civics report - putting team on field

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November 23, 2004

A report on The New Civics -
Putting a Team on the Field

The New Civics Bill, H.R. 5360 was added to the House "suspension calendar" last Friday. (See our alerts for background.) It passed on a voice vote.as a non-controversial bill. Clearly some mighty forces were at work against us. We had successfully held off passage of H.R. 1078, its predecessor, since July of 2003.

EdAction was joined in opposition to H.R. 5360 by Eagle Forum, the Liberty Committee, the American Policy Center, Gun Owners of America, and other individual leaders in Washington. However, its supporters pulled in other identified conservative groups and individuals who were willing to lend it their support in the final few hours. In the future, we must have like-minded groups and individuals working in unison, not at cross purposes. In their defense, many groups in Washington have not had the opportunity to hear the evidence that there is a federal curriculum, and that it is contrary to what most Americans want for their children and for the future of our country.

Other major Congressional battles were also raging simultaneously, such as the 911 Implementation Act also called Intel Reform bill and its de-facto national ID (which EdAction opposed). Parental rights to refuse drugs for their school children was an issue in the special education program (IDEA). (We had some success in that, but a full report will be coming.) Congressman Paul's language prohibiting federal funding for universal mental health screening made it through the House, but was stopped in the Senate. Other pressing issues before Congress in this brief lame duck session included immigration and property rights issues. H.R. 5360 competed with all of these and, in the end, members of Congress didn't challenge the New Civics bill that was on a roll before it ever got to the House in June of 2003.

Proponents of the New Civics had spent a couple of years creating a sense of crisis over students' lack of history and civics knowledge. The Center for Civic Education (CCE), Senators Lamar Alexander, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Kennedy, the National Education Association and others had framed the problem as a threat to national security. Federal action was necessary, Congress had been told, and architects of the new global citizenship curriculum were ready with the solution.

Little did most members of Congress or their staff realize that the so-called solution to the lack of history and civics knowledge is very rapidly becoming indoctrination into global citizenship in the schools across America. Little did they know that the CCE plays fast and loose with teaching the Bill of Rights, selectively teaching the liberties it protects. Little did they know that the New Civics eliminates the principle of national sovereignty entirely, and it undermines the 2nd, 9th, and 10th amendments.

What we gained
Although H.R. 5360 leads America in the wrong direction on the Federal Curriculum, we have laid the groundwork for successful activities in the new Congress. Under pressure from thousands of voters, the stripped-down version of H.R. 1078 no longer lists the "key ideas" section in which the authors defined into federal law "the ideas that shaped the democratic institutions and heritage of the U.S." In this section, "a belief in progress" had been listed in place of the self-evident truth proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence. Another "key idea" that has been removed is the "separation of church and state," which had been included in place of the 1st amendment's genuine rights to freedom of religion and freedom of speech. In place of inalienable rights, the original language had substituted "individualism" and "human rights," which are now also removed.

H.R. 5360 no longer defines federal Academies, so they will become whatever the administration chooses to make them. The plan to spread 12 federal Academies regionally across the country has been removed. The authors were forced to entirely remove the H.R. 1078 creation of a National Alliance of Teachers of History and Civics, which would have been funded with our tax dollars. In addition, its House author was forced to send out a last minute e-mail plea to his colleagues, filled with misinformation. He said:

"H.R.5360 does not create a federal history curriculum or centralize training for history teachers... At no time would the federal government provide or suggest curriculum for the academies..."The bill has nothing to do with the "We the People" book .. This bill is not related to the Center for Civics Education or their curriculum."

As our information has stated, H.R. 5360 is not creating a federal curriculum. A federal curriculum already exists through the NCLB federally funded Center for Civics Education's National Standards for Civics and Government and its associated federally funded curriculum textbook We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution. This Federal Curriculum is also tested by the federal government through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Putting a team on the field
Putting a team on the field in Washington has never been more important. We can't expect to challenge the other team without a team of our own. EdWatch and EdAction have finally taken the steps necessary to raise funds to retain a Director of Government Affairs and Lobbyist in Washington, DC to make our case and to create the network of support we need for making positive change in federal law. Parents and taxpayers are simply not represented on most education policies in Congress. No wonder we're losing the battles.

Michael Ostrolenk has worked with us informally for the past few months. We have now retained him as our Washington contact point and lobbyist. He will be paid from PAC funds (501c4) for his direct lobbying and from EdWatch nonprofit funds for our educational work at the nation's Capitol.

Michael D. Ostrolenk earned his undergraduate degree in government from West Virginia Wesleyan College. His Masters Degree is in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He did post-graduate training in Health Psychology. Mr. Ostrolenk was formerly on the Board of Directors for the Health Medicine Forum and the Republican Liberty Caucus. He is a public policy consultant who works on health, education, privacy and food issues. His clients include but are not limited to; The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Citizens for Health and The Arlington Institute. He is the founder and national coordinator for the Medical Privacy Coalition. He lives with his wife in the Washington, DC area.

We have been able to raise a significant portion of the funds we need to retain Michael this year. He has already begun his work for us. Whether we will be able to make that work permanent depends on the support EdWatch receives. If you know of individuals or foundations that would be interested in this, we will work with you to provide them with information about our proposal. Contact our office with details and contact information you may have. We urge you, however, to continue your generous financial support for all of EdWatch's efforts, which we very dearly need. This project must be above and beyond current financial obligations. We are entirely dependent upon the support of the people who rely on our services.

If you have specific information for Michael Ostrolenk regarding your own members of Congress or questions that would help you discuss or lobby for any of the EdWatch and EdAction initiatives, please direct your questions or information to us with his name in the SUBJECT line. We will see that he receives it and responds to you.

EdWatch will be addressing the funding of the Federal Curriculum, the mental health screening issue, parental rights issues, and more again in 2005. As always, success depends upon both lobbying decision-makers in Washington and creating a strong grassroots support in every state. If you have an interest in being a point of contact for enlisting grassroots supporters -- building and expanding a base of support in your own state -- please respond to us. You will be contacted directly as EdWatch initiatives take shape for the 2005 Congress.

Thank you for your support, your involvement, and your resolve. Our task is not an easy one, but we will stay the course, and we will prevail. The American public is on our side, and the freedom of our nation depends upon our work.