WK 9: One More Vote and Common Core Will Be Enshrined in Law

Legislative Week 9

Legislative Days 19-21 of 30

Eagle Forum Co-Hosted Alabama Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

1819 NEWS: Gubernatorial candidates from both major parties gathered at the Hoover Library Thursday night for a candidate forum sponsored by LOCAL Alabama, Eagle Forum, Thatcher Coalition and 1819 News.

Six Democrats and five Republicans answered questions and discussed a variety of issues important to voters during the two-and-a-half-hour event. Read more about it. Watch the video. Fast forward to the 46 second mark-where the camera is turned to the vertical position. Link to video: on "1819 News" Facebook page.

Join Us At The State House On

Tuesday For "Legislature 101"

GAMBLING BILLS

"Even Those Who Are Pro-Gambling

Should Be Against SB293 & SB294"

Click Pic: Stephanie Smith Exposes What's In The Gaming Bills

Allows ONLY the chosen monopoly operators to have casino licenses.
Allows ONLY the chosen monopoly operators to have sports betting licenses.
Creates an unelected commission of nine members who will set rules and regulations and enforcement of all gambling operations.
The unelected commission has subpoena powers and arrest powers.
Establishes an enforcement division giving all commission personnel (down to administrative staff) arrest powers that would allow them to enforce all laws and give them enforcement authority OVER local sheriffs or local law enforcement agencies and officers.
There's more...See EF's talking points on these bills here.
Watch Stephanie Smith's clip above to better understand why these bills should be defeated.

Public hearings were held on Wednesday for Sen. Albritton's gambling bills, SB293 & SB294.

ACTION TO TAKE: Contact your Alabama State Senator today and ask him/her to vote NO or be absent during the voting on SB293 and SB294. The Senate must have 21 votes in order to pass a constitutional amendment, so not voting is the same as voting “no.” [If Sen. Garlan Gudger is your State Senator, contact him, and thank him for voting no on these two bills in the Senate Tourism Committee (he was the only one to vote no). Ask him to oppose or be absent on the floor of the Senate when the bill is debated.]

Bill: $92M/Year To Hire Math Coaches To Teach Common Core Waiting For House Vote to Become Law

Watch Our 2 Minute Clip about the Alabama Numeracy Act

On Wednesday a new substitute bill was adopted by the House Education Committee for the Alabama "Numeracy Act" (SB171). This bill authorizes $92M/year for approximately 700 “math coaches”. The coaches will not be teaching struggling students in the classroom but will instead teach K-5 teachers how to teach Alabama's failed Common Core math standards that we've been using for 10 years. Folks, we’re talking about kindergarten thru 5th grade math! That’s addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. We did not need 700 math coaches before Common Core.

The bill swells the AL State Department of Education's (ALSDE) bureaucracy by adding the following: Elementary Mathematics Task Force, School Improvements Teams, Post-Secondary Math Task Force, K-5 Coach Endorsement Program, and a School Improvement Turn Around Academy for principals and administrators.

Truths about SB171:

relies on the K-5 2019 Alabama College and Career Ready Standards Mathematics which are Common Core. See side by side comparison that proves the standards are Common Core.
does not repeal or replace the 2019 standards but specifies their use in sections 3, 5, 6, 7.
authorizes approximately 700 "math coaches" to train teachers to teach our failed Common Core Standards. (Section 7)
sets up a new bureaucracy within the ALSDE (Sections 3, 4,12,13,14,16,17)

SB171 has passed the Senate 24-3. If it passes the House, it will become law. Ask your House member to vote "NO" on The Numeracy Act SB171.

Ban

Critical Race Theory (CRT)

HB312 Rep Oliver + 37 Co-Sponsors

The bill to ban the use/teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) or its concepts in K-12 and in state government agencies will be voted on in the House State Government Committee on Wed. Mar. 16th. See full description in our Week 7 Update.

EF's POSITION: We strongly support this bill. See our brochure here about CRT and why it should be banned.

BILLS WE'RE WATCHING BUT

HAVEN'T MOVED THIS WEEK

HB123 and SB40 Social Emotional Learning Programs and Mental Health Coordinators in Schools. See Week 6. (We oppose)
SB184 VCAP-Bans medical interventions on minors wanting to change their sex. See Week 5. (We support)
HB191 Removes requirement for Public Notary for some end-of-life patients. See Week 4. (Neutral)
HB43 Requires Cell phones/tablets activated in AL to have their porn filter activated to "on". See bullet points here. (We support)
SB140/HB245 School Choice Bill. See Week 4. (Waiting for changes)
HB170 Bans female genital mutilation. See Week 6. (We support)
HB160 Decriminalizes marijuana. See Week 6. (We oppose)
SB10 Bans online censorship. See Week 6. (We support)

Watch Committee Meetings

On Online Every Wednesday

Be an "eagle" who watches what's going on at the State House. Below are links to the House and Senate committee meetings happening this week. Most are on Wednesday. Take a look at the list of bills that will be discussed in the committees and watch the ones that are of interest to you.

FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS BELOW TO FIND THE HEARINGS

House committee meetings/bills: