Karen R. Effrem, MD
There are two more new and very disturbing incidents in the tyrannical destruction of parental and free speech rights as the supposedly oh so "voluntary", "state-led", "transparent", and "constitutional" Common Core system of national standards, tests, and data collection continues to be imposed on Florida and the nation.
In New York, a state PTA official stated in a speech that parents who opt their children out of the Common Core aligned assessments should be reported to child protective services for "educational neglect."
In New York, a state PTA official stated in a speech that parents who opt their children out of the Common Core aligned assessments should be reported to child protective services for "educational neglect."
In South Carolina, parents that received a permit to participate in a local Christmas parade and were planning to carry signs about the problems with Common Core were banned from carrying signs and their participation was threatened by the police and parade organizers.
This is on the heels of a Maryland parent being arrested during a school board meeting while trying to speak out about Common Core and parents in Indian River County here in Florida being threatened with arrest for passing out anti-Common Core material at a school meeting. There have also been increasing attacks on homeschooling families here in Florida and across the nation. There is more information on this in Chapter 4 of our policy analysis.
It appears that our children are becoming "mere creatures of the state" despite the famous 1925 Supreme Court case reaffirming parents as the primary educators of their children. Are we going to "sit there like cattle" as Mr. Small, that Maryland father, warned, or are we going to stand up and protect our children and our rights as parents? Our children's and our nation's future is hanging in the balance. It is up to us.