Common Core:

STANDARDS - Momentum is really building! As we reported last week, WE HAVE A SENATE COMPANION! Please thank Senator Greg Evers for SB 1316. Please also thank Senate co-sponsors Alan Hayes and Lizbeth Benaquisto. In her role as Senate Majority Leader, Senator Benaquisto is in an excellent position to facilitate getting the bill heard. Please contact her as follows. It is very important that we get a hearing on these bills:
Tallahassee: (850) 487-5030
District: (239) 338-2570
Email
The other great news is that we have three new House co-sponsors! Please thank
all 6 House co-sponosors by emailing them at the links below:
• Rep. Doug Broxson (R-Midway)
• Rep. Matt Caldwell (R - Lehigh Acres)
• Rep. Dane Eagle (R - Cape Coral)
• Rep. Travis Hutson (R-Elkton)
• Rep. Ray Pilon (R - Sarasota)
• Rep. Charles Van Zant (R - Keystone Heights)

Last, but far from least, thanks and congratulations go to the Republican Party of Florida Legislative Affairs Committee for their excellent resolution against Common Core. Dr. Effrem had the honor to presenting before that committee which impartially listened to both sides of the argument.

TESTING - Senate President Gaetz is determined to impose Common Core standards on private schools by requiring the state Common Core tests for all voucher/scholarship tax credit students. He stated these intentions in an interview in the Orlando Sentinel and in his opening day of the legislature speech. (See our report). Senator Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) is carrying this bill, SB 1620, which if changed and passed as Gaetz wants, would prevent up to 330,000 students from being free from Common Core. This is completely unacceptable. Please let him know how much of a problem this really is, as follows:
• District: (941) 741-3401
• Tallahassee: (850) 487-5026
• Email

In addition, the media has done a great job of reporting on the fact what we have been saying all along - the test about to be chosen by Commissioner Stewart, likely to be the American Institute for Research (AIR), is fully Common Core aligned and will not be a "Florida Test." AIR also touts itself as a major psychological testing company.

DATA COLLECTION - Sadly, the bills going through (SB188/HB195) allow unconsented data collection via the Family Educational rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which has been gutted by the Obama administration by going around Congress. This means that the good protections in the bill are rendered meaningless.

CURRICULUM - Because this local control of curriculum bill (SB 864) requires all materials to be aligned to the state standards (Common Core), there is really little flexibility for districts and not much more than symbolism vs substance in this bill either.

.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
There are many things you can do to help win the fight against Common Core. Here are a few:
• BE INFORMED AND INFORM OTHERS:
o Please forward these alerts to your email lists.
o Sign up for the automatic feed (RSS) from our website so you will receive email notification of new content on our blog.
o Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for up to the minute news and share with others
o Obtain our policy analysis, bookmarks, and DVDs from our online store and distribute to legislators, school board members, your friends and family
o Attend informational events and action events,
• CALL, EMAIL, AND VISIT YOUR LEGISLATORS AND ATTEND RALLIES AND EVENTS IN TALLAHASSEE, SUCH AS ARE LISTED ON THE RIGHT. MORE DETAILS WILL FOLLOW SOON.

HOW DO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS VOTE? GO IN AND CLICK YOUR STATE. TAKE A LOOK AT WHO NEEDS TO GO.
For over forty years The Heritage Foundation has been the steadfast conservative think tank, researching conservative principles and policy. But who holds Congress accountable to those ideas?
Heritage Action exists to hold Congress accountable.
Our Scorecard, called "the scorecard for conservatives," shows you how Members of Congress actually vote on the important issues.
>> See how they voted on the Heritage Action Scorecard.
http://heritageactionscorecard.com/?utm_source=heritageaction&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=welcome

In addition to real-time vote results, our simple Scorecard website has tools to:
• compare Members of Congress
• share scores on Facebook and Twitter
• create a personalized watchlist
>> Create your watchlist on our Scorecard website now.
Holding Congress accountable is hard and we can’t do it alone. Your Members of Congress needs to hear from you. Our Scorecard is one of key tools we provide to help you make a difference