Race to the Top of What?

January 21, 2010 by jenni

Yesterday the legislative agenda for the house Republicans was released (http://www.okhouse.gov/OkhouseMedia/Index.aspx).

Herein, we are told, “Reforming the state’s public education system will also be a focus this year as Oklahoma competes for federal dollars in its Race to the Top application. To qualify for those funds, reforms House Republicans have been pushing for years must be put in place, including performance pay for teachers and an expansion of the state’s charter school system. The reforms will ensure high standards by building additional accountability into the system.”

This sounds excellent and I have no desire to impugn the commitment of our legislators on educational issues. I would like to point out however, that while Oklahoma is facing one of its worst budget shortfalls in years, we should not use this as an excuse to accept Federal monies to meet our State’s educational goals.

While most will agree that performance pay for teachers and an expansion of the charter school system (or better yet, a voucher system) in this state are laudable goals, the Race for the Top program instituted by President Obama last year, is little more than a restatement of the Goals 2000 (http://www.ed.gov/G2K/index.html)agenda set by President Clinton (1994), financed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Section 14005-6, Title XIV, (Public Law 111-5) – more commonly called “stimulus” funds (http://www.ed.gov/legislation/GOALS2000/TheAct/sec212.html).

Here are four reasons Oklahoma should NOT take Race to The Top Funds

1. It is illegal. A thirty-five year old federal law (20 USC 1232a – Sec. 1232a.) declares “No provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution, school, or school system, or over the selection of library resources, textbooks, or other printed or published instructional materials by any educational institution or school system" (http://vlex.com/vid/prohibition-against-federal-control-19195093). According to the law (ARRA) itself, the first in a list of four reforms central to funding is, “Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy” (http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html).

2. It violates the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution. While national standards sound good on the surface, this edict boils down to Federalizing curriculum (http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/01/20/race-to-the-top-is-fixed-...), which directly negates state autonomy over education. Because of this fact, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced this week that Texas will not seek Race to the Top funds (http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2010/jan/15/sitting-out-the-race-to-...) and concerns have been voiced in the state of Florida on these grounds as well (http://florida.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/01/can-floridas-legislature...). The Oklahoma legislature should be well aware of this issue, having passed HCR1028 (http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/05/13/oklahoma-senate-affirms-s...) last year as a concurrent resolution declaring Oklahoma’s state sovereignty.

3. Current per pupil spending is more than adequate in Oklahoma. Steve Anderson (a CPA working in Oklahoma) wrote this month in the Journal of the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs, that while the Oklahoma Federation of Teachers quotes a per pupil expenditure of $7,615, this figure is actually more like $10,257 per pupil when all known budgetary factors are applied (http://www.ocpathink.org/publications/perspective-archives/january-2010-...). The national per pupil average expenditure has recently reported to be $9963.00 (http://www.businessinsider.com/education-spending-could-force-tax-hikes-...). Interestingly, I performed a similar piece of research in September of last year, using much of the same information collected by Mr. Anderson. Interestingly, my research yielded a very similar figure (http://www.restoreokpubliceducation.com/node/11). Quite apparently, cutting back current Oklahoma State Department of Education program and administration spending could do nothing but funnel taxpayer money back into the classroom without further necessity for the collection of additional funds at any level. A Wall Street Journal article examining the issue of overfunded, underperforming federal education mandates points out this thesis quite well (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020488630457430844272634867...). The last line of the article sums up the writer’s assessment of Race to The Top, “But as long as most education spending goes to support the status quo, Race to the Top will be mostly a case of political show and tell.”

4. The instruction of facts, not worldview, is by necessity the aim of education. If curriculum standards are nationalized, the world view of any seated administration will unavoidably become injected into developed curricula. The largest example of existing federalized curricula is the “internationally benchmarked” education standards commonly called IB or International Baccalaureate (http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/2006/apr06/ibo-controversy.html). These are developed by UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations. The UNESCO website clarifies that its education standards conform to the treaties and agreements of the UN. EdWatch, a non-profit, educational watchdog group explains, “This means that its curriculum includes, for example, the requirements of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which says, “Education shall . . . further the activities of the United Nations” (Art. 26:2) (http://www.edwatch.org/). No matter your political affiliation or worldview, parents should soundly reject attempts by the federal government to inject their principles upon educational curricula. This not only goes back to the state sovereignty issue, but speaks directly to an issue some would define as ‘indoctrination’ (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/indoctrination). Tax payer funded educational institutions (public schools) are necessarily to instruct students on basic educational facts, not opinion, so that students can develop their own belief systems as they mature.

Consensus on education spending, needs and curricula will possibly always be controversial. If a yardstick of basic principles is applied to these issues, however, the purpose and direction of pubic education on a state level can become much more readily defined. Using the yardstick of principles described above, Race to The Top does not measure up to Oklahoma’s standards and should be summarily failed.
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More:
Standards push threatens ed gains
2010-02-07 05:28:00 EducationNews.org
http://www.educationnews.org/educationnewstoday/46195.html

Texas Governor Rick Perry Says No to Obama Education Department’s “Race to the Top” Initiative
http://cfif.org/v/index.php/commentary/48-education/490-texas-governor-r...

Texas is Right To Quit The Race For The Top Education Program
http://biggovernment.com/2010/01/15/texas-is-right-to-quit-the-race-for-...

Reform pledged for Oklahoma grant funds
http://www.newsok.com/reform-pledged-for-oklahoma-grant-funds/article/34...

Go to the National Education Association and see teachers comments regarding Race to the Top. There is not one for it on the first page.
http://www.nea.org/home/35870.htm

Though the AFT seems to still be 'scrutinizing' the Race to the Top, the Albert Shanker Foundation (named after the man who founded the AFT) has decried the Race to the Top Program in a 22 page document found on their website.
http://www.shankerinstitute.org/homepage.html

Next Obama Push: Nationalization of Education
http://www.jbs.org/education-blog/5895-next-obama-push-nationalization-o...

Race to the Middle?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870347870457461255105374007...

Inner-city schools need political Katrina
http://www.urbancure.org/article.asp?id=3201

A Smarter Path to a "Race to the Top" in Education Reform
Published on January 26, 2010 by Dan Lips
The Heritage Foundation
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/01/A-Smarter-Path-to-a-Rac...