticipated low costs. Since that time schools have had to apply for eRate grants and raise school bonds to pay for the technology costs to give the tests tied to the Standards. You must not care about your property taxes much, or the fact that the superintendent just asked for about 140 MILLION dollars more for education spending. Will that go to teachers? No. Will that go to kids? NO. It will go to buying computer and testing software and wiring. You must not be for more money in the classroom are you? I do hope you don't call yourself an advocate for Public Schools or education or children. We at ROPE care about teachers and students - that's why we say COMMON CORE IS NOT OK!

Here are the videos from the rally in order of speaker appearance, if you would like to watch and/or pass around:

Jenni White and Representative Gus Blackwell 

Representative David Brumbaugh

Reverend Paul Blair 

Tracey Montgomery (Oklahoma Coordinator - ParentalRights.org) 

Linda Murphy (longtime educator and owner of Education and Training Services)

Rally effects:

All Rally attendees were asked to write their name, address and phone number on three red postcards with our anti-Common Core logo on the other side.  They were then, at the rally, asked to take those postcards and deliver them to the offices of their Senator and Representative and the office of Governor Mary Fallin.  At the end of the rally, Lynn, Danna and Julia and I went to the Governor's office to drop off our cards.  We were met by the very unhappy office assistant who gruffly took the cards, timestamped them and plopped them onto a stack about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high.

In the event people don't remember, our bill (HB1907), run by Representative Gus Blackwell, to create a task force simply to study the cost of the Common Core, passed its committee hearing unanimously.  It was blocked from a hearing on the floor by Speaker T.W. Shannon at the behest of our Governor who is the Vice-Chair of the NGA.  After all, it wouldn't look good for the Vice Chair of the National Governor's Association to start trying to kill the Common Core when the NGA was one of two private, non-governmental trade organizations developing and pushing out the standards?  Oh, Representative Shannon offered Representative Blackwell an interim study to study all aspects of the Common Core in return, so we should have been happy with that and moved on to 'more important' topics, apparently, but of course, we don't quit that easily.  We immediately began setting up the rally and taking to Twitter and Facebook, calling the politics of our Governor and Speaker out into the open.

Representative Blackwell began authoring a House Joint Resolution against the Common Core - HJR1011 - which is a truly excellent piece of legislation.  As soon as it is written onto the Oklahoma State Legislature webpage, we'll provide the link.  Currently, we are attempting to get as many House authors on the bill as possible.  We are even attempting to get an SJR.  We have an author, my State Senator Ron Sharp and even a few Senators to sign on with him, but our Oklahoma Senate seems to be the toughest place to get good, conservative, liberty-minded legislation passed - ever.

Yesterday, Representative Blackwell called me to tell me he had heard from "a number" of legislators who stopped by to the rally to listen.  They expressed their concerns over Common Core and asked him for more information on the topic.  Not only that, but Rep. Blackwell visited with T.W. Shannon (who, we found out, will be a GUEST on the GLENN BECK program in the near future!) who told him he would make sure our HJR got to the floor.  This is great because our SJR says that implementation of Common Core will STOP until we have satisfied at least 6 different categories of inquiry on the topic!  

In closing, we are extraordinarily happy about the rally and expect that God will multiply our efforts toward restoring local public education!  We are grateful for all speakers and participants and suggest that, as many of us know, legislators will only see the light when they feel the heat.  We MUST continue to push this issue out there as often as possible - into the media and with our elected representatives bypassed by the initial legislation!  Let's not rest until Common Core is gone because COMMON CORE IS NOT OK!

NGA, FEE, CCSSO = A Bunch of BS For OK

Today was a banner day in Oklahoma.  Today was the day the Speaker of the House of Representatives - the new, up-and-coming conservative Speaker who will be speaking at CPAC next week because he's so conservative - killed the Common Core State Standards Cost Task Force bill authored by Gus Blackwell (HB1907). 

HB1907 passed out of the General Government committee unanimously, February 28th.  It was to go to the Calendar Committee (newly organized by Speaker Shannon...why would we want to have accountability to the taxpayers for what gets on the House calendar held by ONE person?  Why shouldn't we spread that accountability over a total of 18 people?) for a vote on whether or not it would be heard on the floor of the House.  That week, we were told by Calendar Committee Chair, Representative Pam Peterson, that Speaker Shannon was holding all Task Force bills until other bills could be heard.

Fortuitously, directly after that meeting, we saw Representative Shannon walking in the hall.  I practically galloped up next to him, and asked him to give HB1907 to the Calendar Committee because the Common Core had been put into law before the standards were even written, so of course there had never been a study done on the costs of the initiative.  He looked at us and said, "I don't think you'll have any problems with that bill" before he walked off saying, "Now don't have a bunch of your people calling, asking me to put it on the Calendar.  We'll get there."

We thought this was great news and prepared to move on to lobbying House members on our bill HB1989 to protect student privacy by preventing certain types of public school data collection and sharing (this passed out of the House unanimously March 11).

I was at "school" with my children today (Classical Conversations home school families meet once a week altogether in one place to review our lessons) when I got a frenetic phone call from Lynn.  She told me she and Danna and Julia (all at the Capitol) had gone to check on the status of HB1907 and found that it would NOT leave Speaker Shannon's office.  Speaker Shannon had killed the bill - the bill ROPE has been working on for THREE LONG YEARS - the bill developed out of our four year study on the Common Core!

Details were hard to get via phone and email, but apparently Speaker Shannon was told EARLY ON in the session BY THE GOVERNOR NOT to HEAR any Common Core bills and he was going to do exactly that.

Let these thoughts sink in:

• The Governor of the reddest state in the union, tells the Speaker NOT to hear a bill put forward by four housewives and mothers - simple TAXPAYERS, not lobbyists or organizations who are paid to see that bills pass or fail.

• The newly-minted Speaker tells self-same housewives, mothers and taxpayers he doesn't see a problem with getting their bill to the floor!  Why?  Apparently he knew all along he wasn't going to put the bill on the floor of the House for a vote. 

• The Governor is AFRAID for Common Core bills to be heard.  Why?

Let's think about this a bit more:

Governor Fallin is the Vice-Chair of the National Governor's Association.  So what?  Well, the NGA is a PRIVATE membership organization not subject to the Open Meetings Act that has PUSHED THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FROM THE BEGINNING!  In fact, the NGA and the Council of Chief State School Officers are the two organizations that have pushed the Common Core State Standards down to the states!  Look in the upper right hand corner of the CCSS home page to see BOTH their logos!  Their list of Corporate Sponsors is ENORMOUS and contains most of the organizations supplying funding for the Common Core initiative.

Janet Barresi is a member of the CCSSO, a private membership organization - like the NGA - that has no oversight nor accountability to taxpayers for the programs they work with State Superintendents to implement in states.  CCSSO partners with Bill Gates Foundation, Pearson, ACT, K12 (currently embroiled in a lawsuit for overselling investors on student achievement to inflate their stock prices) and many others - again many private donors to the Common Core initiative.

In addition, as we have reported previously a number of times, Superintendent Barresi is a member of Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE), Chiefs for Change program.  The FEE is soundly in the corner of having the federal government administrating LOCAL education - very small government stuff (snark).  In addition, FEE and the Chiefs have long touted the Common Core State Standards.  Jeb Bush and the FEE have written numerous education policy initiatives here in Oklahoma as evidenced by a paper trail of emails turned over via an FOI request made by the Washington Post, which begs the question as to why Oklahoma taxpayers are paying for Florida education reforms - that don't work even in Florida???  Why are we paying a Superintendent to merely fire off emails to the FEE to get them to write Oklahoma education policy?

Let's sum up:

• Most likely, Governor Fallin will NOT hear Common Core bills because she is afraid that after three years of lobbying, educating and studying we have enough votes to get a repeal of the Standards all the way to her desk.  Having a Common Core 'nullification' bill pass the House and Senate in Oklahoma would no doubt cause some real pain for the Governor in her role as Vice Chair of the NGA - one of the two main supporters of the Common Core.  The only plausible explanation here is that she MUST be more concerned about the future of her political career and her standing in the NGA than she is about Oklahoma children and taxpayers.  
• Janet Barresi will not allow the Common Core to even be discussed at state board meetings let alone come to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote most probably because she couldn't DARE go against the FEE!  Why would she want to?  She has the fabulous, "I'm open to running for president so I can spread more of my BIG GOVERNMENT Republican Statism over the whole of America" Jeb Bush, also a speaker at CPAC this year in her hip pocket (or is it the other way around?)!  In addition, Dr. Barresi has lucrative contracts with Pearson and other Common Core addicts/vendors.  If they've been taking her to dinner, what else have they been doing?

Needless to say, both the Governor and the State Superintendent are FULLY PERSONALLY INVESTED IN THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS.  What do you suppose the chances are of either of them hearing the clamoring of the grassroots activists, taxpayers, parents and others against the Common Core when all they can hear is the din of their burgeoning political careers surging in their ears?

This must stop.  Either Janet and Mary quit playing Hear No Common Core, See No Common Core, Speak no Common Core, or we piddly little taxpayers who are paying to advance their political careers find them primary candidates from another more altruistic branch of the monkey family.

ADDENDUM:  Representative Blackwell was told that if HB1907 was kept alive and passed the Senate and the House, the Governor would veto it.  He was then offered an interim study to pull the bill.  He would be in control of the interim study which would NOT occur in the the Common Education Committee and be allowed to continue over a number of days - in order to collect as much information as possible.  Representative Blackwell is a good man and his intentions are pure.  We are lucky to have him here in Oklahoma.  He took the interim study option, although we here at ROPE can't help but wonder what it would have done to the Governor's grassroots political capital to veto a bill to examine SPENDING in Oklahoma in the face of our national debt and economy.  It would have been nice to get all the legislators on record for their vote on the issue as well, but since Senate Education Committee Chair, Senator John Ford has consistently said he would NEVER hear a bill against the Common Core, it would have been quite the fight to even get it onto the Senate floor.  Makes you wonder doesn't it?  What exactly is the meaning of REPRESENTATIVE government?

Legislative Shenanigans - A Lesson in Civics From House Bill 2762 by Lee Denney

From the day House Bill 2762 by Lee Denney and its mirror bill SB1797 by Clark Jolley were placed on committee calendars, ROPE has been warning about these bills.

As you know, ROPE does not support the Common Core State Standards for numerous reasons. From the day we found out they had been added to Oklahoma's copious education laws in 2010, we have attempted to generate awareness regarding the federal overreach of education this 'initiative' represents. Recently, we launched our campaign called, "ObamaEd", in order to educate even more citizens and legislators about the lack of control they will have over OKLAHOMA education as these standards become fully entrenched in our state's educational system by 2014.

HB2762 and SB1797 were bills penned by the Governor's office (Representative Lee Denney admits this much on the floor during debate of the bill, Thursday, March 15, 2012) in order to put into law requirements from the Obama Administration's NCLB waiver our Governor and Superintendent requested. In fact, Oklahoma's NCLB waiver was CONDITIONAL on instituting a number of different reforms to our current system

As she noted, many proposed large-scale efforts to train their educators in the new academic standards, create or oversee development of new instructional resources, and redesign their testing systems.

though few Oklahoma administrators/educators appear to happy about the lack of local control NCLB waivers represent

“I am in favor of local control, and while I think this waiver takes a step toward that, it still does not offer local school districts local control. I believe that no one knows the needs of Broken Arrow students better than the citizens of Broken Arrow. Educators, parents and citizens should be allowed to determine what’s best for their community school, and the waiver does not allow for that,” Mendenhall said.

and organizations like Heritage Foundation and the Pioneer Institute have called an illegal and unconstitutional federal overreach into education.

Yet, our 'conservative' Governor and Superintendent have persisted, culminating their efforts in these two bills which address a number of different NCLB waiver factors including "teacher preparation" and "redesign of testing systems". The latter has been of great concern to us, as the Superintendent (Governor) needs to change the manner in which Oklahoma tests students. She needs to move Oklahoma tests from being locally developed (as has historically been done) to being developed by PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers), the tests which are designed to specifically test for the Common Core Standards. All of the reasons we have elucidated as to why we disagree with this change can be found here, so I will not reiterate those here.

ROPE wants to make you aware of the process in legislating these bills, as not only does this serve as a valuable lesson in civics, but it shows you the kind of activities one could only describe as shenanigans, that our legislative process seems to invite.

SENATE BILL:

• Once we found out about the bill and specifically the change from NAEP to PARCC accountability for testing, we contacted Clark Jolley, author of the senate bill and told him our concerns.
• The bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee and into the Senate Appropriations Committee.
• Senator Jolley filed an amendment in Appropriations to remove the new language and keep the bill's existing language (PARCC not added, NAEP kept). 
• The bill then passed the Senate 39 to 0.

 HOUSE BILL:

• Once we found the language in the House bill, we contacted Rep. Denney and explained our concerns. 
• The bill was heard in the Higher Education and Career Tech committee which Denney chairs (as a side note, request bills are often authored by committee chairs in order for the bill to be heard in committee - our bill repealing the Common Core from state law - HB1714 - authored by Rep. Sally Kern, was NOT heard in the Common Ed Committee for two years in a row.)
• The bill passed out of Committee as a 29 page bill on February 16.
• After passage, Representative Denney told us the bill was being 'worked on' by the Governor's office and she couldn't do anything to it until that process was over.
• March 13th, the bill was placed on the Floor Calendar (to be considered by vote of the House) as a 182 page bill labeled as a FLOOR AMENDMENT.
• ROPE began sending out Legislative Alerts asking for citizens to contact their Representative and ask them to vote NO on the bill, based upon our analysis. We also lobbied the House Wed., March 13 and asked for their NO vote.
• Though the bill was not able to be heard until after 3:15 - due to the presence of the Floor Amendment on the bill (allowing members 'time' to read it - 'time' because how does one READ a 180-something page bill in 48 hours with all the others they have to read?), yet the bill was brought up for a vote around 9am! This, is a tactic - though illegal according to rules - to get legislators to vote for something before they have a chance to read it and discuss it! Thank you to Representative Mike Reynolds for bringing this to the attention of the Pro Temp!
• Thursday, March 15, the bill came to the floor. When it became clear that Rep. Denney was NOT going to have the votes for her bill - due to EXCELLENT and SUSTAINED questioning by Representatives Kern, Holland and Blackwell - and EXCELLENT debate by Holland and Blackwell - Denney was apparently told (lots of activity at her desk - visits by the Pro Temp, Jeff Hickman and lots of texting) to "lay over" the bill.
• If a bill is laid over, the language can be taken from that bill and put into another bill  - as in the one authored by Clark Jolley that has ALREADY PASSED THE SENATE.
• If the bill had been voted on and voted down, the bill - including all that 150 pages of new language - would be DEAD.

We urge you to take the time to watch the full presentation of Rep. Denney's bill. Though Representative Denney has been very good to take time to listen to our arguments surrounding the bill and our objections to Common Core, she misrepresents the change from NAEP to PARCC on several occasions during her portion of the debate before the bill was laid over.

It is also well worth the time to listen to Representatives Holland and Blackwell debate AGAINST this bill. These men truly understand the damage which can be inflicted upon Oklahoma by voting to change from testing descriptors (and tests) we have used for decades and which we have developed locally to tests that have YET TO BE DEVELOPED.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Please continue to watch SB1797. You can do that by joining the LENS bill tracker, typing in bill number SB1797 and reading the emails the tracker sends you as the bill moves through the legislative process. You can also join our email list and we will send out Legislative Action Alerts for this and other bills that will inevitably crop up before May 25 when our legislature adjourns.

Out of the Mouths of Oklahoma Superintendents

Frequently, when we go to the Capitol to 'lobby' (I put that in quotes since we receive NO compensation from ANYONE to do anything at the Capitol), legislators will ask, "What does the Superintendent think about this?" or, "What do teachers/administrators think about this?".

Here's the rub. VERY few teachers and/or administrators who don't view the world through the rose colored glasses of the party line, want to speak out. It's dangerous for their economic health to do so - teachers get fired, administrators get replaced - it's just the way of the world.

Consequently, we have to say something like, "Well, we've heard that teachers/administrators don't like this...", but we can NEVER really produce evidence to back up our claims.

Out in Bois City, however, is a Superintendent who has the gumption to stand up against the 'reformers' and say what needs to be said. Dr. Ira Harris sent this letter to his Representative, Gus Blackwell (another man full of gumption!) and then gave us permission to re-post.

Please take the time to read this and understand that Dr. Harris isn't the ONLY administrator out there with the same feelings! We simply need to spread that word. Once a few intrepid nay-sayers stand out in front to take the initial ammunition rounds, others will line up behind!

Honorable Gus Blackwell,

I would first draw your attention to page 13 of the attachment under the paragraph titled High-Quality Digital Learning where it is written, “Oklahoma is working toward fully embracing the ‘Ten Elements of High Quality Digital Learning’ unveiled by the bipartisan Digital Learning Council…” but where there is no mention as to how detrimental the ‘Ten Elements of High Quality Digital Learning’ will be to local school districts nor of the agenda of former governors Jeb Bush (R-FL) and Bob Wise (D-W.VA) who founded the Digital Learning Council and their focus of funding private for gain enterprises with public education monies.

Under the recent SDE Board of Education passage of emergency rule of 210:15-34-1 that was subsequently rescinded on the 17^th of November so,

“the Board and State Department of Education personnel will draft new rules through the permanent rule making process. Using the routine rule making process, SDE will collaborate with multiple stakeholders — including CCOSA, OSSBA, other educational organizations, legislators, school district leaders and educators across the state”.

This rescinding is due in part to the flood of concerns to the Governor and legislators such as yourself. However local school districts are not without concern because the notice of action to rescind also states,

“The new permanent rules will provide clarification and definitions of supplemental online courses and educational appropriateness as well as guidance and answers to questions regarding local board control, staffing decisions and funding. Because today's action by the board does not delay the requirements of SB 280, SDE will distribute a guidance package to school districts — including the redraft of proposed rules, fact sheets and frequently asked questions.”

The direction of going toward the elements outlined in Digital Learning Now as cited in the attached document seems to be a move away from public education and local control.

Additionally, it appears that our state’s educational leadership is about placing the agendas of Florida, the Bushes, for profit companies, and advocates of public tax dollars funding private schools into the laps of Oklahomans.

In analogous appearance, it seems that an asp is being placed in our laps when we are being led to believe by SDE leadership we are getting a puppy that will grow into a guide dog. When will the hidden agenda of Superintendent Barresi and others be brought to light? When will local control be returned to the communities?

I cannot and will not argue that all school districts in Oklahoma are at their level best, but I strongly believe that our parents and communities are not as ignorant as the SDE purports them to be. Dr. Barresi is on video record before the Oklahoma House Interim Committee on Common Core State Standards that people are not entitled to their own facts. However, throughout her application for waiver from NCLB and many of her other statements are significant statements of facts without supporting data.

For example before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce she states, “Most Oklahomans recognize we’re in crisis in education in our state.” How are and why are we who disagree with the way in which we’re being led not entitled to make statements in disagreement and yet our state leadership can state what so ever they desire? The voice of the populace being heard is one of the greatest fundamentals of our democracy. Because someone is elected by a 4% majority should not make for a policy of absolutism under a cloak of deception.

As taxpayers, as members of a society of separation of church and state, as men and women who are concerned for our children and their future, we must pause and consider the rhetoric and actions of Dr. Barresi and the SDE. Upon taking the necessary reflections, we must begin to take appropriate actions. Actions that are not the agenda of a few but an agenda of the people, for the people, of Oklahoma.

In closing, I ask you to carefully consider another of Dr. Barresi’s statements before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce of April 7, 2011. “And let’s consider the simple reform of tuition tax credits." Federal law offers parents in low-performing schools the opportunity to transfer to another public school. This isn’t true choice. Oklahoma’s reforms will offer parents an array of more choices rather than only the option of transferring from one public school to another.”

Let us strive for openness with two-way communication in providing the greatest opportunities for our children. Let us seek a path toward high achievement where we walk arm-in-arm toward our goals, not being dragged along by the collar and leash of private rules and hidden agendas or prodded by the rod of legislative intimidation.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ira Harris, Superintendent

Boise City Public Schools