PARENTS GAIN ACCESS TO SECRET SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Lawmaker confirms immediate changes in controversial operations- John Griffing

AUSTIN, Texas – Parents of school children across Texas now are gaining access to a previously secret public school curriculum, according to an announcement from a state lawmaker.

The CSCOPE program, an online offering that until now has prohibited, under penalty of law, teachers from sharing the lessons with parents, stirred up controversy because of its various lessons – some that were taken offline after the questions arose.

Among those issues were that the curriculum at one point taught the Boston Tea Party was an act of terrorism and Christians were cannibals, and forced students to draw a socialist flag while imagining a new socialist country.

Teachers also would have been exposed to criminal penalties for sharing CSCOPE lesson content with parents, and educators were required to teach strictly from the CSCOPE lesson plan, without additions or changes.

But Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, whose Texas Senate Education Committee held a public hearing last week investigating CSCOPE, said there now have been “significant changes.”

The Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative, which owns CSCOPE, agreed to the following changes, effectively immediately, he said.

Those include:

• All future meetings of the TESCCC governing board, beginning with the February meeting, will be public with all the respective notice requirements being met.
• The TESCCC will begin a joint review process of all CSCOPE lessons with the SBOE beginning with Social Studies.
• Amendment of all Terms of Use Agreements, signed by both teachers and districts, removing civil or criminal penalties associated with the release of CSCOPE content.
• Clarifying that all teachers and districts may post any and all CSCOPE lessons that they deem necessary.

In addition to these immediate transparency and quality control changes, CSCOPE will also undergo structural, governance, and other changes, including ending the non-profit 501(c)3 arrangement that incorporates CSCOPE, posting lessons online, and creating a standing curriculum review panel comprised of parents, teachers, school administrators, members of the SBOE, and TESCCC board members.

The online courses no longer will be mandatory, either, the senator said.

“CSCOPE is notifying all participating school districts that lessons are not intended to be taught verbatim, and the governing board generally recommends that local districts utilize CSCOPE lessons solely as a resource. Until CSCOPE lessons can be reviewed through a collaborative process with the SBOE and TESCCC, districts are strongly encouraged to review all lessons at the local level, to ensure that lessons are appropriate for their students,” the senator’s announcement said.

For more of the article go to:  http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/parents-gain-access-to-secret-school-curriculum/#haDUJJeWqCaj2uYG.99

TEXAS DECIDES TO REIN IN 'LIBERAL' CURRICULUM

Lawmakers insisting on state oversight of online teaching plan
- John Griffing

Texas lawmakers have decided they want to rein in a controversial public school curriculum content and management system that at one point taught “Allah is God.”

Most of the state’s classrooms, some 80 percent, are using the CSCOPE program that also has raised eyebrows because educators had refused to allow parents and others to see what being taught.

Twenty-five state representatives now have signed onto a proposed oversight statute that would target CSCOPE, the online system that set up firewalls and passwords so that parents would not be able to see the curriculum.

Bill author State Rep. Steve Toth said, “It’s imperative that we bring CSCOPE under the direction and oversight of the locally elected members of the State Board of Education. Repeated instances of impropriety along with a decidedly liberal leaning agenda makes this move of the utmost importance. ISDs all over the State of Texas have been misled as to what CSCOPE is and what it contains. We’ve got to get this right.”

The action followed a recent hearing by the Texas State Senate Committee on Education, where lawmakers expressed alarm and more.

The hearing was chaired by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, and concerned CSCOPE’s secrecy and lack of transparency, as well as complaints that teachers are contractually prohibited from revealing classroom content to parents.

The committee consensus appeared to focus on the fact that parents and the public have not been allowed access to CSCOPE instructional materials. The committee also argued that Texas’ TESCCC (CSCOPE’s de facto parent company) is funded with state dollars, and therefore, CSCOPE content “belongs to the people of Texas.” The TESCCC is a “public entity,” as is CSCOPE, and must therefore submit to state oversight, they also said.

Senators also found the way CSCOPE was set up, it exposes teachers to legal action if they revealed CSCOPE content to the public. CSCOPE representatives admitted to this, but claimed it was unintentional – a mistake in language.

During the hearing, four panels were heard by the committee..  Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/texas-decides-to-rein-in-liberal-curriculum/#alDsuMVjcS9Odj2q.99