Religion, Parental Rights, and the "Student Success Act"

113th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 5

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 24, 2013

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

AN ACT

To support State and local accountability for public education, protect State and local authority, inform parents of the performance of their children's schools, and for other purposes.

___________________________________________________________

You know, when I go out to my short list of avid followers for material they'd like to hear my take on, I rarely expect to be blindsided with an Act of Congress, literally. Well, this is what my dear Lori did, and what an eye opener. Let's start at the beginning, the email:

Me: I'm fishing for topics. Any thoughts? 

Lori: HR 5 and its impact on education. It is a very touchy topic for me right now. It really ties into the overall naivete of the American people. If you don't want to delve into the political issues right now, I'll have to brainstorm for a few. 

Me: Why is it a touchy topic for you? I've just read an NEA [National Education Association] paper on the pros and cons. Knowing your concerns, and why, would give me much. 

Lori: My two main concerns are, first, the idea of forcing private schools to do away with religion, and secondly, the intrusion into home schooling. Government overreach into anything, but primarily education, is especially concerning to me.

At this point I'm listening to the crickets outside, thinking they're coming from my uninformed brain, as I have no clue what in God's good name this "Act" is all about.  I'm looking down at the point paper from the NEA, realizing that their concerns represent little of what I, as a parent, would be concerned about.  Maybe there is more to this.  Lori's concern about "forcing private schools to do away with religion," was of particular interest, again, not an NEA concern item.  I really hate the governmental speak in 600 page long bills, so I went out on the net to see how I could simplify my education.  Good luck with that.

I recommend the following three sites for ALL parents and concerned citizens to read.  The summary and the Common Core links give you a flavor for it, the full text are for those of you who have trouble sleeping, or are too old for "bumping ugly."

Congress.gov - Summary (HR5)
Full text of HR5
Common Core: Education without Representation

One always needs to keep at the forefront of their minds that nothing is free.  This is never more evident than when dealing with the federal government.  It is the only business system where we hire the employees and then allow them to constantly screw us over.  This "Student Success Act" is typical of many things that spew from Congress.  It basically boils down to dancing with the devil.  If you take federal money, you accept the bill.  If you want to opt out, don't take the money.  The devil is in the details, the first of which is the whopping $25 billion dollars in aid to the states that waive their rights.  Ann Banfield, Education Liaison at Cornerstone (www.nhcornerstone.org), wrote: 

"Essentially, participating in the program to receive funds requires the states to waive their states' rights and those of the parent over the child if they conflict with ANY requirements of the program."

Focus on it:  "and those of the parent over the child."  If true, what parent in their right mind would buy into this?  The mere hint of it should scare the crap out of every parent in these United States.  While you chew on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights being shredded by your employees, let's move on.

I also love the part where the federal government is "affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children."   Thank you for allowing us to do what we already have the right to do.  This smacks of Soviet state run schools.  Expect our children to begin whatever insidious indoctrination the federal government sees fit to subject their young minds to.  We have already seen our student lunch programs take a hit, forced political indoctrination, forced Islamic indoctrination, forced "white privilege" indoctrination, and they haven't even really been involved yet.  This smacks of the first step in losing your rights as parents.  Your children become wards of the state and you will have letters of progress.  Lucky you.  Let's move on.

Where private schools are concerned, "ensure that teachers and families of the children participate, on an equitable basis, in services and activities... Secular, neutral, nonideological.  Such educational services or other benefits, including materials and equipment, shall be secular, neutral and nonidiological."  Spell Check keeps trying to change "nonidiological" as it is two words or hyphenated.  Common Core...

So your religious, conservative, and liberal private schools have to teach equitably to public schools.  No religious or political focus that you are paying damned good money for them to receive.  Not to put too fine a point on it but, since this will basically a reflection of the socialist state at its finest, some of these private schools won't find it all too hard to comply with.  I look forward to the khaki outfits with cute little shorts and leather chest belt with brown shoes "swastika" arm bands of the patriotic American neo-Hitler youth.

The families of these private school kids might be wondering how the government is going to "ensure" whether they "participate in the services and activities."  Remember the "Political Officer" that one would find in Soviet factories and onboard naval vessels?  The Nazis had their version that reported directly to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police.  That position is now filled by the State appointed "ombudsman" that will monitor private schools and parental compliance.  "The State educational agency involved shall designate an ombudsman to monitor and enforce the requirements."  Heil Hitler!  And, whoever is buried in Lenin's tomb must be laughing loudly.

This sounds like the beginning of the end for the separation of church and state as they shred Amendment I of your Constitution, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" seems to have fallen to the wayside.  But, what the hell, it's just the Constitution, right?  It is more of a guideline than a rule, after all.

In conclusion, I would like to make one recommendation to anyone not agreeing with this "Act" which seems to have more to do with student mind control, than student access.  Vote it down now prior to it taking effect.  When it becomes law, complaining about it will get your name turned into the ombudsman and you may find yourself labeled a political dissident making gloves at a gulag in northern Alaska.  The only "student success" this addresses is the federal government's unobstructed access to our children, and the fact that access will determine their "success" or failure, and that is totally unacceptable for any free society.  It is certainly unacceptable to any freedom loving American that still believes in the Bill of Rights.

But, I could be wrong.

UPDATE:  Lori reported on March 5, "HR 5 has been pulled from consideration!!!!!! What a victory! Never, EVER let anyone tell you that the voices of the people don't matter!"  Isn't that so very true?

Editor's Note:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."