Letter: Common Core education standards eliminate local control

Common Core State Standards Initiative will arrive full force in California in 2014 when the Race to the Top Assessments will be given to K-12 students. Common Core is a top-down national program, written by a national cartel.

It will impose national standards and curriculum on the 46 states that have signed on to it. Funding for this national program, some $16 billion, was not taken to either federal or state legislatures for vote, but was taken to state governors with bribes and enticements. California's cost is close to $1.6 billion.

Such top-down programs are in affect illegal due to several educational laws:

1. The Department of Education Organizational Act.

2. The General Education Provisions Act.

3. The Elementary and Secondary Act.

4. No Child Left Behind Act.

They each say that "The Federal Department of Education shall not be involved in developing, supervising, or controlling instructional materials or curriculum."

There are many red flags associated with such a federally enacted educational program. First of all, it eliminates local and even state control for educational content.

Common Core curriculum was written by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governors' Association and a chief education policy group. These groups were joined by members of President Barack Obama's administration and a progressive group called Achieve, as well as FTA, NEA, ACT and the College Board.

Ultimately, Common Core will decimate the students' need for a personalized education that fits individual students' creative needs in favor of a one-size-fits-all approach. Microsoft and Pearson publisher will go to the bank since computers and e-books will be used. Educational content will be controlled at the federal level, potentially erasing local input. Teachers will become facilitators, not teachers.

Eagle Forum of California (www.eagleforum ofcalifornia.com), a grass-roots nonpartisan voice, urges parents to become informed as soon as possible.

Arthur Fruhling
Yuba City