Common Core: What Does it Mean? by Josh Denton of Families for Reformation

In brief: What is Common Core? 

Common Core is the name for an initiative that began in 2009. Briefly, the goal of Common Core is to 

implement a national set of academic standards that regulates the material used and taught in our schools. 

Under normal circumstances, such standards are set by the state; however, this is not to presume that 

Common Core is the first idea of its nature. Common Core is a very near replica of H.R. Act 1804, also known as Goals 2000: Educate America Act. In its own words, Goals 2000 was “To promote the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and certifications; and for other purposes.”The nation's governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. 

Is Common Core Beneficial? 

The Common Core Standard’s official website uses appealing language that may at first glance sound 

innocuous. However, anything more than a superficial look will quickly reveal that the implementation of 

these standards is anything but beneficial to our education systems. First, Common Core is dangerous because of the amount of Federal government involvement that is necessary for the examination, and regulation of these standards. Those who advocate Common Core insist that the actual implementation of Common Core, including how the standards are taught, the curriculum developed, and the materials used to support teachers to help students reach the standards, is led entirely at the state and local levels. While the aforementioned decisions may be in the hands of the state government, the fact remains that the funding and regulation of Common Core is entirely up to the federal government. It has been proved time and again that states often sacrifice freedom from the regulation of federal government on the altar of government funds. Second, Common Core leaves no room for individualization. Recall that it is a set of rigorous standards for all children. 

Again, at first this sounds positive, but the results are showing otherwise. Common sense tells us that not all 

children have the ability to learn at the same rate. Since Common Core pushes for a universal system, it is 

leading to stunted education. Even articles written in defense of CCSS admit that support for the Standards is crumbling. Research has shown that the lack of time, resources, and tools to address opportunity gaps has put these lofty State goals out of reach, leaving education spending costs up, while test scores remain low.

What are the Dangers of CCSS? 

Common Core leaves us with some very disturbing explanations in response to crucial, genuine questions, 

such as the fact that it includes a national database of information. One legitimate quandary arises as to how sex education is affected by uniform standards. Under the National Sexuality Education Standards (NSES), 

designed by SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.) and other organizations linked with Planned Parenthood, children by the end of 2nd grade are taught to “provide examples of how friends, family, media, society and culture influence the ways in which boys and girls think they should act.” 

 By the end of 5th grade, students should be able to identify functions of reproductive body parts and “define sexual orientation as the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different 

gender.” 

 Standards like these assume that all children are alike in their maturity and development and overlook parents’ assessment of their children’s readiness for sex education.

While this information is deeply disturbing, perhaps even more so are proponents’ responses to criticism of 

Common Core. In addressing criticism of the Common Core national education standards, a panelist at the 

Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank, said critics were a “Tiny minority” who opposed 

standards altogether, which was unfair because “The children belong to all of us.” While such comments are 

perhaps not reflective of Common Core as an entity, they do most certainly serve as a grave caution to which the mindset Common Core could lead us in the future. 

What is Our Response? 

Common Core is officially fully implemented. So what steps can we take to insure that CCSS is defeated just as 

Goals 2000 was defeated in years past? Firstly, educate yourself on the issues pertaining to Common Core, 

and then educate those around you. Spread the word. Secondly, the only way Common Core will be stopped is 

if citizens in every state contact their state and federal representatives and demand that CCSS be blocked.

Response to Anti-referendum Claims by Frank Schubert

September 13, 2013

MEMORANDUM

TO:         Interested Parties

FROM:    Frank Schubert

                 Campaign Manager, Privacy For All Students

RE:           Erroneous Claim That A Referendum Rejecting The Co-  

                 Ed Bathroom Law Won't Work

It has come to my attention that a conservative activist has broadly disseminated an email claiming that the referendum to repeal AB 1266, the co-ed shower and bathroom law, won't work because the Legislature can "repeal" it or otherwise ignore it. Such a claim is patently false as a matter of law, and ignores the real-world effect that a successful referendum would have.

Contrary to the claim in the email, if a referendum is successful, the Legislature cannot "repeal" it. First off, there's nothing to repeal since the referendum itself rejects a law and wipes it from the books. I presume that what the gentleman is trying to say is that the Legislature could just reenact AB 1266 the next day, but that is false as well.

The California Supreme Court has addressed this question and ruled that the Legislature may only act to pass a subsequent statue if it is "essentially different" and is not enacted with an intent to evade the effect of the referendum. So the notion that the Legislature could reenact AB 1266, or even enact something similar, is patently false as a matter of law. For them to be able to do so would eviscerate the initiative and referendum process, a process the Supreme Court has called a precious right reserved to the people. To claim otherwise is not only a mischaracterization; it reflects an ignorance of the referendum process.

Beyond the legal issues surrounding a referendum, there are also the practical political issues to consider. Consider the environment in which this activist falsely asserts the Legislature would re-enact AB 1266. The 2014 elections would have just occurred. You'd have a Legislature that had experienced a law foisted on them by Equality California, a law that many of them didn't like and, a law that failed to generate the support of all Democrats in the first instance. The bill passed the Senate with no votes to spare, and was very close in the Assembly as well. At the same 2014 election that elected the new Legislature, the voters would have rejected the co-ed bathroom law, AB 1266, including by strong majorities in most of the legislative districts represented by these very legislators. The new Legislature would take their seats just a month afterwards. Does anyone really think that these legislators are going to ignore what their voters just told them and reenact the law anyway (which the Supreme Court has ruled they can't do in any event) when they didn't much like it to begin with? No, of course not. This is why there has never been a case in California that I know of where the Legislature immediately went around the people and reenacted a law that voters had just repealed. It couldn't stand as a matter of law, and it wouldn't ever happen as a matter of practical politics.

It's also important to point out that in the absence of the referendum, AB 1266 will take effect on January 1, 2014 and we'll have vulnerable school children losing their privacy in the most sensitive school facilities - showers, bathrooms and locker rooms - as members of the opposite sex demand their right to use the facilities previously protected as sex-segregated. The only way to prevent this law from taking effect in January is to collect the needed signatures to qualify the referendum. Once that occurs, the law is suspended and does not take effect until voters have their say.

In conclusion, the assertion that the Legislature could re-enact the law in question is false as a matter of law, and ignores the consistent and strong history of the referendum as a powerful tool to both repeal bad laws and prevent them from being enacted again. I strongly urge voters to join with the Privacy For All Students campaign to qualify the referendum for the 2014 ballot, suspending the law until voters can reject it.

Thank you for your consideration.

Letter from Brad Dacus 4

Dear Friends,

Like me, you’re probably alarmed by what is happening in our schools and in our Legislature.  With Gov. Brown signing the outrageous “Bathroom Bill” this week (AB 1266), many of you have asked, “What is PJI doing about this?”

Well, I’m pleased to announce today that PJI has developed a brand-new resource, available for the first time today at PJI.org, that is the first steptoward reclaiming the constitutional privacy rights our state and federal governments are trying to take away from us.

Our “Notice of Reasonable Expectation of Privacy,” designed for you to simply fill out and give to your local school officials, puts them on notice that you have not relinquished your family’s constitutional privacy rights at school.  AB 1266 cannot—and does not—override the Constitution!

Friends, we can’t undo all the damage that will be done by bills like AB 1266.  But we can take a stand and speak up for our children!  And PJI will be monitoring any potential privacy violations that result from AB 1266 for possible legal action.

Of course, the “Bathroom Bill” is not the only potential privacy violation facing our students, so we’ve included a few other areas in our Notice.  Those of you who have been concerned about the new Common Core being introduced into schools nationwide will appreciate the section we’ve included on biometrics.

Please help us spread the word about this new resource by forwarding this e-mail and distributing our Notice to friends at church, in school and in your local Tea Party and other groups.  And while you’re at it, please consider a special gift to PJI so we can respond to the avalanche of new requests for help that we know will follow implementation of this law.

Running the Race,

Brad Dacus, Esq.
President, Pacific Justice Institute