— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 20, 2015
sTexas Eagle Forum is also alerting you to help stop a pincer-type attack scheduled in both the House and the Senate on Monday, May 25.-----
SB 313 by Seliger is on the House General State Calendar today, Monday, May 25 – NOT on the Senate Local and Uncontested Calendar for Sunday, as incorrectly reported in our May 24 Alert.
HB 2811 by Ken King is on the Senate Calendar, under Regular Order of Business today, Monday, May 25 - NOT on the House Daily Calendar for Sunday, as incorrectly reported in our May 24 Alert.
These are identical bills, and this scheme MUST be stopped!!
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Reasons to vote “NO” on SB 313 and HB 2811:
· Bills are unnecessary – the SBOE is already working on reducing the number of TEKS taught.
· Exposes our outstanding Type#1 (traditional, fact-based) English / Language Arts / Reading TEKS, Math TEKS, and pro-American Social Studies TEKS to being re-written by progressives who will revert to Type #2 TEKS: http://www.educationviews.org/comparison-types-education-type-1-traditional-vs-type-2-cscope-common-core/
· Throws a monkey wrench into the TEKS revision
Cycle already set in place and functioning
· Robs the PSF – the children’s textbook fund
· Creates impossible task for the State Board of Education
· Provides opportunities for technology companies (one of which supported one of the bills) to make lots of money
These bills can come up at any time; time is of the essence!!!
You must learn to read before you can read to learn. Mastering basic math and science lays the groundwork for future problem solving in a 21st-century economy. And being prepared to take advantage of a quality education beyond high school is essential for obtaining a position in our increasingly skilled workforce. In short, education is a continuum. We call this concept the Cradle to Career Pipeline.In reality, 'Cradle to Career' is about giving bureaucrats the final say in your child's education:
This is a complete mandated federal educational program, cradle through workforce, in all subjects, all grades, all schools, daycares, preschool, K-12, college, with personal child and parent data being collected and stored and shipped around government agencies and certain corporations -- without your knowledge and consent. [Emphasis in Original]Mary Bowen has more:
The Commit! Partnership believes that using data as a constructive tool is essential to better serve every child in our community. Rather than using data to generate competition or place blame, we use data to improve our efforts continuously and collectively. In fact, the only time we single out a partner is to lift up a practice that is proving effective for students and that merits greater attention across the Partnership.As Jane Robbins of the American Principles Project explains:
Interested parties assert that student data collected by the Texas Education Agency should be made more accessible to researchers so that it can be used to improve the state’s education system. C.S.H.B. 2103 aims to provide for this increased accessibility and also seeks to establish an education research center advisory board and set limits on who can request research, which would allow the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to sift through fewer requests and approve researchers in a more timely manner.And who helped write HB 2103?!? Dan Branch!!!
The citizens of Texas owe a huge thanks to two Texas conservatives – Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick.Read the whole thing, complete with financial ties to national progressive groups, here.
Because on March 24, 2014, Attorney General Greg Abbott released his 0pinion #GA-1047 answering Senator Dan Patrick‘s request #RQ-1152-GA filed last November:
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if the liberals are going to be successful by-passing the Texas Legislature to spread federal “common core for babies” across Texas, they need an obscure taxing authority that no one will notice, led by persons willing to exceed their authority. Lucky for them, Texas has just that - The Harris County School Trustees – aka - Harris County Department of Education (HCDE.)
In 1889, the Texas Legislature assigned the operation of public schools to county school boards. Over the years, Texas moved away from county run schools to smaller independent school districts with thir own elected school boards. When Texas no longer zoned students to county schools, the Legislature repealed the laws governing county school systems.
It may sound far-fetched, but it is true. Even though all Harris County students moved to ISDs over 50 years ago, HCDE uses a loophole to continue to elect County School Trustees and collect a countywide school property tax passed way back in 1937. They disregard TEC 18.14 which dictates the distribution of county school tax funds directly to Harris County ISDs, and spend the funds as they see fit. To top it off, most people in Harris County don’t even know HCDE still exists, thus making it the perfect “obscure” taxing authority, led by persons willing to exceed their authority.
In the 1960s, with the daily operation of public schools no longer their focus, HCDE began working with LBJ to increase federal participation in our education system. Today, HCDE is so entrenched with the Feds and the liberal agenda, they are like a “Who’s-Who” of the democrat party and ideology.
President Obama’s Education Czar, Arne Duncan, visited HCDE in person. The HCDE press release called the visit "historic" with particular emphasis on "more investments in early childhood education."
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But even worse…they stated that their long term plan was to use HCDE as their hub to spread this ACROSS TEXAS.
The liberals thought they could slip the tax increase through by simply saying “it is for the children.” But it didn’t work. County Judge Ed Emmett questioned the legality of their November 2013 petition, and was backed up by the 14th Court of Appeals. It did not make it onto the ballot.
When word surfaced that liberals were going to try another petition in November of 2014, Senator Dan Patrick requested a legal opinion from the Attorney General . Because Greg Abbott is a true conservative who follows the letter of the law, his opinion released March 24, stopped it in its tracks.
But this does not mean the kids of Texas are safe. It simply means that the HCDE tax rate won’t be doubled to pay for it.
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Why does HCDE even want to get involved?
Besides just supporting the liberal concept of bigger government, HCDE knows it is in trouble. People are starting to question the need for county school trustees in Harris County when 252 other counties in Texas abolished their county school boards decades ago –--- especially when HCDE is using our tax dollars to help turn Texas “blue.” HCDE is banking on their liberal friends in Washington putting pressure on the Texas Legislature to keep them open. The HCDE superintendent was heard saying that the Pre-K initiative would make HCDE so big that even the Texas Legislature would not be able to touch them.
Conservative Texas Representative Debbie Riddle tried to halt HCDE’s liberal agenda last session with HB945. HCDE spent hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars on lobbyists to fight against Rep Riddle’s bill. The lobbyists lined up Alma Allen and other liberals on the House Education Committee with "Republican" Rep Dan Huberty to keep HCDE operational. And it worked. HB945 bill did not get out of committee.
But, Rep Riddle was successful in getting the House Education Committee to take a closer look at HCDE in the interim so HCDE is spending hundreds of thousands of of our county education dollars again to hire lobbyists. Rob Eissler, the ex-chair of the Texas House Education Committee and one of Straus' ex-lieutenants, who was kicked out of office by his constituants and replaced with true conservative, Steve Toth, is one of them - a "Republican" who will rake in taxpayer money helping the liberals forward their agenda.
So now, like Paul Harvey listeners, you know “the rest of the story.”
Greg Abbott’s legal opinion answering Sen Dan Patrick’s question concerning HCDE’s tax increase was much more than a simple tax question. It stopped the liberals from abusing the law and holding an illegal tax election to fund the expansion of Obama’s Pre-K Initiative in Texas.
My book, Texas Trounces the Left’s War on History, calls out Ken Paxton’s specific public support for SBOE conservatives and social studies curriculum. From page 98:Conservative House member Ken Paxton also contributed. Representative Paxton writes a weekly internet-based newsletter that gets wide distribution across the state. I had numerous positive conversations with Paxton’s staff member Ben Williams, who agreed to ask representative Paxton to respond. On January 7, Paxton published his newsletter titled “Principles of Freedom and Liberty should be Used to Evaluate Social Studies Curriculum”.
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And from page 178:
State Representative Ken Paxton’s article “SBOE, Thanks for Social Studies Curriculum Update” (TexasInsider.org, May 27, 2010), includes the following quotes:
“The attacks on the State Board of Education ignored the transparent approach that the Board took toward developing curriculum standards for Texas school children, misstated many of the changes that the Board proposed, and sought to undermine the Board’s diligent work to execute its constitutional and statutory obligations.
“The Board (members) should be applauded for their conscientious efforts. Texas school children will be the long-term beneficiaries.”Read the whole thing here.
What a Day~ I was preparing to hit the road to Milwaukee, WI for a Franklin Center Retreat on Education and I get a call from the Texas Ethics Commission. State Board of Education Elected Official/ Microsoft Lobbyist Thomas Ratliff filed an Ethics Complaint against me.
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Yep you heard that right State Board of Education Elected Official/ Microsoft Lobbyist Thomas Ratliff filed an Ethics Complaint against me saying the work I am doing fighting against CSCOPE/Common Core is unethical because I am not registered as a paid lobbyist. Really Thomas? I would love to know who it is that is paying me to fight this battle. I haven’t seen the pay check.
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I can assure you my husband is tired of me spending so much time working for no compensation on this issue. We had a discussion last week about it as a matter a fact because I have been away from home so much. My husband said the kids are the ones who are missing out on their mother being home. To which I replied if I don’t fight for them now even though I am not getting paid and I do not get to be with them like I want to….. they will not have freedom, and the blessings we have enjoyed. I am willing to sacrifice now because if I don’t they will blame me later for not fighting for their future.
I actually had to laugh when I saw in the Ethics complaint a picture of the 4 new tires I posted when one my tires blew out on the way to the SBOE Adhoc hearing. I did not make it by the way.
My husband was not happy about paying for the 4 new tires because I had put over 30,000 miles in 9 months traveling around the state warning parents about CSCOPE/Common Core.
As many of the readers of Voices Empower know I have been a politically active Texas Mom working in the grassroots since Obama was elected. Taking on the issues that I see as a clear and present danger to my children’s future. I have been helping to organize at a grassroots level to get the word out. I guess we are being successful at getting the word out about the Federal Take-Over of Education. Those involved are trying to shut down our voices. The voices of parents, teachers and the students they are harming.
I have a feeling after listening in on the public WomenOnTheWall.org Communication Team Conference Call last night Thomas Ratliff may be feeling a little nervous.
You see those who are in the Education Establishment do not like parents actually saying….#CanISee what and how you are teaching my child. I also don’t think he likes that we are asking our school districts #CanISee what you are spending our tax dollars on to train teachers, administrators and school boards members.The notion that Thomas Ratliff, who Greg Abbott ruled in 2011 was ineligible to serve on the SBOE over his lobbying activities, is filing an ethics complaint against Alice Linahan over failure to disclose 'lobbying clients' is laughable.
Ratliff, of course, wants districts to continue using this discredited curriculum.
Not everyone sees the world the same way we do.Thomas Ratliff on 9/11:
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.[Author's Note: These two comments came between 7:20 and 7:35 pm CST; unfortunately, we didn't time stamp our notes.]
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Thou Hast Rejected Knowledge
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." (Hosea 4:6)
This lament over the ancient apostasy of Israel embodies an age-long principle which surely applies to those nations today which once professed Christianity but are now dominated by humanism. Our own nation is experiencing an awful scourge of moral anarchy among our children and young people, and the reason why is because their parents and grandparents have largely "forgotten the law of thy God."
America—particularly its intellectual leadership—has "rejected knowledge," so its people are being "destroyed for lack of knowledge." This ignorance exists despite an abundance of supposed actual knowledge (i.e., "science") in our educational institutions, for such facts are almost universally taught in a secular context. Our teachers have forgotten that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7).
Even in evangelical and fundamentalist churches and schools today, there is often too little emphasis on knowledge and too much on experience. Christian faith is not "feeling"; it is volitional commitment to a true intellectual understanding of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," said Christ (Luke 13:5). The Greek word for "repent" means "change your mind!" One can only believe right if he first thinks right, and this requires true knowledge.
Listen again to Hosea's warning: "The LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy |i.e., 'kindness'|, nor knowledge of God in the land" (Hosea 4:1). "They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7).
HMM
The Austin-based news website Quorum Report (subscription required) today notes that the entity that helped organize Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s Monday press conference attacking the CSCOPE curriculum management system is a for-profit, “Tea-Party-for-hire group” that goes by the name Voices Empower. Run by North Texas political activist Alice Linahan, Voices Empower specializes in marketing and political consulting.
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But where is the transparency when it comes to CSCOPE’s critics? Who, for example, is paying Voices Empower to go after CSCOPE (and Ratliff)? Linahan calls the debate over CSCOPE “a battle for the hearts and minds of our children.” But we think it’s a fair question now to ask: did she help manufacture this absurd “controversy” because she was concerned for “the hearts and minds of our children” or for profit?
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These questions are important. After all, killing CSCOPE could force school districts to spend considerably more money on similar products provided by for-profit companies. The taxpayers in those districts have a right to know who’s causing that to happen and why.This is silly. Alice Linahan, a friend, is a politically engaged Texas mom. She has only helped channel the grassroots discontent that emerged last year in a productive direction.
The allegations are also when extremists claim that CSCOPE is aligned with the Common Core curriculum promoted by the federal government. It’s simply not true. CSCOPE was developed by Texas educators for Texas educators to teach Texas standards to Texas kids. Period. Again, more fear-mongering.Except for the fact that Linda Darling-Hammond helped design both:
CSCOPE documents also claim connection to Linda Hammond, a proponent of the nationalized Common Core movement that Texas has rejected in favor of its own standards.(Sidenote: Back in December, we broke a pretty big story on LDH's background).
The allegations are also when extremists talk about parents being denied access to what their children are being taught. If that’s the case, schools are breaking the law and should be held accountable. Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code provides for “Parental Rights and Responsibilities,” including the right to see what happens in their child’s classroom. The fact is many of these extremists are not parents of public school students. Don’t blame CSCOPE for following Texas law. In fact, CSCOPE lessons are now online for anyone to see. Yet the extremists still want it banned from the classrooms. Transparency obviously isn’t the issue. Censorship and winning a political battle is the issue.Cue Peggy Venable:
Last year, it took State Board of Education Chairman Barbara Cargill six months before she was finally granted access to the lesson plans. Parents were denied access to CSCOPE material in violation of state law, which requires lesson plans be available to them. [Emphasis Ours]In other words, Ratliff's co-board member experienced what Ratliff claims never happened.
The allegations are when the extremists talk about the “Communist” “Marxist” “Socialist” “anti-American” “pro-Muslim” curriculum. First, they need to make up their mind if it’s Communist, Marxist or Socialist. In a state as “red” as Texas, do people really believe kids are being taught to hate America?...These allegations are simply fear-mongering designed to incite a mob.Funny, because you can see these lessons here, or here, or here, or here, or here.
[Author's note: This WaPo article is about a similar Federal program]
In a Washington Post article dated 3.13.13, (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/13/lawsuit-charges-ed-department-with-violating-student-privacy-rights/ ), the U. S. Dept. of Ed. Is being sued because of the changes made to the FERPA law under the Obama administration. Now private companies and foundations under the cloak of “promoting school reform” are allowed to get access to private student (and teacher) information. No parental permission is required, and student ID’s are linked to their private information.
A database funded by Bill Gates called iBloom, Inc. has already collected personal student data from seven states and will most likely morph into the national database under the Common Core Standards Initiative.
According to the Washington Post article, the information already collected “holds files on millions of children identified by name, address and sometimes social security number. Learning disabilities are documented, test scores recorded, attendance noted. In some cases, the database tracks student hobbies, career goals, attitudes toward school – even homework completion.”
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[This is about the Texas Program]Earlier today, while looking into another topic, we made an interesting discovery about HB 2103.
State education agencies from other states can negotiate agreements for these Texas education research centers to share Texas data.
The research centers can also form agreements with local agencies or organizations that provide education services to Texas students, including relevant data about former students of Texas public schools.
