And the Winner IS....Betsy DeVos

February 01, 2017 at 12:37AM -
And so, for those of you who didn't find out today, Betsy DeVos has secured the nomination for Secretary of Education chalking up a HUGE VICTORY in the Senate with an 12-11 vote strictly on party lines. Goodness! This sounds like it bodes well for bipartisan-collective-happy Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP). So much for...

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via Jenny White ,for Restore Oklahoma Parental Empowerment.

Despite Ferocious Opposition, Oklahomans Choose Choice

January 22, 2017 at 10:48PM -
**Originally published in an edited format at School Reform News This election cycle, candidates for state office who supported school choice issues were targeted for opposition by a group of Oklahoma teachers and educators collectively referred to as the “Teacher Caucus” who often engaged in ugly rhetoric and questionable campaign methods. November 8th, Oklahomans not only resoundingly...

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via Jenny White ,for Restore Oklahoma Parental Empowerment.

SB 93 by Smalley: Raises Concerns Regarding Religious Liberty and Parental Rights

January 14, 2017 at 06:10PM -
I recently received a legislative alert from HSLDA regarding SB93 filed by Oklahoma Senator Jason Smalley. This bill addresses changes to current law regarding children IN DHS custody or ENTERING DHS custody.  Unfortunately, in their email alert, HSLDA doesn't provide a link to the bill (A BIG NO-NO) and only provides a brief, overall assessment of what the changes made by Smalley to the...

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via Jenny White ,for Restore Oklahoma Parental Empowerment.

The Disease of Educational Statism: Betsy DeVos isn’t a cure - by all appearances, she’s a symptom

January 09, 2017 at 05:46AM -
The definition of “statism” according to Merriam-Webster is Concentration of economic controls and planning in the hands of a highly centralized government often extending to government ownership of industry Applying this definition to the state of education in America today is easily accomplished by changing a few words: Concentration of education funding, control and planning in the hands of a...

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http://ift.tt/eA8V8J from Reclaim Oklahoma Parent Empowerment http://ift.tt/2iu65Tw
via Jenny White ,for Restore Oklahoma Parental Empowerment.

A-F Grading - Exchanging One Educational Overreach for Another

Moving into 2017 it looks as though our Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) will not attempt to find the "pro-local-control" the Education and Workforce Committee promised of the new ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act - the replacement for No Child Left Behind - in itself a replacement for the reauthorizations of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act by every preceding president).

According to the press release from the OSDE:

OSDE unveils new, stronger school report card system required by federal, state laws

I feel a bit like Dana Carvey doing the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live "Well isn't THAT special"?

Task Force Membership Reads Like A Who's Who of Common Core/ACT Big Government Public Education Lovers

We're told in the opening paragraph of the press release that a 95-member task force representing a broad cross-section of individuals has studied this issue and approved of the new A-F school report card. Because that number sounds so large, I'm going to refer to it as the Make Education HUGE Again (MEHA) task force. Here is a smattering of your representation on the MEHA.

BREAKING NEWS: Oklahoma Representative Kevin Calvey Requests Resignation from Superintendent Hofmeister

Earlier today, I received a letter released to the press by Representative Kevin Calvey (R-82) requesting State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Joy Hofmeister, resign. Here is the text of the letter (which apparently made the Washington Times):

OKLAHOMA CITY – Conservative lawmaker Kevin Calvey, R-Oklahoma City, today called upon State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, R-Tulsa, to resign in the wake of felony charges against her.

“Joy Hofmeister’s own words make it clear that it is best for the children of Oklahoma that she resign,” said Calvey, referring to emails referenced in the indictment filed by District Attorney David Prater, D-Oklahoma City, against Hofmeister and representatives of the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA) school administrators’ lobby and the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) teachers’ union, among others.

Questions: Drain the swamp? Betsy DeVos? Where do parents come in?

Dear President-Elect Trump,

It's November 24th, and though I run a small farm and am up early every day anyway, I'm up this morning - not readying myself to make Thanksgiving dinner - but writing to you about my frustration over your pick for US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

As you began considering a USDE appointment, my fellow Common Core fighters across the country and I, Tweeted you - and even publicly published (and signed) a letter to you - with our USDE Secretary picks (which got thousands of signatures in three days) and specific policy changes (signed by leading anti-CC activists in nearly all 50 states) we had hoped you'd address. I thought you might hear us because of our combined years of boots-on-the-ground education policy experience. I also thought you might understand and appreciate the viewpoint of us 'little guys' in the 'middle' - the forgotten people you said you'd champion on the campaign trail. Oh well; I'm no stranger to campaign rhetoric and broken political promises, yet I had hoped for a change (insert eye-roll and sigh). Nevertheless, I'm hoping you read my specific concerns resting on everything I've read about Betsy DeVos in the last several days.

First: education experience counts

DeVos has zero experience in public education outside philanthropy. She apparently was educated in private schools and sent her children to private schools.