BOSTON – Supporters of an initiative to end the adoption of national Common Core education standards in Massachusetts pledged to obtain the petition signatures needed to put the issue before voters in November after lawmakers on Wednesday sent a similar legislative proposal to a study committee, where little action is expected.
"We're going to move forward," said Donna Colorio, a Worcester School Committee member and a leader of the ballot campaign, who spoke about the issue at a State House lobbying rally. "We're planning on getting our remaining 11,000 signatures. We will be doing a lot of education. We will be working in the communities to educate different people in the communities."
The writers who crafted the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the 2015 bill co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) re-authorizing the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), thought they had worded an airtight case to prevent parents from removing their children from federal mandated testing.
States are responsible for ensuring a 95 percent participation rate of all its K-12 students in exchange for ESSA funds. If the rate is less than 95 percent, the US Secretary of Education has several options. Most allow USED to help the state come up with a plan to address the matter. In effect, ESSA turns state departments of education into school bullies.
