Alabama is among 44 states that have adopted the Common Core Standards, but some state education leaders and activists are calling to rescind the State Department of Education's November 2010 vote.
The Common Core Standards for reading and math, which are set to go into affect in 2012, outline the curriculum for public elementary and secondary schools.
The state-led initiative was developed by the Common Core Standards Initiative, which was created by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, to create a consistent framework for education throughout the country.
According to the Common Core Standards website, the initiative helps to make students transferring from one school or state to another easier and creates an even playing field for college and scholarship opportunities.
The Alabama State Board of Education adopted the standards in a 7-2 split vote, shortly before Gov. Robert Bentley took office.
After the state board voted to adopt the standards, retired State Superintendent Dr. Joe Morton said the standards are strong, if not stronger than the current standards set by Alabama.
State school board members Stephanie Bell and Betty Peters voted against the standards adoption.
A growing number of people calling to rescind the state's participation argue the core standards are unconstitutional and an attempt to nationalize education.
Federal law, as written in the General Education Provisions Act, prohibits the federal government from dictating state curricula or decisions.
Though each state's participation is voluntary, the federal government has offered incentives for states choosing to adopt the standards, including eligibility to receive Race to the Top grant funds and waivers for No Child Left Behind.
Activists say the standards will take control away from local government and will be too costly in the long run.
The Alabama Federation of Republican Women organization calls the standards "leftist propaganda" with the goal to "fundamentally change our cultural heritage and capitalistic society through public school curriculum."
For more information on the Common Core Standards, visit www.corestandards.org.
Betty Peters posted at 6:11 pm on Fri, Oct 21, 2011.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with your readers. For more information about the Common Core State Standards Inititiative, I recommend readers check out this website to see how some interesting funding was given to the "stakeholders" of the initiative to get the ball rolling:
www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/gates_money.pdf There are several pages of documentation, based on freedom of information requests, which the Pioneer Institute has provided at their website.
Another website which gives an extensive overview of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (and which I endorse) is: http://truthinamericaneducation.com
Please take the time to look it over and feel free to share it with your friends.
As the people of Alabama learn about what many call a "national takeover" of public education, they have begun to contact the state school board members including the Governor to ask us to rescind last November's vote to adopt these standards. Again, thank you for getting the conversation started on this issue which is so important to parents, educators, voters and students of AL. I will be glad to hear from constitutents about this at [email protected]. Contact information for the entire board is at: http://www.alsde.edu/Home/Executive/BoardAbout.aspx#
Betty Peters, District 2 Representative, AL State Board of Education