This is a letter I received back from our Senator Alexander please call and let them know you are behind them thank you on behalf of all of us at PACC and all the children Gina......................... Thanks for getting in touch with me and letting me know what’s on your mind regarding common core state standards. People are understandably upset about the federal government telling states what to do about their education standards, including the de facto requirement to adopt Common Core. I share that frustration. Matter of fact, most of the problem with Common Core comes from Washington. The Federal government has no business telling Tennessee, or any other state, what to do about our standards. Zero. Congress needs to step in and stop the U.S. Department of Education from acting like a National School Board, telling us what kinds of standards we should have. It should be up to Governor Haslam and the Tennessee General Assembly to decide what the standards are here in Tennessee. It ought to be 100 percent their decision. Then, if someone doesn’t like what the academic standard is in Blount County, they don’t have to fly to Washington to complain about it. They can go see the governor or the legislature in Nashville. I think that’s the way most Tennesseans would like for it to be. I think Tennesseans want high standards for our children. They just want Washington to keep its sticky fingers off our local schools. I have legislation to do just that. My bill, the “Every Child Ready for College or Career Act” would reverse the trend toward a national school board and send back to Tennessee all the decisions about standards, curriculum, teacher evaluations, and more. My bill was supported by every Republican on the Senate education committee, but opposed by every Democrat. With a change of majority in the Senate, I will be able to bring my bill through the Senate education committee because I’ll be in charge of that committee, and then I’ll work with my colleagues on the Senate floor to pass my bill into law. Some question my use of the phrase national school board. I don’t know what else to call it. A school board is responsible for running the schools, hiring teachers and principals, choosing textbooks, scheduling tests and field trips, paying for construction and maintenance of buildings, setting teacher salaries, and more. But over the last 10 years, the combination of Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind, and the No Child Left Behind waivers have created, in effect, a national school board that sets all the rules. When Washington tells you what your standards need to be in order to be eligible for competitive grants or get a waiver from an outdated and broken law like No Child Left Behind, states like Tennessee feel they have no choice but to comply. I think that’s a pretty significant problem. I’d like to reverse that trend and have no national school board. I want to get Washington out of the way. That would free Tennessee to decide what standards we want without asking Washington D.C. for permission or approval. I’m grateful you took the time to let me know what is on your mind regarding state educational standards, and I’ll be sure to keep your comments in mind as this issue and other education issues are discussed in Washington and in Tennessee. Sincerely, Lamar
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 18:46:07 +0000
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