There are deceitful efforts underway at the State Capitol to rebrand the “Common Core” national school standards. Pairing up once again against the children of Georgia and leading the rebranding charge are State Rep. Mike Dudgeon (R-Johns Creek) and State Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth). They have sponsored HB 897, an omnibus bill that has hidden in its 42-pages language to rebrand the Common Core standards. Joining their efforts are State Reps. Nix (R- LaGrange), V. Clark (R-Lawrenceville), Kaiser (D- Atlanta) and Chandler (R-Grayson), all co-sponsors of the legislation.
So what’s so crafty about HB 897? On the surface, it looks like a bill that merely cleans up parts of the Georgia education code. But closer inspection shows the bill’s true intent – to backhandedly circumvent the two-year effort of State Sen. William Ligon (Brunswick) to give parents a fighting chance against the Common Core and its intrusive data collection on their children.
If the Common Core Initiative is such a groundbreaking idea, then why rebrand? Why can’t it be defended on its own merits, under its own name? Why do Reps. Dudgeon and Coleman find it necessary to sneak rebranding sleight of hand into a 42-page “omnibus” bill? Do they really think Georgia parents are so stupid that they will be fooled by such sleazy tactics? Apparently so. If that is their attitude, it is consistent with the attitude of the creators and propagators of Common Core – the belief that parents are incapable of handling their own children’s education without the guidance of “experts.”
Immediate Action Needed!
Please contact Rep. Mike Dudgeon and Rep. Brooks Coleman, and tell them to strike all language in HB 897 that pertains to “state mandated content standards,” national testing and task force review of standards.
Please contact Reps. Nix, Clark, Kaiser and Chandler and urge them to speak with Rep. Dudgeon and Rep. Coleman about striking the bill language.
These legislators are playing dangerous games with Georgia’s children, and they need to hear from you today. Be sure to tell them you only support SB 167, Sen. Ligon’s efforts to get Georgia out of the Common Core.
Rep. Mike Dudgeon
Phone: 404-656- 0298 | E-mail (mike.dudgeon@house.ga.gov)
Rep. Brooks Coleman
Phone: 404-656-9210 | E-mail (brooks.coleman@house.ga.gov)
Rep. Randy Nix
Phone: 404-656-5087 | E-mail (randy.nix@house.ga.gov)
Rep. Valerie Clark
Phone 770-314-0456 | E-mail (vclark123@charter.net)
Rep. Margaret Kaiser
Phone: 404-656-0265 | E-mail (Margaret.kaiser@house.ga.gov)
Rep. Joyce Chandler
Phone: 404-656-0254 | E-mail ( joyce.chandler@house.ga.gov )
Re-branding background
Former Governor Mike Huckabee said that “Common Core” has become too toxic and told the Council of Chief State School Officers to “rebrand it, refocus it, but don’t retreat.” (Washington Post, January 30, 2014) The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, a huge supporter of the Common Core – in part because they have received Gates Foundation money to promote the standards, appears to have hopped on the re-branding bandwagon. Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber has “all but conceded that a rebranding was in order.”(Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 15, 2014)
According to Forsyth News Online, State Rep. Kevin Tanner (Dawsonville) said, “Politically, you’ve got to re brand it, you’ve got to establish it as a Georgia curriculum.” Local school superintendent Buster Evans admitted that rebranding is necessary.
Click here for a comparison of SB 167 and HB 897.