The NC General Assembly’s House passed SB 812, however, Rep. Cotham snuck in two amendments. At first glance, they seem innocuous, but upon closer inspection, it’s clear one of them is a bit slippery. The amendment in question is A1: S812-ATL-60-V-2.

The text of the amendment is as follows:

“construed to prohibit (i) implementation of the International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, or other nationally available educational programs or curricula, or (ii) an official, employee, agency, or board of the State”.

The original text of SB 812 reads as follows:

“Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an official, employee, agency, or board of the State from seeking and being granted a waiver from federal law provided that the General Assembly Of North Carolina conditions for the waiver do not require the State to cede or limit its discretion or control over the development, adoption, or revision of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and related assessments.”

The amendment rewrites line 50 of SB 812 so as to allow for the Department of Public Instruction or other education entity in North Carolina to  bypass the legislature in order to allow private entities to be engaged in the assessment of our children. The phrasing also leaves the door open for a national curricula or program to be used. The intent here is clear and that is to keep Common Core in the mix.

The Senate would do wisely to strip this amendment entirely or revise it, lest they wish to have one of the many heads of Common Core pop back up in their faces like an annoying whack-a-mole game.  A related piece of reading for the Senate that is arguably related to this language change by Ms. Cotham: Common Core Aligned: WorkKeys.

Cotham’s own tweets confirm this and to which I responded to, calling out the intent:

Yes, “private” and run by David Coleman CC architect #StopCommonCore => @triciacotham The ACT or College Board are private entities. #ncpol

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) June 24, 2014

SBAC is tied to CC, you KNOW it Ma’am. MT @triciacotham I find it disturbing that the SBAC can’t even be considered in this bill. #ncpol

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) June 24, 2014

And of course, Rep. Cotham engaged in her usual politicizing:

Nor should it given Atkinson’s CC proclivity #ccsso @triciacotham DPI @ncpublicschools not included in the #CommonCore Commission. #politics

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) June 24, 2014

@triciacotham Sadly, Ma’am YOU are the one doing all the politicizing. Shameful denigrating parents & voters. #ncga https://t.co/xIZsaiBe2U

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) June 24, 2014