Education Legislation Update www Educational Freedom Coalition com

Education Legislation Update www. Educational. Freedom. Coalition. com Fayetteville, Georgia January 2, 2014 with Senator Mike Crane, Senator Marty Harbin and Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao Mary. Kay. Bacallao@hotmail. com 678 -923 -0597

How does magic work? • Distract, draw attention away from the action. • Once attention is diverted, the magician can perform the trick. • Nobody will see it until it is too late.

How did Georgia lose Academic Independence? Grants Waivers State Legislation Certification Accreditation Charters Teacher Preparation

SRT Certificate …completed all the requirements…but have not met the experience requirements for the Performance-Based Professional Certificate or are not evaluated on the statewide evaluation system.

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers are the sole owners and developers of the Common Core State Standards, @Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

• GEORGIA STATUTES AND CODES • § 20 -2 -141 - Review of competencies and core curriculum • O. C. G. A. 20 -2 -141 (2010) The State Board of Education shall establish at least once every four years a review of the adopted competencies and uniformly sequenced core curriculum by a task force broadly representative of educational interests and the concerned public. After considering the findings and recommendations of the task force, the state board shall make such changes in the student competencies lists and core curriculum as it deems in the best interest of the state and its citizens and shall report such proposed changes to local school systems and the General Assembly for review.

HB 897 No separate content tests Charter schools No timely reports State control of Special Education Testing Career Clusters No test waivers Mandated Unaccountable Fee based Online learning SB 167 Criterion Referenced Assessments Authority to Appointed State BOE State Mandated Content Standards Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies No More Reading Appointed Content Standards Advisory Council No data collection/sharing (in certain categories) unless: 1. Explicitly required by federal law 2. For special needs students

or …has scope and sequence

HB 897

HB 897

No more separate TESTS FOR Reading or Writing!

No more grade level equivalencies. No more percentile ranks. No more graduation tests.

No need for timely reports From the State DOE.

The State Board dictates alternate assessments.

Local school systems will pay the for the tuition, materials, and fees, without any authority over what is taught.

HB 897 No separate content tests Charter schools No timely reports State control of Special Education Testing Career Clusters Homeschool Mandated Unaccountable Fee based Online learning SB 167 Criterion Referenced Assessments Authority to Appointed State BOE State Mandated Content Standards Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies No More Reading Appointed Content Standards Advisory Council No data collection/sharing (in certain categories) unless: 1. Explicitly required by federal law 2. For special needs students

5 Hour Minimum For Academics Removed for Public Schools

Home School Students 4 and a half hours of academics required

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) reported on Sept. 18, 2014, that the family was ordered to follow Common Core standards. Scott Woodruff, senior counsel for HSLDA, responded to the district on behalf of the family. He explained that requirements in the letter sent to the family were in contradiction to current New Jersey homeschool law. Woodruff received a response from the district stating that “should be guided by the New Jersey Common Core State Standards. ” This is going to be a continual problem for New Jersey homeschool families that wish to avoid Common Core based curriculum and standards. New Jersey Law N. J. S. A. 18 A: 38 -25 “requires that “every parent, guardian or other person having custody and control of a child between six and 16 to ensure that such child regularly attends the public schools of the district or a day school in which there is given instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools (underlined for emphasis) for children of similar grades and attainments or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school. ” New Jersey is in full implementation of Common Core. The law leaves the door open for other school districts to misinterpret the meaning of equivalent; just like the Westfield School District did. Common Core is gradually creeping into homeschools across the country. Starting with requiring equivalent curriculum or forcing students to take PARCC exams, more states will implement rules impacting homeschoolers. New Jersey is just one state. Arkansas may soon require homeschool students to take PARCC exams instead of the current Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Without using Common Core aligned curriculum, homeschoolers will be at a disadvantage on the required tests. Homeschool parents should be aware of Common Core and PARCC and STAR testing. That is the only way to make informed decisions about your child’s education.

HB 897 No separate content tests Charter schools No timely reports State control of Special Education Testing Career Clusters Homeschool Mandated Unaccountable Fee based Online learning SB 167 Criterion Referenced Assessments Authority to Appointed State BOE State Mandated Content Standards Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies No More Reading Appointed Content Standards Advisory Council No data collection/sharing (in certain categories) unless: 1. Explicitly required by federal law 2. For special needs students

Testing Changes • All the tests will change. • No more separate reading or writing tests • Going from 5 days to 10 days of testing in grades 3 -8: ü 2 days for math ü 2 days for science ü 2 days for social studies ü 3 days for language arts • Grades 5 and 8 will be on the computer. • High Schools are going from a 5 day testing window to a 10 day testing window.

All this is happening without legislative authority because HB 897 DID NOT PASS.

Student Growth Percentiles = Survival of the Fittest (Most Compliant) Teachers and Students

What is a Lexile? What happened to reading grade levels? Who owns the Lexile measure? Who recommends books based on Lexile scores? Meta. Metrics partnered with Curriculum Associates, an international company

The AP and IB Monopoly in Georgia Legislation Georgia citizens are outraged over the errors and mistruths in the new AP (Advanced Placement) U. S. History course materials. Rather than learning from primary source documents as one would expect in advanced courses, the AP related textbooks are inaccurate and biased. But our Georgia legislators voted for the AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) monopoly. HB 131, passed in 2013, adds “rigor” requirements for the HOPE scholarship phased in over 3 years. The ONLY courses that fulfill this requirement in English and History offered onsite in Georgia’s high schools are AP or IB. Georgia legislators voted to give two private companies authority over what Georgia’s advanced high school students learn in History and English. The AP program headquarters is located in the state of New York and the IB program is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Social Studies • Document based questions • Who chooses the documents? • AP courses and throughout all grades as part of common core social studies

Duncan Brownie Points = School Rating Scores

Duncan Direct = Charter Schools and Charter Systems

Work Based Learning sets up a Fascist Educational System… Here in Georgia! Rep. Charles Gregory voted against this bill. He was the only no vote.

Watch for changes in compensation through Teacher Certification- tied to prescribed content and methods.

Instructional Coaches = Task Masters for Explicit Instruction

Mandated Online Learning and Testing for ALL students without Safeguards

Illegal to delay or deny placement in special education. The state seeks to extend this to private schools. If you are in special education, you do not need to know how to read because the teachers are able to read the test to you.

Pearson Acquires ADHD Testing Company Bio. Behavioral Diagnostics The Quotient ADHD Test offers physicians, mental health professionals and educators objective assessment of ADHD. Bloomington, MN (PRWEB) August 27, 2013 Pearson today announced the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of the Bio. Behavioral Diagnostics Company (Bio. BDx), the developer and the first U. S. FDA-cleared tool for the objective measurement of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention as an aid in the assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Quotient ADHD Test provides quantitative analysis of motion, attention and shifts in attention states, bringing a new level of rigor and reliability to ADHD diagnosis and marketer of the Quotient® System , remediation. Focusing on a highly prevalent condition known to pose serious challenges to educational outcomes, this acquisition marks a strategic entry into healthcare markets for Pearson, the world leader in clinical and educational assessment for learners. The Quotient ADHD Test quantifies the severity of deficits in brain functions related to the symptoms of ADHD and helps clinicians to accurately diagnose and efficiently manage the condition through repeat assessments at critical decision points. The Quotient ADHD Test is currently used in pediatric, neurology and psychiatry offices throughout the United States. “We are taking immediate steps to strengthen support for current Quotient customers and expand our outreach to healthcare professionals, ” We also look forward to introducing the Quotient ADHD Test to mental health and education professionals in both clinical and school settings. ” said Aurelio Prifitera, President and CEO of Pearson Clinical Assessment. “ http: //www. prweb. com/releases/2013/8/prweb 11061295. htm

Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment -1974 Psychological testing in schools without parental consent has been illegal since 1974. (a) Inspection of instructional materials by parents or guardians All instructional materials, including teacher’s manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable program shall be available for inspection by the parents or guardians of the children. (b) Limits on survey, analysis, or evaluations No student shall be required, as part of any applicable program, to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning— (1) political affiliations or beliefs of the student or the student’s parent; (2) mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family ; (3) sex behavior or attitudes; (4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; (5) critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships; (6) legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; (7) religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent; or (8) income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program), without the prior consent of the student (if the student is an adult or emancipated minor), or in the case of an unemancipated minor, without the prior written consent of the parent.

What is planned for babies in Georgia?

U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced today that six additional states—Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont—will receive a total of $280 million in grant awards from the 2013 Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) fund to improve access to high-quality early learning and development programs throughout their states. These six states join the 14 existing state grantees who secured funding in the first two rounds, which began in 2011. • Establishing culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate early learning and development standards across all the essential domains of school readiness for children from birth • Ensuring to kindergarten entry. that quality program standards are applied to all early learning programs in the state. • Building and improving state Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems designed to inform parents about the quality of early learning programs and drive improvements to the quality of those programs. • Promoting health and family engagement strategies.

Funding for the initiative is part of the $51. 7 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant received last year by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning from the U. S. Department of Education and the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Early Education Empowerment Zones, as defined in the state's grant will be multi-county regions of the state that are home to around 10, 000 children under the age of five. Each Early Education Empowerment Zone will receive over $1 -million in targeted resources to improve early childhood outcomes in the region.

Dissertation Topic: School Choice Plans by Mary Kay Bacallao 1996 Florida Atlantic University

Explicit Instruction- TKES and LKES The State of Georgia is mandating failed instructional policies. When I look at the current state mandated instructional policies, I can see several flaws right off the bat. For example, the new “explicit instruction” model does not allow the students to think on their own until the last stage. This kind of pedagogy would work well in totalitarian governments, but you would not expect to see it here in America. It is now required as part of the official state teacher observation system. Teachers will have to follow this anti-thinking procedure to keep their state teacher certification. The required instructional format puts collaboration before independent student thinking. The new initiatives claim to enhance critical thinking, but they do the opposite because independent student thinking comes last, after the students have talked about the answers as a group. Group consensus activities serve to make sure that individual students do not question the ideas and concepts promoted through the government standards. The “group” does the thinking for the entire class during the "collaboration" and "peer tutoring" stages. Then students work on their own to sum up the thinking of the group. Authentic problem solving, where students are required to think about and solve actual mathematical problems on their own is eliminated. Instead, students practice mental gymnastics as they learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide in many different, unorthodox and inefficient ways. They become mathematical “Jacks of all trades” and masters of none. For more evidence of the new state required teaching methods, see: Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching by Anita Archer and Charles Hughes

How can Georgia get Academic Independence? Grants Waivers State Legislation Certification Accreditation Charters Teacher Preparation

Defense. Anticipated bills we need to stop: 1. 2. 3. 4. Requiring Homeschoolers to identify with a district Take away separate reading and writing tests Expanding state standards to include social studies Teacher certification based on test results and statewide teacher evaluation system tied to pay increases 5. Expanding online learning and eliminating safeguards thereby creating a monopoly. 6. Funding for more charter schools, unaccountable to voters, based on common core tests, done under the guise of revising the outdated QBE. 7. Establishing state public/private partnerships (crony capitalism or fascism)

Offense Try to pass these bills: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A Georgia FERPA, otherwise known as the Hatch Amendment, protected students from psychological testing and attitude based evaluations. We can use the original FERPA wording and pass state level legislation to protect our students from unapproved data tracking. Elect the Commissioner and Board Members of the Professional Standards Commission, responsible for teacher certification, they are currently appointed by the Governor. Elect the State Board of Education members. They are currently appointed by the Governor. Elect the Board of Regents, they oversee the state university system. They are currently appointed by the Governor. Ensure that the accreditation process is not subject to special interests outside our state/country by passing a bill that ensures accreditation agencies are subject to open records requirements, as directed and managed by elected officials within Georgia. Revise the school rating system so that is based on measurable academic achievement in reading, math, writing, and science over multiple grades. Remove authority over early learning programs (birth – 5) from the Governor’s office and return it to the parents. Shut down unelected councils that oversee charter schools and replace them with locally elected officials.

Offense Try to pass these bills: 9. OPT IN instead of OPT OUT Currently many schools implement a one time blanket permission form at the beginning of every school year or have an opt out policy. Both these policies have proven problematic for parental rights. The former gives the parent no detailed information about the programs, surveys, online studies, videos, etc. prior to the parent giving permission. The former is problematic in that when an opt out form is not returned it is considered to be de facto permission. In order to ensure that parents are informed of what their children are exposed to during the regular school day on the date this legislation goes into effect all surveys, videos, online learning, and non-academic classes (i. e. drug and alcohol ed, sex ed, positive behavior ed, death ed, etc. ) will require a signature by the parents giving permission for their child to participate. The parents will be given the opportunity to review the survey questions, videos, online instruction, and non-academic curriculum prior to giving their permission.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: SB 410 This bill eliminates the direct reporting of student achievement. The school ratings now reflect achievement gap closure and "student progress. " However, "student progress, " as this law has been implemented, does not mean progress outside of grade level expectations. School ratings now include financial efficiency, resource efficiency, student participation in standardized testing, student health surveys, data on student behavioral and school-based relations, and teacher and parent surveys. For the first time, actual student achievement scores will not be reported directly.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 131 Georgia citizens are outraged over the errors and mistruths in the new AP (Advanced Placement) U. S. History course materials. Rather than learning from primary source documents as one would expect in advanced courses, the AP related textbooks are inaccurate and biased. But our Georgia legislators voted for the AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) monopoly. HB 131, passed in 2013, adds “rigor” requirements for the HOPE scholarship phased in over 3 years. The ONLY courses that fulfill this requirement in English and History offered onsite in Georgia’s high schools are AP or IB. Georgia legislators voted to give two private companies authority over what Georgia’s advanced high school students learn in History and English. The AP program headquarters is located in the state of New York and the IB program was founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 244 Teacher Evaluation System linked to Common Core Implementation This bill requires a state database of teacher performance evaluations for local school systems and charter schools. The ratings will be based on annual state assessments aligned with state standards. The testing must count for at least 50% of the evaluation. Student growth and academic achievement measures are identified in the evaluation system, but the student growth model is invalid as an academic measure when the testing is grade level specific. Perception data and documentation of practice measured using observation rubrics by credentialed evaluators will also be used in the evaluation of teachers. Principals will no longer be subject to perception data obtained from teachers.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 766 Work Based Learning This bill expands work based learning, eliminates the requirement that students be compensated for their work, adds workers for "government enterprise" and requires "employability skill development, " that targets attitudes and beliefs, a psychological domain that has traditionally been off limits without parental consent in public education.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 115 Passed in 2013 by Georgia's General Assembly, this makes local school boards subject to accreditation agencies outside our state. In addition, attorney fees to defend local school board members in issues involving accreditation will be the responsibility of the local school board member and cannot be paid with public funds.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 283 State over reach into local public schools is expanded including the establishment of a statewide database tracking teacher employment, incentives for principals to participate in a statewide accountability system, training requirements for state mandated performance evaluations, required training for local board of education members, technology upgrade requirements, price fixing for online learning providers rather than instructors, authority shared with charter agencies, the establishment of a state office on charter school compliance, special facilities funding for charters, provisions that charters may use local school facilities free of charge, and the establishment of a state run non-profit to promote publicprivate partnerships (crony corporatism/fascism).

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 797 "The department shall assist in securing federal and other institutional grant funds to establish the commission. " This commission is not elected, but appointed. The charter school commission is to, "conduct facility and curriculum reviews. " They are also to work with local boards of education to utilize excess space for charter schools. Locally elected officials and citizens are bypassed in favor of appointed commissioners.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: SB 289 This bill requires the State Board of Education to establish rules and regulations that maximize online learning. By 2015 -2016, this bill requires the State Board of Education to offer all end of course assessments online. The online learning must be approved by the appointed State Board of Education. A local school system shall not prohibit it, even if an equivalent class is offered in person. The local school systems shall pay for it. Parents, citizens and local officials are by passed with these requirements.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 400 Required career pathways that must be completed or schools will not get CCRPI points. Counselors or teacher “advisors” must approve the career plan.

Repeal. Try to repeal these bills: HB 84 Established a “code of ethics” for local board members that limits their authority to address citizen concerns and prevents them from maintaining minority opinion views after the local board votes. Local superintendents and legislators do not have a “code of ethics” that limits their authority.