Congress has repealed the No Child Left Behind Act only to replace it with a far worse centralized control of education — Every Student Succeeds Act.

Congress has admitted that Common Core now will be federal law and that it is not about academic learning but rather changing the beliefs, values, behavior, and worldviews of students.  In a nutshell, the government is conducting psychological profiling of our children.

During the House proceedings prior to the vote, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, made the stunning statement that Common Core is being redefined as social-emotional learning, which must come first in the learning hierarchy — with academics ranking second!  

Like ObamaCare, the ESSA is unconstitutional and is a government takeover of education – now we get ObamaCore! 

The government is requiring states to “demonstrate” that they have adopted standards aligned to “college and career standards.”  This term is code for Common Core.

The government requires that “same standards shall apply to all public schools and public school students in the state.…and include the same knowledge, skills, and levels of achievement expected of all public school students in the State.”  Further, those standards are to align with higher-education requirements and “career and technical education standards,”  which are federally approved under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Since the bill does not define whether higher education means community college or four-year university, the states will be forced to accommodate all students, which means aiming for the lowest level of higher learning — the community college.  This leaves higher achieving students unprepared for a four-year institution!

The federal government has taken control over test content which includes both academic and psychosocial questions. During testing, computers will collect personal information including student attitudes, behavior, and mindset.

ESSA ignores the unlawful change by the USDOE to FERPA, which allows third parties to access personally identifiable student data.  Nothing prevents private international corporations from collecting PII.

Data mining for PII is highly dangerous to the freedom of Americans, because it is this Soviet-style government cradle-to-grave data collection which allows the government to conduct surveillance of American citizens.

Ignoring parental rights to opt their children out of these invasive assessments, the government requires that 95% of students in each state participate in testing and penalizes states for non-compliance.  This places parents and students in direct conflict with school officials who will be forced to use heavy handed tactics to meet federal requirements.

Head Start now is expanded to include childcare through a $250 million Child Care Development Block Grant.  Since there is no work requirement for parents, likely this will mean free daycare for many children, paid for by parents who have to pay for their own child’s daycare. Because early childhood programs must be aligned with Head Start and Child Development Block Grants, young children will be subjected to federal preschool standards which also include psychosocial factors.

In spite of mountains of evidence that pre-K is ineffective and can create academic or emotional harm, Congress has decided to throw more children in harm’s way and send a $250 million bill to taxpayers.

In fact, an additional 2% per year will be appropriated for fiscal years 2017-2020 to pay for the wish list of Congress and their lobbyists.

Included in the ESSA wish list is the fulfillment of Arne Duncan’s dream for 21^st Century Community Learning Centers.  This is a Soviet model for cradle-to-grave education with children spending most of their waking hours there. In the spirit of “it takes a village to raise a child,” the government is usurping the authority of parents and churches to rear our young – echoes of Hitler-style government interference.

In these centers, the government will be collecting mental health data and determining if children should be sent to counseling.

For months the public has protested the passage of ESSA with Congress ignoring them.   It is inevitable that this bill will trigger the same deep public anger stoked by the Affordable Care Act as Americans experience the damage wreaked by these hypocritical Beltway politicians who send their kids to Common Core-free elite private schools.

Source: Carole Hornsby Haynes, http://www.drcarolehhaynes.com/