COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohioans Against Common Core has announced details of an Ohio Statehouse rally planned for this Wednesday, June 4.

The event, to be held in the Statehouse atrium from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, will include an update on Common Core repeal legislation House Bill 237 (HB 237) from primary sponsor Rep. Andy Thompson (R-Marietta) and from House Assistant Majority Floor Leader John Adams (R-Sidney).

“Ohio’s battle to repeal Common Core is advancing,” asserted Ohioans Against Common Core in its announcement of the rally.

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HB 237 would forbid the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Board of Education from adopting or implementing Common Core standards or tests, and would void any “actions taken to adopt or implement the common core state standards” as of the bill’s effective date.

HB 237 would also put new restrictions on what data about Ohio schoolchildren may be collected by the state and for what purposes said data may be shared with vendors or federal agencies.

Ohioans Against Common Core is encouraging parents to attend the June 4 event, make plans to meet with their legislators, “[b]ring examples of your child’s inane Common Core homework to share with your legislators,” and “plan a Civics field trip with AND FOR your children and grandchildren.”

Hundreds attended an Ohioans Against Common Core “Bring Your Legislator to Class Day” this April, and hundreds of Ohioans have traveled to the Statehouse for HB 237 hearings to demonstrate their opposition to Common Core.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) adopted a formal resolution in April 2013 rejecting Common Core and describing it as a program “which creates and fits the country with a nationwide straitjacket on academic freedom and achievement.”

Because the Ohio Republican Party has no platform, activists have been working to formalize GOP opposition to Common Core at the local level. Just last week, the Greene County Republican Central Committee adopted a resolution mirroring RNC’s opposition to Common Core.

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However, Republican Governor John Kasich has made it clear he has no interest in driving Common Core out of Ohio’s schools, going so far as to claim that Common Core “is written by local school districts” in a recent radio interview.

Like most states, Ohio agreed to participate in Common Core in 2010 in order to secure federal Race to the Top funding promised by the Obama Administration.

Attendees at the June 4 rally will hear from Celina mother Sarah Lewis, teacher Rose Stechschulte, Oklahoma activist Jenni White, who lead the grassroots campaign for that state to end its participation in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and Brad McQueen, a former member of Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

PARCC is the national consortium behind development of the standardized tests based upon the Common Core standards.

In addition to Assistant Majority Floor Leader Adams, HB 237 is cosponsored by:

  • Rep. John Becker (R-Union Twp.)
  • Rep. Ron Hood (R-Ashville)
  • Rep. Matt Lynch (R-Bainbridge Twp.)
  • Rep. Ron Young (R-Leroy Twp.)
  • Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon)
  • Rep. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon)
  • Rep. Terry Boose (R-Norwalk)
  • Rep. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson)
  • Rep. Pete Beck (R-Mason)
  • Rep. Wes Retherford (R-Hamilton)
  • Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek)
  • Rep. Robert Sprague (R-Findlay)

The bill has languished in the House Education Committee, which is led by Rep. Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster), since its introduction last July. Rep. Thompson, Rep. Becker, and Rep. Roegner are members of the Republican-dominated committee.

Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) founder Tom Brinkman’s victory against Rep. Peter Stautberg (R-Anderson Twp.) in the May 6 primary hinged on Brinkman’s opposition to Common Core, and has prompted some Republican leaders to reconsider their position on the issue.

“That sucker is a problem. I think we probably should have addressed it,” Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) confessed immediately after the primary.

Other allies of Gov. Kasich who support Common Core campaigned this spring on “fighting for local control of our schools” in order to stave off primary challenges from Common Core opponents.

Authored by Jason Hart