Yet critics blame Scott for issues that are beyond his purview! For example, it's clear that Governor Scott objects to Common Core through his 2013 Executive Order against a curriculum funded by federal non-profits. Using strong words against the Federal government's un-constitutional authority to unilaterally set academic standards for Florida Scott states: "Floridians will not accept government intrusion into the academic standards that are taught to our students." Yet dissenters vow to disregard Scott's successes and are prepared to walk-the-gang-plank for a single issue that has already swung towards Florida state and local standards. The voting public is well aware that Charlie Crist is salivating over this Common Core confrontation and waiting in the wings to re-install the federal Obama/Crist Common Core standards.
What have these "strong words" accomplished? Nothing! What successes have there been? None! Despite Scott saying that " Common Core is out in Florida" we are still in Common Core, deceptively called the Florida Standards by his administration. This has been admitted by Commissioner Stewart, Speaker Weatherford and Jeb Bush. We still have an invasive, expensive test with a pledge to give all of the testing data that include "mindsets" to the federal government. This test is made by a company that is far more into testing behavior and attitudes than academics and admits to data mining individual Florida students and teachers.
If Crist were to win and "re-install the federal Obama/Crist Common Core standards," no one would to be able to tell a difference, because that is what we have now.
Instead of standing up to the federal government, Governor Scott even said that Lee County was right to rescind its vote to opt out of state tests because they would lose federal money.
We need more than "strong words." We need a governor that will defend Florida's sovereignty, school district autonomy under the Florida Constitution and especially parents' rights to direct the education of their children, including opting out of excessive, invasive and unnecessary state tests. We do not need any more deception.
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