Oklahoma Bill would Nullify Common Core

While federal government control over education standards spiral further out of control with the implementation of “Common Core,” if states like Oklahoma have it their way, the proposed curriculum won’t be so common after all.

Oklahoma State Senator Eddie Fields has introduced legislation to stop the use of Common Core standards in the state,

Sen. Fields should know the challenges in educating children, having served for 14 years on the Wynona, Okla., school board before being elected to the state senate. He says he is concerned that Common Core will “mold every student the same”, and not account for special-needs students or for those who want to pursue a vocational track.

The purpose of SB 1146 is to forbid the state board of education from implementing “any curriculum standards or related assessments aligned with” Common Core.  The bill states in part:

“…the State Board of Education shall adopt revisions to the subject matter curriculum adopted by the State Board for English Language Arts and Mathematics as is necessary to remove alignment with the K-12 Common Core State Standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative.”

It goes on to request that the Federal government remove any monetary penalties, such as withholding Federal money, for not adopting the standards.

“The State Board of Education shall take action to initiate a request with the United States Department of Education or any other agency of the federal government to change or amend any requirement or agreement which conditions the receipt of federal funding on the Board revising the state subject matter curriculum to align with the K-12 Common Core State Standards.”

As is the case with many other state initiatives to nullify unconstitutional Federal overreach, a similar bill is scheduled to be introduced by Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon (R-Lawton).

Oklahoma is following in the footsteps of other states such as New Hampshire, Indiana and Florida in pushing back against the latest onerous federal power-grab. Largely unbeknownst to the American public, Common Core gives the feds the power to collect all kinds of data from children including Social Security numbers, blood type, records of school attendance, supposed learning disabilities, religious affiliation, disciplinary records, parents’ income information. The curriculum also eschews classic literature in favor of drab, government technical manuals.

While touted as a state initiative, the federal government is deeply involved in both the formulation and implementation of Common Core. Constitutionally, the federal government should not be involved in education at all.

SB 1146 promotes decentralized government and takes control from unaccountable federal bureaucrats and puts it back into the hands of the people. Common Core’s proponents deceptively claim that the curriculum is not the handiwork of federal bureaucrats because it was conceived by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). However, they were only put in charge of Common Core because it is illegal and unconstitutional for the Dept. of Education to issue a copyright. In fact, the NGA has received tens of millions in taxpayer cash from the federal government over the course of many years. Once again, the feds and their lackeys are trying to snooker the public into accepting yet another unlawful usurpation of power.