MN House Votes Unanimously to Withdraw from NCLB!    May 2, 2008
The fate of this wonderful amendment is now in the hands of a conference committee, which has to reconcile the House and Senate version of this entire large policy bill that contains several controversial provisions such as comprehensive sex education and the growth-based value added system that we have previously discussed.  Sadly, both the Governor and the Senate oppose it.  This language will be dropped unless we continue to make it an issue. 
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  NCLB Withdrawal Vote in MN House   April 17, 2008
The Minnesota House will likely take up its large education policy bill, HF 3316 TODAY or at the latest on Monday, April 21st.  This is another chance for you to make your voices heard on whether Minnesota continues to labor under the tyrannical mandates of No Child Left Behind. 
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  Gutting Withdrawal of NCLB   April 8, 2008
After contentious debate on an omnibus-omnibus budget bill, (otherwise known as a garbage bill), in both the House and Senate the withdrawal of Minnesota from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was gutted. It remains a shell of what passed the House committee.
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  Action on NCLB & Good News on Pre-K   April 3, 2008
Unfortunately, no amendments to withdraw Minnesota from NCLB were offered during the Senate committee process as happened in the House, but we are hopeful that it will happen during Senate floor debate.  We need your help to raise this important issue with senators and the governor! The other very good news of this session is that the large House education omnibus policy (HF 3316) and budget (HF 2475) bills contain NO new early childhood policy or funding and that many of our concerns in the Senate omnibus education bills (SF 3001 - policy / SF 3631 - funding) related to early childhood described in our March 18th alert have been resolved.   However, EdWatch sees this as only a temporary reprieve.  The saying, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" has never been truer.
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  Update on Minnesota Education Bills   March 31, 2008
View a current scorecard on the status of various issues that EdWatch is following at the legislature this session.
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  MN House Committee Withdraws from No Child   March 27, 2008
A SHOT HEARD ROUND THE NATION:   Thank you for your involvement!!  You are having a great effect!! After our alert pointing out DFL hypocrisy in not hearing any bills to withdraw MN from No Child Left Behind  (NCLB) despite previous support, the House K-12 finance committee struck a great blow for educational freedom on Tuesday, March 25 by adopting an amendment to do just that.  In a rare, but very refreshingly bi-partisan manner, an amendment offered by Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) to HF 2475 was adopted.
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  Some Good News and Rapid Changes at Capitol   March 19, 2008
No House Early Childhood Bill; House K-12 Supplemental to be presented today; BMI monitoring still in SF 3099.
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  ALERT:  Bills Push Control & Tracking of Your Children   March 18, 2008
Amidst DFL efforts to control the family bank account via historic tax increases, legislative committees have been furiously hearing and passing bills dealing with state control of the raising and education of children from birth through college. This includes expansion of the subjective kindergarten readiness assessment that does de facto mental health screening and falsely labels 50% of Minnesota children as not "ready to learn," and data collection on every aspect of your children's lives from their genetic information to their body mass index.  Part one of this series of reports will deal with early childhood control and assessment. 
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  DFL Refuses to Hear Bills to Withdraw MN from NCLB   March 11, 2008
For years, the DFL have rightly criticized the federal legislation that provides 2% or less of Minnesota's education budget, but costs so much more in regulation and implementation as an "unfunded mandate" and "micromanaging" from Washington.  However, now that they can really do something, they refuse.
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  Update: Hearing Delayed on State Screening/Data Bill   March 3, 2008
The Minnesota Department of Education has indicated a willingness to respond to EdWatch Action's concerns about both the behavioral screening and the federal sharing of individual student data. The Senate hearing on SF 3001 is rescheduled for Monday, March 3rd at 3:00 PM.
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  Education Department Wants More Behavioral Screening  February 27, 2008
Two years ago, the Minnesota Department of Education tried to slip unscientific, intrusive and anti-parent initiatives into special education under the guise of making "technical corrections" in existing law.  They're at it again with their 2008 "technical corrections" bill (SF 3001).   Senate Committie Hearing Today
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  ACTION: Mental Screening & Federal Curriculum for Preschoolers    November 13, 2007
Urge your Senators and Congressmen to vote no on Link Mental Screening and a federal curriculum for preschoolers. Re-authorization of the federal Head Start program includes social-emotional (mental health) screening of very young children. H.R. 1429 also requires Head Start curricula and assessments that include gender issues, diversity, multiculturalism, mental health, environmentalism, and careers for preschoolers.
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  Efforts Against Child Mental Screening and Drugging a Success    October 25, 2007
The issues addressed at the October national conference on psychiatric screening and the dangers of universal psychological screening and at the Washington Issues Briefing will be prominent in legislation currently before Congress. Here's what you need to tell you members of Congress.
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  Drugging our Poor    October 23, 2007
Writing for Accuracy in Media, Bethany Stotts reports on how H.R. 3762 amends NCLB. Dr. Karen Effrem worries that this bill will increase government investigation into families' private lives. She argues "this is the kind of vague, subjective, intrusive kind of activity that the federal government absolutely should not be doing." Learn about how this bill could increase the use of psychotropic drugs on children, especially minority children.
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  ACTION: Child Psychiatric Screening & Drugging Briefing    October 8, 2007
Edwatch joins five other organizations to sponsor a congressional briefing on child psychiatric screening and drugging.
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  ACTION: NCLB Welcomes Children to 1984 & the Village   September 11, 2007
Federal education began in 1965, ostensibly as an effort to help poor children improve academic achievement. It has grown and spread like a monstrous cancer that is destroying academic achievement and freedom, parental autonomy, privacy, and the ability to maintain our republic for ALL public school children.
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  ACTION: NCLB Plan Establishes International Education For All 
          September 5, 2007
Leaders of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee would institute international education standards in all public schools as part of their proposed changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). "International education standards" translated mean requiring that schools teach the beliefs and values of the UN. It does not mean having higher standards than we now have.
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  Foot-dragging on NCLB   August 1, 2007
NCLB legislation hasn't been introduced in Congress in either the House or the Senate. After this week, Congress will be in recess until after Labor Day. NCLB expires September 30th. Why the foot-dragging on NCLB? The Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee told the National Press Club on July 30th,  "I can tell you that there are no votes in the U.S. House of Representatives for continuing the No Child Left Behind Act without making serious changes to it."
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  What Happened: "Speech and Thought" Crimes Plan   July 23, 2007
Senator Ted Kennedy announced he would attempt to add to the Defense spending bill. Kennedy and co-sponsor Sen. Gordon Smith call it a "hate crimes" amendment. Since all crimes are inspired by hate, the amendment is actually a speech crimes bill. It mandates federal involvement and extra criminal penalties for speech and thought against specially protected groups, such as homosexuals. What happened to the amendment?
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  Speech & Thought Crimes Plan   July 17, 2007
Using the terms "sexual orientationî and ìgender identity," a whole range of sexual activities will being given special federal civil rights "protected" status just as race and gender are today. And they're tacking it onto a defense bill. What are they thinking? THE VOTE MAY BE AS EARLY AS TOMORROW OR THURSDAY!
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  S.761, America COMPETES (poorly) Act   July 9, 2007
Last April, the U.S. Senate passed S.761, a bill with the bizarre title of "America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act," or the "America COMPETES Act."  The supporters claim S.761 will make America more competitive in math and science. The fact is, it will do just the opposite. Take Action.
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  Parental Consent Act of 2007  June 25, 2007
The Parental Consent Act of 2007 (H.R. 2387) supports parents against government sponsored and pharmaceutical industry supported universal mental health screening programs. Urge your member of Congress to sign on as a co-sponsor.
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  MN Session Report: The Good & The Bad  June 18, 2007
International Baccalaureate, Comprehensive Sex Education, STD vaccine for girls, and Minnesota's withdrawal from No Child Left Behind are addressed in this Part III of the three-part 2007 Minnesota Legislative Report.
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  MN Session Report, Part II: Psychological Screening   June 6, 2007
The issues of informing parents of their rights to opt out of preschool screening, infant mental health, TeenScreen, discriminatory mental screening of poor children, and including mental screening in school interventions are all covered in Part II of the three-part 2007 Minnesota Legislative Report.
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  MN Session Report, Part I: The Good & The Bad   June 4, 2007
EdWatch began the 2007 session bracing for a disaster. We avoided a disaster, thanks to the involvement of so many people. Yet we also lost important ground. The 2007 Minnesota legislature set some destructive policies in motion.
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  Capitol Report: The Day After   May 22, 2007
Concern was widespread over the closing of the 2007 legislative session. New omnibus spending bills were hastily cobbled together in the Senate in the middle of the night, appearing suddenly for votes on the House and Senate floors. New provisions suddenly appeared in hundreds of page bills with staff and members scrambling to uncover what they were voting on.
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  St. Paul: Final Actions Coming Fast   May 16, 2007
Newly constructed Education and Health & Human Services spending bills are being passed and sent to the Capitol, perhaps by the end of the day. Your Urgent Action is Needed!
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  Support Governor on Veto of Terrible Health & Human Services Bill   May 10, 2007
Support Governor on Veto of Terrible Health & Human Services Bill. Urge Legislators and Governor to keep bad provisions out of the new bill.
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  House Roll Call Votes   May 3, 2007
The Minnesota House of Representatives adopted the House Education omnibus bill (HF 6) on April 18th - 19th. On April 20th they adopted the House Health & Human Services omnibus bill (SF 2171). A number roll call votes were taken on a series of amendments. These are the results of some of those amendments...
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  A Federal Curriculum for Preschoolers  May 1, 2007
Within hours of each other, Congress votes on both a federal curriculum for preschoolers requiring gender/diversity/ training, and they will vote on the dangerous Hate Crimes Bill to add special federal civil rights protections for homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgenders. It's a stark picture of where the new majority's priorities are.
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  Urgent Action: Congress denying equal protection  April 27, 2007
This week Congress moved forward with legislation that would drastically undermine the equal protection of heterosexual and traditional marriage advocates, whether students, teachers, or administrators by creating federally-protected minority group status for practitioners of all forms of deviant sexual behavior.
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  Freedom & Family Coalition Lobby Day a Success  April 27, 2007
The Freedom & Family Coalition Lobby Day drew an energetic, sign-waving crowd to the Capitol Rotunda to briefly rally and then spread out across the Capitol, each choosing which issues to discuss with their legislators.
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  HIDING TEENSCREEN: Where's Waldo  April 16, 2007
Action needed. House bill disguises TeenScreen in a school levy.
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  Roll Call Votes on TeenScreen  April 16, 2007
Find out how legislators voted on TeenScreen psychiatric screening of our children and amendments.
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  EdWatch Featured at Tax Cut Rally  April 14, 2007
EdWatch President Renee Doyle told the 5,000 people at the Tax Cut Rally that the pending massive tax increases will be funding an assault on our families in the form of a new early childhood entitlement that is a backdoor takeover all of Minnesota's early childhood providers.
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   Comprehensive Sex Ed Violates Our Children  April 5, 2007
What exactly is Comprehensive Sex Ed? "Promiscuity is presented as commonplace and normal, while abstinence-until-marriage is actually scoffed at in the classroom," according to legislative testimony.
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  Planned Chaos at the St. Paul Capitol  March 30, 2007
Omnibus bills are flying through the Minnesota House and Senate at break-neck speed. The intentional chaos shuts out any meaningful public participation. With a single party controlling both the House and Senate, DFL leaders can insert just about any measure they choose at any time. See what you can do.
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  MN House Democrats Spurn Parental Rights  March 28, 2007
Sen. Betsy Wergin and Rep. Steve Gottwalt offered identical amendments in the Senate and House to require school districts to inform parents of what is already in law -- straightforward support of parental rights. It passed in the Education Finance Committee on a unanimous voice vote, but the House Democrats defeated the same amendment on a party-line vote.
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  Returning NCLB Accountability to National/No Child Left Behind  
March 19, 2007
The A-PLUS Act would return educational accountability back to parents, taxpayers, and the state, where it belongs. "We expect an outpouring of public support for this bill," said Dr. Effrem, "and it will take that kind of effort." Urge your member of Congress to sign on as a co-sponsor.
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  Oppose Discriminatory Mental Screening of Poor Children  
March 13, 2007
Senate file 148 would psychiatrically screen children of low-income families.
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  EdAction President Speaks Out  March 5, 2007
If you thought that the Profile of Learning was a radical take-over of our schools, our children and our lives, then allow me to introduce you to the mother of all radical agendas, this year's education agenda at our state capitol. It makes the Profile of Learning look like child's play.
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  Comprehensive Sex Ed Gags Free Speech  March 5, 2007
SF 588/ HF 615 mandates comprehensive sex education for all 7th to 12th graders. Comp Sex Ed gags the free speech rights of teachers and allows only what homosexual advocates and the hard left want to be heard will be legal.
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  March 2nd Report  March 2, 2007
This March 2nd report on legislative action shows the impact of your involvement and the importance of staying involved.
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  February 25, 2007 Legislative Update  February 25, 2007
This is the latest report on the bills we have brought to your attention.
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  Home Visiting - Womb to Tomb Control  February 22, 2007
Today, February 22nd, the House Health and Human Services Committee takes up HF 595, the universal home visiting bill, authored by Rep. Carolyn Laine. This bill strikes at the very heart of freedom of parents to raise and educate children without government interference.
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  International Baccalaureate rushed through  February 21, 2007
Three bills to expand International Baccalaureate in Minnesota moved through the House E-12 Education Policy Committee on Tuesday, February 20, 2007. This committee clearly does not want to hear much about the serious dangers with IB.
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  An assault on families and freedom  February 20, 2007
A collection of bills now making their way through the Minnesota legislature together constitute an assault on our families and our freedoms. All citizens and families of this great state need to begin to take serious action against these brazen efforts.
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  ALERT: Infant Mental Health Screening Come to the Legislature
February 13, 2007
HF 169 would establish an appointed board to design and recommend the components of a statewide comprehensive early childhood program that includes a federally funded program involving the mental screening of all children, birth through age 5.
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  ALERT: Oppose Funding Dangerous TeenScreen  February 9, 2007
URGE YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATORS to oppose funding for TeenScreen, an unscientific survey that violates parental rights and leads to unnecessary use of ineffective and dangerous psychotropic medications for our children
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  Restrictions Stripped from Senate Bill  January 19, 2007
Last night by a vote of 55 to 43, the U.S. Senate stripped the grassroots lobbying restrictions from the Ethics Reform Bill (S.1). The grassroots power to stop this clear assault on freedom demonstrates why Section 220 of S.1 was so insidious. The very right to engage in this form of citizen lobbying was targeted.
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  MN Senate Passes NCLB Resolution  January 18, 2007
The MN Senate Education Committee passed a resolution critical of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. While the resolution is a good first step toward opposing NCLB, Minnesota needs much stronger legislation. Talk to your legislator about NCLB.
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  Stop the US Senate from restricting free speech  January 13, 2007
Section 220 of S.1 "Ethics Reform" bill targets any organization with more than 500 supporters or an organization that communicates with 500 or more individuals. Those affected include every blogger, every church, every non-profit or any group that uses direct mail, telephone calls, newspaper or print ads, paid organizers, radio and TV ads and Internet communications.
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