RIGHT IS RIGHT!
by Steve Fair
Last week, the federal Department
of Education revoked Oklahoma’s waiver on No Child Left Behind, which means
Oklahoma education will not get some federal funding for common education this
year. “It is outrageous that President Obama and Washington bureaucrats are
trying to dictate how Oklahoma schools spend education dollars,” Oklahoma
Gov. Mary Fallin said in a statement.
“Because of overwhelming opposition from Oklahoma parents and voters to Common
Core, Washington is now acting to punish us. This is one more example of an
out-of-control presidency that places a politicized Washington agenda over the
well-being of students.”
This is the first time the federal
Education Department has stripped a state of its waiver on the grounds of
academic standards, according to Anne Hyslop, a senior policy analyst for
Bellwether Education Partners. “This is
obviously dicey water for the Secretary Arne Duncan, given growing opposition
to Common Core,” Hyslop said.
Joy Hofmeister, the Republican
candidate for Oklahoma state Superintendent of Public Instruction, issued the
following statement on the fed’s action:
"In revoking our ESEA Waiver
before the current academic standards review process could be completed by our
State Board of Regents, the Obama administration has rushed to penalize
Oklahoma for the repeal of Common Core. This is an example of a punitive
overreach by the federal government that shows a lack of caring for our
students, and I consider it an outrage to penalize students and children simply
because the Obama administration is angry that our state has chosen to chart
its own course on educational standards. I will continue my work to fight the
federal over-regulation of this failed national initiative. We must focus on
what's best for our students."
Democrats in the Oklahoma state House of Representatives were
“disappointed, but not surprised,” by the announcement. House Minority Leader Scott Inman said, “As Oklahomans, we believe that public
education is best handled at the local level, by parents, teachers, administrators,
state legislators and state education specialists, not by Washington
bureaucrats, however, we are not surprised by the Government’s decision. We
warned the Republicans against moving forward hastily on this issue, without
fully considering all of the potential ramifications.”
First, the stripping of the waiver was not
completely unexpected. The
Oklahoma legislature and Governor knew they were taking a risk when they
repealed Common Core. The federal
Department of Education has been very vocal about Common Core and how important
it was to their agenda. The feds don’t
want states or local school districts establishing curriculum standards. They want a national curriculum. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is suing the
federal DOE on the grounds the ‘Race to the Top,” program manipulates grant
money to force states to adopt the controversial Common Core standards. Jindal says the program effectively forces states down a path toward
a national curriculum in violation of the state sovereignty clause in the
Constitution and federal laws that prohibit national control of education
content. Those who think the Common
Core fight is just about education are naïve.
This is about federal control, not just education standards.
Second,
Oklahomans should be livid at the Obama administration. This
is a classic example of federal overreach.
When the feds hold up our money because we will not comply with what
they want, we have a real problem. This
action is in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution. The federal government doesn’t have the right
to dictate what standards a local school district uses. They don’t have the authority to punish a
state financially when the citizens of that state don’t want their standards.
Third,
the Common Core concept is not a proven method to improve education. Jason
Richwine of the National Review says, “Much like the push for government
preschool, the Common Core movement is suffused with much hope but little
evidence.” Richwine says the research evidence behind Common Core focuses on
identifying problems – America’s poor international ranking, achievement gaps,
high school graduates without basic skills, etc. But when it came to writing
standards to address those problems, the Common Core developers had little to
go on except the standards of high-performing nations and the “professional
judgment” of various stakeholders. He concludes that Common Core is not a
proven commodity and should be viewed as theoretical at best.
Fourth, sometimes there is a price to pay for
doing right. Some
misguided critics are blaming Republican legislators for the loss of federal
funds, not the real culprits. Who should
be taking the heat are the federal Department of Education and the Obama
administration. The repeal may cost
Oklahoma some federal money, but at some point- right is right. The federal
government has always wanted to tell states what to teach and how to teach
it. They have used intimidation tactics
and economic incentives to entice states to do what they want. Oklahoma took a stand- a principled one and
it will likely cost us some funding, but right is right.
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