The House Education Committee held its hearing on SB 167 on Wednesday, March 12, 2014. The committee voted on a new Senate substitute bill that was similar to the version that had passed out of the Senate last week. Unfortunately, the bill failed to pass by a vote of 13-5.
SB 167 was like watching a ping pong game. On Monday, March 10, the House Education Committee offered up their very weak substitute. We opposed this version of the bill. However, on Wednesday, March 12, the House decided not to take up their substitute version of SB 167, but to take up a Senate substitute per Sen. Ligon’s request. We supported this version. Therefore, the House voted down the stronger bill. All this happened in a matter of hours on March 12.
The thirteen committee members who opposed SB 167 have now openly aligned themselves with Washington, D.C. bureaucrats, special interests, the Chamber and the education establishment against the children, parents and concerned citizens of Georgia. By opposing SB 167, the legislators said “yes” to continued participation in the national standards movement. It won’t be long before our children are subjected to national science, social studies, health and sex education standards.
These same thirteen have also said “yes” to the continued data-tracking on Georgia’s students. The Georgia Department of Education will now continue to develop, unimpeded, a longitudinal data tracking system that will track students from the cradle to the grave. Personally identifiable data collected by third parties, done so outside the bounds of any contract, as that which often happens in the virtual world of free educational software applications, is left totally unprotected. Student privacy is now a free-for-all and ready to be harvested by any vendor who chooses to do business in Georgia.
The influencers who had the chance to protect Georgia’s children chose to put politics over their progress. Common Core will do to our educational system what ObamaCare has done to the healthcare industry.
Would you please take the time to thank the five committee members who voted on the side of Georgia children?
Voted in favor of passing SB 167
Rep. Mike Dudgeon – R
Phone: 404-656-0298 | e-mail
Rep. Ed Seztler – R
Phone: 404-656-7857 | e-mail
Rep. Sam Teasley – R
Phone: 404-656-0177 | e-mail
Rep. Joyce Chandler – R
Phone: 404-656-0254 | e-mail
Rep. David Casas – R
Phone: 404-656-0254 | e-mail
Voted in opposition to SB 167
Rep. Tommy Benton-R
Rep. Amy Carter-R
Rep. Valerie Clark-R
Rep. Tom Dickson-R
Rep. Hugh Floyd- D
Rep. Mike Glanton-D
Rep. Wayne Howard-D
Rep. Margaret Kaiser-D
Rep. Howard Maxwell-R
Rep. Rahn Mayo-D
Rep. Alisha Morgan-D
Rep. Randy Nix-R
Rep. Willie Talton-R
Present and did not vote
Rep. Brooks Coleman- R (Chairman does not typically vote)
Absent and did not vote
Rep. Pamela Dickerson-D
Rep. Terry England- R
Rep. Jan Jones- R
Rep. Ed Lindsey- R
Rep. Kevin Tanner- R