International
Baccalaureate rushed through
UPDATES
June 18 MN Session Report
Go here
for details on how the regular 2007 Minnesota legislative session ended.
March 2nd report.
SF 448, authors:
Sieben, Katie;
Metzen, James P., is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, March 7,
2007 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 123 of the State Capitol.
February 25th
Report.
HF 233, HF 417, and HF 804
These three International Baccalaureate bills
were heard in the House
E-12 Education Policy Committee on Tuesday, Feb 20th.
For more on International Baccalaureate, see
"Terrorism as taught by International
Baccalaureate
."
Streaming audio of the hearing
can
be heard here, or
download MP3. All three were referred to the House
K
-12 Finance Division, where they
were already heard on Thursday, February 22nd. They are waiting to be
included in the House Education omnibus bill. EdWatch again testified
against the bills.
The Senate versions (SF 220, SF 448, and SF589) are referred to
the
Senate Education Committee.
Please read
EdWatch
update on IB for background. Excerpt: "IB is hostile
to the foundational principles of the United States. Our Declaration of
Independences says: We hold these truths to be self-evident. One of
the foundational pillars of the United States is recognition of objective
truth, real truth. IB undermines this principle and aggressively
teaches the contrary view."
Three bills to
expand International Baccalaureate in Minnesota moved through the
House E-12 Education Policy Committee on Tuesday, February 20, 2007.
Most of the IB time was used hearing its high praises. EdWatch and the
Minnesota Family Council were allowed a very few minutes of opposition
testimony, but were cut off for "lack of time." The proponents
were then called back up to counter the criticism. This committee
clearly does not want to hear much about the serious dangers with IB. All
three bills passed on voice votes and are already scheduled for a
House K-12 Education Finance Committee hearing Thursday, February
24th, at 2:15 p.m. in Room 10 of the State Office Building.
Streaming
audio of the hearing
can
be heard here, or
download MP3. Chief author (HF804) Rep. Atkins, in response to
an important criticism of IB, stated: "The local school district and
the local school board continue to make all curriculum decisions."
The
Brooklyn Center IBO grant application, however, states it entirely
differently. It says, "The IBO validates [approves or disapproves]
the standards [curriculum] of each school's assessments."
One school
administrator described the process to EdWatch this way: "In the
Primary Program (PYP), IB tells you that you will teach the IB curriculum
three hours of every day and you will teach your own curriculum,
including your state standards, the other three hours. IB also tells you,
however, that you must incorporate the values and attitudes of IB into
'your' three hours,and that IB must also approve the standards
[curriculum] and tests for your three hours. In other words, the entire
curriculum is basically IB."
The
statement by Rep. Atkins, that "the local school district and the
local school board continue to make all curriculum decisions," is
false, then, and legislators are voting for IB on the basis of this false
statement.
HF804,
was taken up first. It adds IB funding to the current Advanced Placement
funding (AP). It increases the availability of IB, increases the number
of students who participate, funds teacher training and instruction,
further develop IB courses or programs, purchases curriculum, pays course
or program fees, and hires IB licensed teachers. It also begins a grant
program to schools with a plan to establish a new IB program. It
appropriates $7.3 million in 2008 and $8.111 million in 2009 for, IB, AP,
and preadvanced placement.
House authors:
Atkins, Joe (DFL) ;
Benson, John (DFL) ;
Swails, Marsha (DFL);
Greiling, Mindy (DFL);
Hilstrom, Debra (DFL);
Marquart, Paul (DFL);
Dittrich, Denise (DFL);
Anzelc, Tom (DFL) ;
Heidgerken, Bud (R);
McFarlane, Carol (R) ;
Mariani, Carlos (DFL);
Demmer, Randy (R);
Murphy, Mary (DFL);
Garofalo, Pat (R) ;
Mahoney, Tim (DFL) . Senate authors (SF 589):
Bonoff, Terri E (DFL);
Rest, Ann H;
Clark, Tarryl L.
The other
two IB bills were heard at the end of the hearing. They fund IB for
primary (PYP) and intermediate (MYP) IB programs in South St. Paul and
Brooklyn Center. All students in these schools will be part of the
program, meaning there is nothing voluntary. People familiar with the
programs describe it as pure indoctrination into a radical, world-citizen
worldview.
HF 417/SF
448 is a five-year pilot program for South St. Paul. It will fund
SSP's implementation of IB for the primary and intermediate level
programs for the entire district. SSP is already implementing the program
district-wide.
House authors:
Bigham, Karla (DFL);
Atkins, Joe (DFL);
Hansen, Rick (DFL) ;
Greiling, Mindy (DFL);
Abeler, Jim (R)
Senate authors:
Sieben, Katie;
Metzen, James P.
HF
233/SF220 funds a five-year pilot program in Brooklyn Center for
all grades in the district. It pays for preparatory activities,
in-service for teachers, curriculum and instruction materials, startup
costs, annual operation, instruction costs, implementation costs, and the
costs of achieving learning outcomes and timelines.
House authors:
Hilstrom, Debra (DFL);
Abeler, Jim (R)
Senate authors:
Scheid, Linda
The House
Finance Committee will roll these three IB proposals into a massive
omnibus education spending bill. They will be just a few items in a
monster. The Senate is expected to do the same. Unless legislators hear
from the public, beginning now, these IB bills will not have so
much as an amendment on the House floor to delete them from the final
bill.
Governor Pawlenty supports and promotes
IB.
Unless he hears from the public, he will
sign IB expansion into law.
What can you do?
1. Call your own legislators. (See
who represents you:
Click here.)
Tell them to author an amendment to delete the IB funding on the House
and Senate floor. Tell them to vote to remove IB funding.
Many Republicans are unwilling to oppose the Governor. Tell
them that to make their opposition known to the Governor and urge him to
withdraw his support for IB.
2. Contact Governor Pawlenty.
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: (651) 296-3391
Phone: (800) 657-3717
Fax: (651) 296-2089
E-mail:
tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
Tell him to withdraw his support for IB and
pledge to veto the legislation.
3. Send this information about International Baccalaureate on.
Most people have not even heard of the program.
4. Help EdAction raise money for radio ads
exposing this agenda.
Contact us at 952-361-4931 or
email us here.
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