OPEN LETTER TO U.S. CONGRESSMAN PETE SESSIONS
February 2, 2016 Education Views
Washington, D.C. 20515-4332
Dear Chairman Sessions:
This correspondence is in reference to your letter of February 1, 2016 which states, “The Every Student Succeeds Act includes major reforms that will stop Washington from imposing Common Core or any other academic standards on states.”
Senator Lamar Alexander has stated that ESSA repealed the Common Core mandate while you have stated that Common Core has been defunded by the Omnibus Bill. However, a Common Core mandate has never existed for the federal government but rather for the states. Neither of you is being truthful with the American people.
A January 12th press released by the 
As the public demand for school choice shifts into high gear, so does the focus shift from school choice to school quality. Those same school choice backers who are fleeing government schools because of heavy regulations now do not trust the free market approach to bring quality. Already they are calling for a rather heavy measure of regulations to ensure quality.
The truth about Race to the Top, Common Core, and ESSA are lost in the daily minutia fed to the American public. This discussion is about learning who is profiting from – and controlling -- American public education. 
In the face of growing outrage over the Republican support of Obama’s radical agenda to nationalize and dumb down education, lawmakers are scurrying to convince voters the