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Red Clay Education Association Officially Supporting House Bill 50 Veto Override!!! And More!

House Bill 50 Veto Override, Red Clay Education Association

While it isn’t the DSEA, the Red Clay Education Association officially voted tonight to support the House Bill 50 Veto Override.  Thank you the members of the RCEA for doing this.  The Red Clay Consolidated School District Board of Education passed a board policy honoring opt-out a couple months ago, so it looks like Red Clay supports opt-out all over the district.

Mike Matthews, the President of RCEA, just posted this on Facebook:

At tonight’s Representative Council, the Red Clay Education Association took an official position of support for the legislature to override Gov. Jack Markell‘s veto of HB 50, the Parent Opt Out Bill.

The rally the Delaware PTA is sponsoring will be held on Thursday, 1/14, at 1pm on the steps of Legislative Hall in Dover.  All parents and students are encouraged to attend to lend support.  As well, the Delaware PTA petition is still live:

https://www.change.org/p/delaware-state-house-vote-to-override-delaware-hb50-veto

State Rep. John Kowalko will be asking for a suspension of rules when the Delaware House of Representatives meets in legislative session on Thursday.  A suspension of rules, which would prevent House Bill 50 from going back to the House Education Committee led by State Rep. Earl Jaques, would open up House Bill 50 for a vote by the State Representatives.  If the suspension of rules doesn’t go through, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost.  It would be up to Jaques to allow the bill to be heard in the House Education Committee.  It would go through the same process as last Spring if it progresses from there: House Education Committee to Full House Vote to Senate Education Committee to full Senate vote, assuming it passed each step along the way.

This has been a very long journey for many of us supporting this bill, and probably for those who oppose it as well.  While some may question the importance of it, and why it is such a big deal, I would hope those people understand this bill is about student and parent rights.  I have heard someone say it is a waste of “political capital”.  I wouldn’t say that at all.  Every bill in the General Assembly is important to someone.  To myself, there are certainly matters (like the state budget) that take on more public importance than House Bill 50, but this one that hits very close to home for a lot of parents.

Will Governor Markell Show Up At The House Education Committee Meeting Tomorrow? #supportHB50

House Bill 50

I’ve been wondering if he would dare show his face in front of all the parents supporting House Bill 50, which would allow parent opt-out of state standardized assessments in Delaware state code.  If you look at his  daily schedule you can see his last public appearance prior to the House Education Committee meeting is at 2pm in his office at Legislative Hall.  So he will already be in Dover.  I can picture him arrogantly giving a big speech about why parents shouldn’t opt out.  This will be THE education meeting of the year whether he shows up or not!

He is also making an announcement at Appoquinimink High School tomorrow at 9am to talk about something related to this “Pathways to Prosperity” initiative.  Markell talked about this during his State of the State address in January.  I am very curious what bomb he will drop on an unsuspecting Delaware this week….

I would highly encourage any parents who do come to the House Education Committee to follow House rules.  It is a very controversial issue, but this is a location that demands respect. While we may not agree with what some folks may have to say, they do deserve their say.  If you do wish to give public comment, I would recommend coming with prepared remarks which you can submit to the committee and would become part of the public record.  I will also be giving them all the signatures from the petition to support House bill 50, which you can still add your signature on here: https://www.change.org/p/delaware-house-education-committee-pass-house-bill-50-to-allow-parent-opt-out-2

The meeting will be live on the legis.delaware.gov website starting at 3:30pm, which is very unusual for a House Education Committee meeting.