Common Core: The Whole Truth for WA State; How Common Core came to pass in the WA Legislature

At Last .... a well written comprehensive article accurately outlining "Bill Gates and Friends" take over of public education.  The actors: non-educators Bush/Obama/Duncan and our state legislators and educator Mr. Randy Dorn. This group supported Mr. Gates and poured the children's money into corporate pockets.

October 14, 2015 —    from Asia's Think Tank
Common Core’s Leviathan: Bill Gates and (Mis)Adventures within American Public Education

The debate over the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is not politics as usual. .... It behooves anyone interested in liberal education to join in stopping the CCSSI.

Advocates claim the CCSSI is state-led, internationally benchmarked, and based on the latest research, yet it is none of those things. In addition to manifest pedagogical shortcomings, Common Core is dangerously close to an army of crony capitalists, anxious to cash in on the bonanza of federal, state, and local contracts. Critics charge the CCSSI with doing for education what the military-industrial complex has done for defense – spawning expensive and wasteful boondoggles overseen by burgeoning bureaucracies that harm the very people the system purports to help. ....

However, students, parents, and teachers are learning the hard way that calling something magic does not make it so. There are better ways to build a curriculum than corporate cronyism and secret standards. The question remains: Is this the best we can do? Clearly it is not. The CCSSI should be rejected on the merits because it fails to provide for a high-quality liberal education for American children.
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The Washington State local truth.  In 2010 before the CCSS components were known, the legislature "adopted CCSS" with Bill 6696, which included a provision that State Superintendent Randy Dorn must provide a detailed report on CCSS impacts to the legislature on or before January 1, 2011.  Mr. Dorn failed to do that.  His report was 30 days late and appeared just before a crucial hearing of the House Education Committee (Rep. Sharon Tamiko Santos {chair}).   This gave the Public no time to read it and respond.

I filed documents in Superior Court in Pierce County to begin a recall of Randy Dorn as he had violated a portion of state law 6696 written expressly for him.  A WA recall requires proof of misfeasance or malfeasance to proceed.

Mr. Dorn is defended by the WA Office of Attorney General. The defense for Mr. Dorn stated that the report requirement was to produce a report for the legislature's education committees and no legislative committees complained so no harm no foul.  Superior Court Judge Beverly Grant then ruled against my request for instituting a recall petition.    ... So much for the Public right to know anything.

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SB 6696   ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6696
EDUCATION REFORM
EFFECTIVE DATE: 06/10/10

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  Session Law E2SSB 6696.SL        PAGE 46

COMMON CORE STANDARDS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 601. A new section is added to chapter 28A.655

3 RCW to read as follows:

4 (1) By August 2, 2010, the superintendent of public instruction may

5 revise the state essential academic learning requirements authorized 6 under RCW 28A.655.070 for mathematics, reading, writing, and 7 communication by provisionally adopting a common set of standards for 8 students in grades kindergarten through twelve. The revised state 9 essential academic learning requirements may be substantially identical 10 with the standards developed by a multistate consortium in which 11 Washington participated, must be consistent with the requirements of 12 RCW 28A.655.070, and may include additional standards if the additional 13 standards do not exceed fifteen percent of the standards for each

14 content area. However, the superintendent of public instruction shall 15 not take steps to implement the provisionally adopted standards until 16 the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate 17 have an opportunity to review the standards.

18 (2) By January 1, 2011, the superintendent of public instruction 19 shall submit to the education committees of the house of 20 representatives and the senate:

21 (a) A detailed comparison of the provisionally adopted standards 22 and the state essential academic learning requirements as of the 23 effective date of this section, including the comparative level of 24 rigor and specificity of the standards and the implications of any 25 identified differences; and

26 (b) An estimated timeline and costs to the state and to school 27 districts to implement the provisionally adopted standards, including 28 providing necessary training, realignment of curriculum, adjustment of 29 state assessments, and other actions.

30 (3) The superintendent may implement the revisions to the essential 31 academic learning requirements under this section after the 2011 32 legislative session unless otherwise directed by the legislature. 

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So there you have it:  (in a nutshell)  A,B,C,D,E

(A) 
The requirement  
...  By January 1, 2011, the superintendent of public instruction  shall submit to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate: a detailed report of CCSS impacts
(B)
... He did not do it
(C)
... The Superior Court and the Legislative education committees do not care
(D)
... Open Government is a fraudulent sham
(E)
... The Laws passed apply to some but not the favored. 

There are better ways to build a curriculum than corporate cronyism and secret standards. ... but do not count on the Washington State Legislature to allow such building of curriculum.

NAEP change 2013 to 2015 :   WA State 8th graders dropped 5 in reading and 3 in math