Local school board members from across the country are in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with their representatives about U.S. Dept. of Education policies. And based on a letter Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, wrote to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Wednesday, it’s clear that school board members from Alabama had one main thing on their mind when they came to D.C. — getting rid of federal overreach in education policy. (This originally said “getting rid of Common Core” — See update below)
“One of the primary takeaways from these meetings is clear,” Rogers wrote to Duncan, “The Department of Education must stop crushing our schools with burdensome regulations and arbitrary policies. Unfortunately, under your leadership, the Department of Education has consistently pursued one-size-fits-all policies and administrative guidance like Common Core Standards that effectively force states and school districts into accepting Federal mandates or lose critical funding.”
Rogers said school board officials also informed him that they are having to spend more time on paperwork and less time educating children because of the mandates being sent down to educators from D.C.
“Binding schools with bureaucratic red tape and federal paperwork does nothing to improve learning,” Rogers wrote. “In addition, it is absurd to think that a single policy handed down from Washington would fit the needs of every school in my district, much less the country. Local school systems are best situated to respond to the needs of students, families, and communities.”
“The Department of Education has clearly lost sight of its place in our education system,” Rogers concluded. The full letter can be read here.
Rep. Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves as Chairman of the Strategic Forces subcommittee on the Armed Services Committee and is a senior member of the Homeland Security and Agriculture committees.
UPDATE: This article originally stated that the school board members were opposed to Common Core. This morning, Sally Howell, Executive Director of the Alabama Association of School Boards clarified their position.
“Congressman Rogers office was very responsive to us, but we only discussed federal overreach in education with a member of his staff, not Common Core,” Howell said. “We opposed the U.S. Department of Education using Common Core as part of getting “Race to The Top” money, but we are supportive of Common Core. We did not even discuss Common Core with anyone on Congressman Rogers staff, nor would we. We believe that is a state issue, not a federal issue, and we’re voluntarily participating in it. The Alabama State Board of Education continues to support those standards, and God bless them for it because it is good for kids.”
The Alabama Association of School Boards also affirmed their support for Common Core on Twitter, and was retweeted by the Alabama Dept. of Education.
Alabama school board members DO support the College & Career Ready Standards, that include Common Core. @Cliff_Sims @YHPolitics #alpolitics
— AlabamaSchoolBoards (@AlaSchoolBoards) February 7, 2014
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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