News

Senate President Gaetz Seeks to Impose Common Core on Private Schools

February, 2014

Not content with destroying academic education for Florida's public school children by continuing to impose the academically inferior, developmentally inappropriate, and psychologically manipulative Common Core standards on them, Senate President Don Gaetz, is now setting his sights on 70,000 private school students as well.  Gaetz, who has infamously and derisively mocked the parents and citizens of Florida who oppose Common Core, is determined to require that students who receive vouchers and attend private schools take the public school Common Core aligned tests.  Because private schools do not have the resources to teach voucher students one way and the rest of their students another way, this will effectively mandate Common Core in the private schools that accept vouchers in order to pass these tests.

Here are excerpts from the Orlando Sentinel article declaring Gaetz's intentions:


But one potentially massive shock to the system could be coming on the school-choice front: not the expansion of Florida's school-voucher program, but the idea of requiring the tens of thousands of students receiving them to take similar assessments as their public-school counterparts...But his legislative counterpart, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, wants the testing. And it's a bit of a sore spot...So the voucher expansion this year will have to contain assessments for private-school-voucher students...And Gaetz says he doesn't intend to get rolled again. (Emphasis added).
 
It seems abundantly clear that Gaetz and his corporate and foundation cronies want no escape from the psychological profiling and workforce training system that is Common Core.  Given Governor Scott's already perilous political situation with Common Core and the public's fury over the deceptive changes in the standards and name made by the department, it would be absolutely foolish to sign such a bill that would potentially alienate the involved, engaged parents of 70,000 private school students and close off a major alternative to Common Core. As Education Liberty Watch has explained, imposing the Common Core tests and therefore the standards on private schools would render the concept of school choice merely an empty shell.

If you wish to express your displeasure to Senator Gaetz, you may do so at:
Tallahassee Office: (850) 487-5001
District Office: (850) 897-5747
 

If you wish to warn the governor of the folly of signing such a bill, you may contact him as follows:
Phone: (850) 488-7146
Click Here to Email Governor Scott



 


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