Earlier this legislative session the opponents of Common Core education standards were dealt a blow when lawmakers defeated a bill withdrawing the state from those standards and setting up a mechanism through which they would be replaced with new standards created by the state. After that loss Common Core opponents hung their hopes on HB1283…
House Votes Down Bill Which Would Have Made Lawmaker Record Requests Public
Over the last several years the North Dakota University System been plagued with scandal and controversy, a lot of it owing to things revealed by way of records requests with some of those requests originating with lawmakers. In response to that problem the university system – through their employee, bill sponsor Senator Tim Flakoll of…
James Kerian: Subsidized Preschool Is About Education Bureaucrats Not Students
When President Obama announced his war on stay at home mothers last fall he probably did not expect North Dakota’s legislature to come running to his side. But the NEA and the Department of Public Instruction saw this as an opportunity to increase their funding and the state Senate apparently decided that if the teachers…
Video: Bill To Withdraw North Dakota From Common Core Fails After 1.5 Hour Debate
Heading into the floor fight over Common Core today in the state House the plan was for Rep. Jim Kasper to offer up amendments to his anti-Common Core bill (HB1461) on the floor. Typically amendments are done in committee. Approving amendments on the House floor is very different. Thus, shortly before the floor session today, the…
Lawmaker Says Committee Wouldn't Allow Amendments To Common Core Bill
This week HB1461, which would withdraw North Dakota from the controversial Common Core standards and establish a process for the state creating its own standards, will get a vote on the floor of the House. But the lawmaker sponsoring the legislation, Rep. Jim Kasper, is first going to ask lawmakers to amend the bill on the floor.…
Could The North Dakota Legislature Streamline Bill Introduction?
I’ve heard from a few of my fellow gadflies some consternation over perceived delays in getting bills filed and posted online for public scrutiny. While I’m always anxious as the session begins to see what new bills are being filed, I hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary from past sessions. I contacted a few…
Superintendent Baesler Worried About "Extremist Propaganda" On Common Core?
This morning an anti-Common Core activists forwarded to me an email (see below) obtained through an open records request which shows Superintendent Kirsten Baesler forwarding an email about supposed right-wing extremists opposing Common Core policies to a staffer for Governor Jack Dalrymple (Kayla Effertz) as well as the chairmen of the education committee in the…
Rush Limbaugh Praises Proposed Citizenship Test Mandate For North Dakota Schools
Earlier this week North Dakota Superintendent Kirsten Baesler, along with a group of lawmakers including Rep. Mike Nathe who chairs the House Education Committee, proposed legislation to mandate that North Dakota high schoolers pass the same civics test immigrants have to pass to become American citizens. The proposal has received national attention. Rush Limbaugh has…
North Dakota Education Spending Seems Completely Divorced From Need
In an article about funding priorities for education in the upcoming legislative session, Rep. Mike Nathe – a Bismarck Republican who also chairs the House Education Committee – predicted as many as 10,000 new students in the coming 2015-2017 biennium: Nathe said it’s estimated that more than 10,000 new students are expected to enroll in…
Superintendent Kirsten Baesler Didn't Tell Me The Truth About Common Core Emails
Yesterday, after receiving a number of emails about it, I posted the audio of DPI spokesman Dale Wetzel appearing on the Jay Thomas Show. Many opponents of Common Core felt that Wetzel’s demeanor during the interview wad needlessly condescending to their side, and to be sure Wetzel was pretty blunt in his criticisms of Common Core critics including Dr.…