Senate’s Attempt to Takeover K-12 Education: Public Hearing Tuesday, March 11

Posted On Mar 06 2014

Tag: 2014 Alabama Legislative Session, Accountability, Alabama State Department of Education, Alabama State Legislature, Education Data, Plan 2020, School Grading System

Thirteen members of the Alabama Senate have come together to attempt what can only be called a takeover of K-12 public education. They all are sponsors of SB443.

A public hearing has been called for Tuesday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m. in Montgomery in Room 304 (which does not have live audio) of the statehouse.

Senators Beason, Glover, Sanford, McGill, Holley, Marsh, Ward, Hightower, Allen, Smith, Whatley, Pittman and Reed are sponsoring the bill.

The members of the Senate Education Committee are Senators Brewbaker, Ross, Allen, Blackwell, Figures, Holtzclaw, McGill, Pittman, Sanders, and Marsh.

The High Points of SB443: The Various Areas of Impact

Standards and Curriculum

Moratorium on further adoption or use of common core curriculum subjects until January 1, 2017.

Common Core curriculum includes the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and “any national content standards established by a consortium of states or a third party including, but not limited to

Next Generation Science Standards
National Curriculum for Social Studies
National Health Education Standards
National Sexuality Standards”

Freezes expenditures for any currently adopted CCSS through January 1, 2017.

Completely frees a local board of education (BOE) from any regulation or mandate regarding curriculum, standards, instruction, or data collection requirements.

Local BOEs Can Opt Out of

Local BOE can opt out of CCSS and/or Alabama College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) curriculum and implement “at a minimum”, the curriculum standards in effect for the subject area or areas before the currently-adopted CCRS were adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE).

Opt out process:

Letter of intent to opt out of one or both of the subject areas (English Language Arts, Math) and/or the data collection regimen.
Resolution adopted by local BOE support intent of school system to opt out.
Submit the plan adopted by the local BOE as the alternative to the CCRS in ELA or Math or both.

Opt out plan must include:

Date of implementation
Description of alternative curriculum, standards, or instructional plans to be implemented for each subject area.
List of schools included within the local school system

State funding cannot change as a result of a local BOE adopting an alternative plan.

Standardized Testing

Annual testing for Math and ELA only

Standardized tests will be given at three grade levels: primary, intermediate and secondary.

Standardized tests will be based on the curriculum in effect prior to the adoption of the ELA and Math CCRS.

Testing will be done by an “independent testing agency that is not affiliated with any group proposing, implementing, promoting, or aligning with any particular curriculum”.

“All testing shall be based on subject matter proficiency, independent of any particular world view, and not on a particular curriculum or method of problem solving.”

Alabama Curriculum Standards Advisory Committee

Alabama Curriculum Standards Advisory Committee (ACSAC) is created to evaluate and report on test results.

Members appointed by governor:

One teacher and one parent from each Congressional district. Will reflect diversity of the state.

ACSAC will meet annually to evaluate testing procedures and results of all public schools. Comparisons will be made only between schools sharing similar curriculum.

ACSAC will only use data related to testing: age, race, special education classification, grade level, and test score (no English language proficiency category).

ACSAC must provide results of evaluation to Governor, Chair of Senate Education Committee, and Chair of House Education Policy Committee on or before the fifth legislative day of the 2016 and 2017 regular sessions.

Data Collection

Parents and guardians can submit written requests to local BOE to prohibit data collection.

Local BOEs must provide notice to parents and guardians of this option “in the same manner as used by the local BOE to provide notice of school closings”.

Parents and guardians can submit written requests for a record of all data collected relating to his or her child. Local BOE must correct inaccuracies in the data record.

No data can be provided to any entity outside of the state of Alabama other than an entity conducting the testing required.

No local BOE shall be required to collect any student data beyond the minimum necessary to participate in testing.

Board of Education Behavior and Governance

No members of any BOE (local or state) can be censured, reprimanded, or sanctioned for freely expressing his or her opinion on any issue debated, approved, or disapproved by a BOE.

Any member of a local BOE or state BOE can, upon request and majority approval of the BOE, add an item to an agenda for discussion and action at a BOE meeting.

City and county superintendent qualifications are reduced to only those in the Alabama code (Section 16-12-2 and Section 16-9-2).

About the Author

Senator Beason’s SB438: Elected State Superintendent?

So Who Is Sponsoring the Senate Takeover of K-12 Public Education?

Jack McDaniel says:

March 10, 2014 at 5:42 pm

Show us the research behind common core to support its validity.

Alabama School Connection says:

March 9, 2014 at 12:45 am

This bill isn’t just about standards. That’s what everyone seems to be missing. Maureen Downey from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution does a good job pointing out concerns with a similar bill in Georgia: http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/03/dumb-and-dumber-georgia-senate-throws-students-und/. What happens to AP? IB? Those tests were created by out-of-state folks. What happens to federal funding once Alabama is deemed to be in violation of the ESEA waiver we received last June? Who will cough up the $180 million for special education funding and Title programs?

Gay Finn says:

March 7, 2014 at 9:57 pm

Farrah, it is obvious to me that you have not read the actual CC standards.

Idella Biggs Nemo says:

March 7, 2014 at 3:57 pm

WE MUST COMPETE WITH THE NATIONAL COMMON CORE FOR OUR CHILDREN.

Farrah Coleman says:

March 7, 2014 at 9:12 am

You do realize the stadards know as CC are government standards. Not state standards. They were adopted to receive government money. They have not been tested and proven in any state. The states that adopted them first are falling apart. Research “common core”. The standards are so convoluted it’s ridiculous.

Jill West says:

March 7, 2014 at 8:42 am

It’s ironic that the this legislature has been worried about federal government overreach into our schools – yet this bill and other efforts they have made this session are the epitome of governmental overreach into our local schools. Teachers and parents really need to call these lawmakers and ask them to leave education decisions to the elected State Board of Education.

Melissa Shields says:

March 6, 2014 at 8:56 pm

One of my fave lines is “English Language Arts courses of study are restricted
to traditional definitions of literature, grammar, and composition and shall not be incorporated into other courses of study.” Apparently, they don’t realize our kids need to read, write, and speak in other content areas.

Rebecca Parris says:

October 27, 2015 at 3:04 am

my 11 y/o nephew is in "Enrichment" at his school in Flomaton. These advanced classes are Anything but "common". Will CC take away these special classes? The child is unbelieveably intelligent. His parents – an Engineer/and an Accountant – and I have discussed the possibility of his skipping a grade. Not only does he is truly educated, socially adept – his sentence structure and vocabulary are greatly advanced. I excelled in English and studi ed Eng 1o3 – that is 1O3 at UA – made a "B". didn't say I was a good typist. . . . ;;in

Trisha Powell Crain says:

March 11, 2014 at 2:34 am

This bill isn't only about common core. This bill is about turning over complete administration of K-12 education to the Alabama legislature. Please read the full bill.

Connie Harmon Stancil says:

March 11, 2014 at 2:24 am

Allison Campbell
24. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion or preference about the topic or book (e.g., My favorite book is . . .). [W.K.1]

This Alabama CCRS standard #24 must be what Allison is citing. Despite the apprehension that five year olds’ frontal cortex may not be developmentally ready for this task, my teachers and I have found nothing but the students’ confidence and independence when communicating their opinions. They enjoy recommending books they have enjoyed to their classmates. They thrive when sharing their opinion about a topic. Honestly, I must be surrounded by students each with a prematurely developed frontal cortex, but I’ve actually never met a five year old that couldn’t tell you their favorite among a list of choices! Many of them volunteer the reasons for their selection, even though Alabama CCR Standards don’t expect they supply a reason for their opinion until first grade.

Jack McDaniel says:

March 10, 2014 at 11:38 pm

Show us the research behind common core to support its validity.

Jack McDaniel says:

March 10, 2014 at 1:51 pm

Yes, I was being somewhat facitious. Google ALEC(American Legislative Exchange Council). This is where many of the bills are written and some wording is changed for each state.

Robin Lee Cotton says:

March 10, 2014 at 4:53 am

They are written by outside business interest such as k-12.com., the same people who put out the exaggerated opinions of common core. It seems some of our legislators take their word and their money and push through prewritten legislation. Not only can we say goodbye to federal ed. money but we can also say goodbye to future favorable military expansions in our area.

Jack McDaniel says:

March 9, 2014 at 6:26 pm

Why are similar bills popping up in several state legislatures?

Alabama School Connection says:

March 9, 2014 at 6:41 am

This bill isn't just about standards. That's what everyone seems to be missing. Maureen Downey from the Atlanta-Journal Constitution does a good job pointing out concerns with a similar bill in Georgia: http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/03/dumb-and-dumber-georgia-senate-throws-students-und/. What happens to AP? IB? Those tests were created by out-of-state folks. What happens to federal funding once Alabama is deemed to be in violation of the ESEA waiver we received last June? Who will cough up the $180 million for special education funding and Title programs?

Rebekah Gertsema says:

March 8, 2014 at 4:26 pm

Most of us didn't like NCLB either. CCSS are top-down, rather than bottom-up. They don't build on basics to achieve true mastery of any subject.

Allison Campbell says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:33 pm

I have looked at the standards for Kindergarten as we will be experiencing this ridiculous reform in a few months and I also know what is currently being covered. One such topic is persuasive writing…in Kindergarten?

~ excerpt taken from article

How does that connect with Common Core and the idea that it may be developmentally inappropriate?

"Young children cannot engage in the type of critical thinking Common Core calls for," Calamia said. "That would require a fully developed pre-frontal cortex, a part of the brain that is not fully functional until adulthood.

"The pre-frontal cortex is responsible for critical thinking, rational decision making and abstract thought, all things the Common Core requires prematurely."

Giving children pre-assessments, telling them to succeed, giving them a test on material they haven't learned and telling them it's OK to fail is a mixed message children cannot resolve, she said.

Another issue Calamia has is with the "informational texts."

"Common Core requires children to read informational text that are owned by a handful of corporations," she said. "They don't have a filter to distinguish good information from bad, so whatever you put in front of them, they take that as gospel. They're literal."

http://www.statejournal.com/story/24541427/is-common-core-testing-good-for-mental-health

Allison Campbell says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:17 pm

If the standards are as rigorous and challenging as is being said, why then would the SAT need to revamped to make it easier?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/05/they-just-announced-major-changes-to-the-satand-theres-a-tie-to-common-core/

Allison Campbell says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:12 pm

Common Core has been coined "NCLB on steroids"

Allison Campbell says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:10 pm

http://www.educationalfreedomcoalition.com/lower-standards-for-math/

Allison Campbell says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:09 pm

http://atthechalkface.com/2014/01/05/joanne-yatvin-the-common-core-standards-may-be-harmful-to-children/

Gay Finn says:

March 8, 2014 at 3:56 am

Amen! I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading the bill.

Gay Finn says:

March 8, 2014 at 3:55 am

Have you actually read the the standards? Which part of the standards seem convoluted to you? I would love to know.

Gay Finn says:

March 8, 2014 at 3:54 am

Farrah, it is obvious to me that you have not read the actual CC standards.

Julie Pate Winfrey says:

March 8, 2014 at 3:37 am

And what exactly would you call the tactics of NCLB

Idella Biggs Nemo says:

March 7, 2014 at 9:20 pm

WE MUST COMPETE WITH THE NATIONAL COMMON CORE FOR OUR CHILDREN.

Farrah Coleman says:

March 7, 2014 at 3:04 pm

You do realize the stadards know as CC are government standards. Not state standards. They were adopted to receive government money. They have not been tested and proven in any state. The states that adopted them first are falling apart. Research "common core". The standards are so convoluted it's ridiculous.

Jill West says:

March 7, 2014 at 2:35 pm

It's ironic that the this legislature has been worried about federal government overreach into our schools – yet this bill and other efforts they have made this session are the epitome of governmental overreach into our local schools. Teachers and parents really need to call these lawmakers and ask them to leave education decisions to the elected State Board of Education.

Melissa Shields says:

March 7, 2014 at 2:50 am

One of my fave lines is "English Language Arts courses of study are restricted
to traditional definitions of literature, grammar, and composition and shall not be incorporated into other courses of study." Apparently, they don't realize our kids need to read, write, and speak in other content areas.