Chamber Watch: Louisiana’s Business Groups

Chamber Watch: Keeping an eye on the Chambers of Commerce Core

Today’s article: Louisiana business groups call Bobby Jindal’s plans to scrap Common Core an ‘executive overreach’

Excerpt, emphasis added:

Several of Louisiana’s most influential business leaders say Gov. Bobby Jindal does not have the authority to withdraw the state from theCommon Core academic standards or a related standardized test. In a Friday letter to Jindal, 44 business leaders and groups contended the governor’s plan to scrap Common Core and the test would be an executive overreach, because the Legislature and the state school board have backed both.

Once a supporter of Common Core, the governor now says he plans to pull Louisiana out of the academic standards and scrap the state’s plans to use the test, produced by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has voted to use both, and the Legislature turned down opportunities to kill either during its spring lawmaking session.

“Certainly, every governor has been invested with some degree of executive authority, but it should only be used as state law clearly states, ‘to see that the laws are faithfully executed,'” the letter says. “It was not created to make end runs to void the policies of established constitutional bodies.”

“Make end runs…”. That accusation is rich given that is exactly what the Chambers of Commerce are doing; end runs around the voting public, parental voices, teachers and school boards. ‘Overreach’? How about the adoption of and commitment to a federal grant tying the state to Common Core in the first place? That’s overreach.

Further down in the article:

Earlier this month, the business community had asked to see Jindal in person to discuss his concerns over Common Core. “We tried to schedule a meeting, and they didn’t respond,” said Brigitte Nieland, who oversees education issues for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

Stay strong, Governor Jindal!

Why We Keep An Eye On The Chambers Of Commerce Core

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is heavily vested in promoting and pushing Common Core. As push back has grown, Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been pushing the US Chamber to apply more pressure. State and regional Chambers have followed this lead, blanketing papers with op-eds, running television ads and billboards. In North Carolina, the NC Chamber of Commerce has been documented as a clear supporter of Common Core and have created a special education initiative called “Hire Standards” to push Common Core.

How big and hard is the NC Chamber pushing Common Core? Public Schools Forum NC board member and former NC Legislator, Gene Arnold, said outright on local television show, NCSPIN, that the Chamber would choke off campaign contributions to candidates who did not support the Common Core. Direct quote:

“The big stick the business people are using is the threat with campaign contributions could slow down.” – Gene Arnold, NCSPIN 5/15/14 (video)

Read about the US Chamber of Commerce: