The Jeb Bush money Trail to Common Core Part I


The following was a collaborative effort of Team Network Bloggers and Cris Quackenbush of the floridacitizensalliance, Please find the important action items below. The State of Florida is taking over the local School Districts sovereignty over student progression and Graduation. 


If youwant a money trail, this is IT!  This is particularly interesting from the FOIA request done in FL.  http://www.inthepublicint... It shows how Jeb Bush created the Foundation for Excellence in Education to act as a conduit for their corporate crony donors in creating legislation to benefit them in seeking money from the $1.3 TRILLION education marketThen they pay Bush big contributions for the 2016 Presidential campaign.  They are so grateful, He even had to ask them to limit their contributions to $1 million each for now.   It came from this article: http://www.washingtonpost...


 If you want to understand more about someone, you should see what he does for a living and who he associates with:  http://www.allgov.com/new...


 Corporate Interests Pay to Play to Shape Education Policy, Reap profits(http://www.inthepublicinterest.org/node/2747)


Emails Show Bush-Led Organization's ALEC-Like Role in State Policymaking


Emails between the Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE), founded and chaired by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and state education officials show that the foundation is writing state education laws and regulations in ways that could benefit its corporate funders. The emails, obtained through public records requests, reveal that the organization, sometimes working through its Chiefs For Change affiliate, wrote and edited laws, regulations and executive orders, often in ways that improved profit opportunities for the organization's financial backers.


"Testing companies and for-profit online schools see education as big business," said In the Public Interest Chair Donald Cohen. "For-profit companies are hiding behind FEE and other business lobby organizations they fund to write laws and promote policies that enrich the companies."


The emails conclusively reveal that FEE staff acted to promote their corporate funders' priorities, and demonstrate the dangerous role that corporate money plays in shaping our education policy. Correspondence in Florida, New Mexico, Maine, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Louisiana paint a graphic picture of corporate money distorting democracy.


The correspondence is available at:
• Rhode Island: http://www.inthepublicint...
• Oklahoma: http://www.inthepublicint...
• New Mexico: http://www.inthepublicint...
• Maine: http://www.inthepublicint...
• Louisiana: http://www.inthepublicint...
• Florida: http://www.inthepublicint...


Most concerning are the findings that reveal:


• In Florida, FEE helped write legislation that would increase the use of a proprietary test (FCAT) under contract to Pearson, an FEE donor.


• Foundation for Excellence in Education CEO Patricia Levesque urged state officials to introduce SendHub, a communications tool, into their state's schools. News reports indicate that Levesque's boss, Jeb Bush, is an investor in SendHub.


 “These emails show a troubling link between Jeb Bush's effort to lobby for ‘reforms’ through his statewide Foundation for Florida's Future, his national Foundation for Excellence in Education, and the powerful corporations who want access to billions of our tax dollars by reshaping public education policies just to create markets for themselves - none of which is in the best interest of our children,” said Kathleen Oropeza, a Florida parent.


WHERE ARE WE NOW and WHAT CAN YOU DO?


The committee bill from the House has passed (HB7069), fully supporting Common Core and High Stakes Testing. It is now on the Senate side (SB616).  Leadership (Crisafulli, Gaetz, O’Toole, Adkins, Garcia, Legg) have prevented our thoughtful and complete solution (HB1121, SB1496) from being heard in committee, and they will die if not heard.  SB616, has been heard in 3 committees and Monday we have one more chance to submit an amendment which will be voted on 1:30-3:30 Tuesday in committee.  We can speak there. 


Sadly, legislators don’t really know the facts in many cases, and just trust their leaders to tell them how to vote.  Leaders have close ties with Jeb Bush and look forward to high positions or support for their loyalty in throwing our kids and our future under the bus.  It’s up to us to educate them.  They are supposed to represent their constituents and we must tell them THIS BILL by John Legg HAS NO LEGS!  (pun intended)  See bill analysis http://bit.ly/1Cv0tza


Come join me Monday in Tallahassee to visit legislators and testify Tuesday, or give them a call and/or email (one button will do this at www.floridacitizensallian... ).  Tell them to STOP the STATE Sponsored Child Abuse and end Common Core and High Stakes Testing NOW.  SB616 keeps them in place and claims to reduce testing. They cancelled ONE test they just added last year that was inconsequential anyway.  We are smarter than that!  Please help now or more kids will be learning that it was “Gorbachev who brought down the Berlin Wall” and George Washington was “anything but a man of the people.”


Chris Quackenbush


239-823-2980


www.floridacitizensallian...


www.facebook.com/stopcomm...


 The philosophy in the school room in one generation will become the philosophy of government in the next.  — Abraham Lincoln

Captcha Challenge
Reload Image
Type in the verification code above
Back To Top
TOP