Experts and concerned citizens are urging Alabama to eliminate Common Core standards, cut woke bureaucracy and empower parents and students in light of President Donald Trump's executive orders to dismantle the Department of Education and end "radical indoctrination" in schools.
Former congressional candidate, Alabama Teacher of the Year and Alabama Conference of Educators founder Robin Litaker told 1819 News that Common Core is still alive in Alabama under the label "College and Career Readiness Standards."
In December 2019, Eagle Forum Alabama warned that the "new" math standards were nearly identical to the old Common Core standards. However, several days later, the state school board voted 5-3 to implement the standards, and Gov. Kay Ivey declared that the vote "eradicated" Common Core math.
Litaker said, "Our kids are failing… 69% of kids nationally can't read on grade level, yet the people running the schools want you to believe that things are getting better."
While Litaker celebrated President Trump's dismantling of the Department of Education, she worried that the Alabama Department of Education would place more "administrative layers" on federal Title I and the Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) money instead of sending it directly to teachers and local school systems.
She added, "If we're still using Common Core…are they going to take federal funding from us?"
Diana Crews, head of the Geneva County Republican Women, told 1819 News that the 2024 Alabama Social Studies course approved by State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey clashes with President Trump's January 29 executive order Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.
The Grade 1 standards ask students to summarize "historical events that have shaped the community and state," with examples including the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Birmingham Children's Crusade, and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Joan Landes MA, CMHC (Clinical Mental Health Counselor), told 1819 News that first graders are not prepared to deal with such complex topics and warned, "When they are taught at young ages that their nation, leaders, and history are weak or malicious, the children will tend to reject that attachment and seek it elsewhere."
She added, "Instead of loyalty to country, a child may give their loyalty to subgroups such as climate change activism, immigration activism, gender activism, etc."
Crews said the Numeracy Act, signed by Ivey in April 2022, introduced a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to Alabama. Ed Week has described MTSS as a national framework for "identifying and meeting every student's unique instructional, social-emotional, and behavioral needs."
However, the MTSS website affirms support for "social-emotional learning" (SEL), an educational method used to promote woke/Marxist concepts, including the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory (CRT), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), and LGBTQ & Gender Questioning.
Additionally, MTSS is supported by the National Association of School Psychologists, which endorses the anti-family UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and promotes "Gender and Sexual Orientation Diversity in Children and Adolescents in Schools" on its website.
MTSS is also endorsed by the American School Counselors Association, which promotes "anti-racism" and "gender equity" on its website.
During a 2022 meeting, Superintendent Mackey said that eight districts and one Montgomery school have already begun a pilot of MTSS and that the state Education Department intends to implement it across all districts.
Crews said that Education Policy Committee chair State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) has "stopped many of our good bills that would have eliminated Common Core." She said Alabama parents are "asking Collins be removed" by House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville).
Litaker assessed, "We had a good set of standards prior to Common Core… It's time for Common Core to go. And hopefully, with this new State Department mandate, it will."
Crews stressed, "Florida could not improve until they got rid of Common Core… Alabama will never get to the top like Florida until it is gone…"
Florida-based educator and journalist Alex Newman, author of the book "Indoctrinating Our Children to Death," endorsed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.), spoke with 1819 News.
"Alabama should lead on the issue of education by working to wean itself off the federal government and wean families off of dependence on government for the upbringing of their children," Newman urged.
He added, "What is happening in government schools across the nation is a major threat, not just to the children, but to the future of our country. Between the sexualization, dumbing down, and indoctrination, it is hard to think of a more significant threat that transcends party lines and the issues."
"But there is a solution," concluded Newman. "For hundreds of years, Americans were the best-educated, most literate people on the planet. We must go back to what worked."
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning or become a member to gain access to exclusive content and 1819 News merch.
