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TEXAS ESC’s EXPOSED PART 3: NOT TRUSTWORTHY

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Crossed-Fingers-When-Lying.jpg-203x300

 

By Janice VanCleave

 

The Texas State Auditor, John Keel, investigated the ESCs and following is a part of the report. Notice that the ESCs admit to a hap hazard method of record keeping. Remember that the ESCs are suppose to be non-profit agencies.

“During the 2012-2013 school year, the 20 education service centers in Texas provided access to a curriculum management system known as CSCOPE to 70 percent of school districts in the state, according to information that the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (Collaborative) provided. Those education service centers reported they collected a total of $73.9 million in revenue from the sale of CSCOPE services to school districts, charter schools, and private schools from September 2005 through August 2013. For that same time period, the education service centers reported a total of $67.8 million in CSCOPE-related expenditures.”

“However, auditors were not able to verify the total amount that education service centers reported they paid for the development, installation, distribution, and marketing of CSCOPE because some of the education service centers did not separately track CSCOPE-related expenditure transactions. Some of them also did not separately track CSCOPE-related revenue transactions. As a result, auditors were not able to fully answer the audit objective to determine the amount of revenue and expenditures related to the development, installation, distribution, and marketing of CSCOPE.”

Q1

With just a very surface investigation of the ESC’s finances, $6.1 Million dollars cannot be accounted for. Yet, state and federal funding continues to pour into the 20  ESCs. How much of the money received by the 20  ESCs is being “misplaced?”

A1

The state auditor discovered that the 20 ESCs make no effort to have accurate financial records. No doubt the ESCs were surprised to have the state auditor investigate some of their books. For years the Sunset Reviews as well as the State Comptrollers have given the ESCs not only passing grades, but praised these state agencies for providing such economical services to Texas schools.

The fee of $73.9 million is considered inexpensive because, according to ESC 11 director, Clyde Steelman, school districts using the CSCOPE materials do not need to hire a district instructional director. CSCOPE has everything needed.

The State Senate Education Committee Hearing resulted in the ESCs being banned from selling CSCOPE lessons or even having the lessons in their possessions. The CSCOPE lessons were found to contain Un-American, pro-Islamic, and incorrect content. Director Steelman as well as all 20 ESC directors are still promoting the gutted CSCOPE materials now called the TRS Curriculum.

In 2011, the Marlin ISD district instruction director, Jamie Johnson and district superintendent, Marsha Riddlehuber, informed me that I could not see the 5th grade science or math CSCOPE lessons.I requested the lessons because I was tutoring kids after school.

I asked about textbooks. NOPE! Marlin ISD no longer used textbooks because the CSCOPE Instructional Materials were so comprehensive. Also, CSCOPE  was an online product and was more current than textbooks. The CSCOPE lessons were copyrighted and not visible to anyone unless they signed a non-disclosure contract stating they would not reveal the content of the lessons.

The ESCs threatened Legal action against teachers if they told parents the content of the CSCOPE lessons.

Q2  How much evidence does it take for a thorough investigation of the Texas Education Centers to be required?

A2 Our Texas leaders have smiled as they falsify reported praise for the 20 ESCs. Yet, all the while, like a child, have their fingers crossed behind their backs. It is time to step up to the plate and take action. Lobbyist DO NOT represent our children or their parents. Get out of the Ivory Towers in Austin and spend some time in classrooms. Don’t arrive like the King or Queen of England, take clues from the TV program called, Undercover Boss. Apply for a teaching position at different school districts. Ask to visit classrooms. Get contact info and call the teachers later. Some will tell you the truth, others are too afraid of losing their jobs. There is little job security for teachers.

How long this will continue depends on our newly elected Governor and Lt. Governor. Will they follow through on their promises to improve Education? It also depends on who the Governor appoints as the Commissioner of Education.

Q3 How much longer are the leaders of Texas going to allow the ESCs to have any input or control over what is taught or how it is taught in our Texas classrooms?

A3  Like the previous Answer, the ball is in the court of the Governor and Lt. Governor.

Things for the Governor and Lt. Governor to think about:

1. The 20 ESCs created an illegal company claiming this company owned CSCOPE. The name of the company was TESCCC. Each of the 20 ESCs directors paid $200,000 each to be a member of the collaborative who owned TESCCC. Where did this money come from?

2. The trustees of TESCCC (ESC directors) filed with the state a change showing that if TESCCC was ever dissolved the Federal Government would receive any proceeds. Originally, the state of Texas was listed. Not only were the ESC directors creating what they thought was a company unconnected to the ESCs, but they wanted the company to not be associated with Texas.

 

 

EXPOSED PART 1

EXPOSED PART 2

 

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CSCOPE’S…… FLIP FLOP PROGRAM!

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FLIP FLOP

 

CSCOPE or TEKS Resource System what ever you want to call the program has mastered the art of flip flopping dependent on the day and  current criticism of the program.   CSCOPE now known has the TEKS Resource System was operated by the non-profit Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) is now being operated under the name Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative (TCMPC).  CSCOPE’s original promotional PowerPoint presentation used in promoting and selling their program to school districts outlined the research base in the creation of CSCOPE. Please make note that two of the most controversial individuals used in its creation of the program is  Marxist Lev Vygotsky and Radical Humanist Linda Darling Hammond (highlighted below). Hammond is associated with Communist Bill Ayers, the Weather underground bomber and is heavenly involved in the creation and implementation of the Common Core Standards.

HAMMOND

Performing another FLIP FLOP in hopes of  mending their damaged image the management team TCMPC has removed Vygotsky and Hammond from the research base though the foundation of CSCOPE has not changed. Despite it’s name change CSCOPE is the same, the management team consist of the same individuals. The program is all about implementing a Marxist Program called Project Based Learning built around the Collective, in  of promoting diversity, equity, and globalization.

ENGLISH

Due to the fact that CSCOPE was exposed last school year and received so much negative publicity the powers at be chose to change its name to the TEKS Resource System and to abolish its non profit.

Below is another slide from the PowerPoint notice they promote the idea of CSCOPE being Progressive and it is not a Parent Resource. Wow? They have tried for years to hide CSCOPE from the public and parents. Thankfully for the involvement in concerned Texas Citizens CSCOPE is now exposed for what it truly is, a complete radical progressive TRANSFORMATION of the education system in TEXAS.

WHAT CSCOPE IS AND NOT

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Islam was Tolerant! says “CSCOPE”

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9-17-2013 8-45-22 PM

 

This lesson is in the TEXAS World History CSCOPE curriculum speaks for itself. Now we know why the Texas Education Service Centers hid this MESS!! Texas Students deserve better. 

religious tolernace

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Texas Teachers 2013/2014 CSCOPE.. GAG ORDER!

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CONTROL, CONTROL, CONTROL…. Below is what Texas Teachers have to agree to in order to enter the CSCOPE/TEKS Resource System. It is surprising that after all that has transpired over the last year and the controversy behind CSCOPE, the owners, the education service centers still want to control parents and teachers when it comes to viewing or speaking out against CSCOPE.

gag order

TEXAS CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM COOPERATIVE

TEKS Resource System Terms of Service

Welcome to the TEKS Resource System website. Please review the following Terms of Service carefully. These Terms of Service are a legally binding contract between you, as the user of this website, and the Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative (“Cooperative” or “our” or “we” or “us”). It applies to your use of the Site and all information, media, content, printed materials and electronic documentation accessible from teksresourcesystem.net or any of its sub-domains (collectively, the “Site”). An employee of a Texas independent school district, charter school, or private school that has licensed use of the TEKS Resource System (a “LEA”), parents of LEA students who access the Site from a LEA computer on a LEA campus in accordance with the policies and procedures of the LEA, and employees and representatives of regional education service centers or the Cooperative, and any individual who has received TCMPC’s express written consent is an “Authorized User.”

The “Services” available to Authorized Users through the Site are the curriculum system, including assessments and assessment items, answer keys, curriculum components and resources (collectively, the “Components”), and professional development courses on the Site. The Services are designed to facilitate the ability of Authorized Users to provide instruction to children enrolled in LEAs in the State of Texas. We will continue to further develop Services and operate the Site, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations, with a view to enhancing the ability of parents and of teachers and of other Authorized Users to provide high quality educational instruction.

 

1. Acceptance of Terms of Service.

Please review these Terms of Service carefully. By accessing or using the Site, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by them. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use this Site.

 

2. Limited License; Permitted Uses; Restrictions on Use.

You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to:

  • permit parents to review the Components and Website in accordance with the policies and procedures of the LEA that is your employer and with Texas Education Code § 26.006;
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  • modify the Components and create derivative works from the Components in accordance with Section 2 of the terms of this Agreement and the policies and procedures of the LEA. All modifications and derivative works of the Components belong to the Cooperative;
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You may not make any other use of the Site or Components. Other than this license, you do not have any license, title, or ownership of/to the TEKS Resource System or any other intellectual property of the Cooperative or any third party.

Your license for access and use of the Site and Components is subject to the following restrictions:

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2. Copyright and Trademark Rights.

The content, curriculum, organization, graphics, design, photographs, images, text, audio/visual clips, sound records, compilations, magnetic translations, digital conversion and other materials located on the Site (the “Components”) are protected under applicable copyright, trademark and other proprietary and intellectual property rights. In addition, “TEKS Resource System” is our common law service mark and trademark. We own this mark and any other trademarks, service marks, slogans and logos (the “Marks”) used and displayed on the Site. Registration of the Marks is pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Please note:

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Failure to abide by the Terms of Service will give the Cooperative the right to immediately and automatically terminate this Agreement, and may result in the infringement of the copyrights and trademarks owned by the Cooperative or its licensors.

 

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The Cooperative may offer certain functionality on the Site, including message boards, blogs, chat rooms, instant messaging and other public forums. Your participation in these items is voluntary. However, any information or content you provide is not private or confidential and you authorize us and our affiliates and licensees to use the content you post, without compensation to you or others. The Cooperative may copy, reproduce, incorporate, distribute, publicly display or otherwise use any information you post as we deem appropriate throughout the world in any format or media. The Cooperative may edit, refuse to post or remove content you submit. To the extent permitted under applicable law, you waive and release and covenant not to assert any moral rights that you may have in any content posted by you. By posting content on the Site, you represent to the Cooperative that you own or have the right to use and permit the Cooperative to use the content as permitted by this Agreement. You agree not to post any content that belongs to any person other than yourself or that contains the name, voice or likeness of any person other than yourself unless you first obtain written permission to do so from that person. The Cooperative has no obligation to delete content that you personally may find objectionable or offensive. We do not control the information posted and we do not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such information. We do not endorse or make any warranties or representations with TCMPC Revised 08/21/2013 Page 6 of 10 regard to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of any content posted on any public forum on the Site.

 

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While accessing or using the Site, you may be provided access to a personal web page that can be personalized with your own content (a “Personal Page”). Your Personal Page may have several features, such as a personal URL at a sub-domain or URL as may be designated by the Cooperative, reports and email address book. Your use of the Personal Page may require your agreement and compliance with supplemental terms at the time that you register for a Personal Page.

 

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The Cooperative reserves the right to establish general practices and limits concerning the Site and user accounts at any time and may modify such practices and limits as it determines appropriate, including without limitation the maximum number of days that your or any third party’s information, pictures, content or email will be retained and the maximum amount of disk space that will be allotted on our or our vendors’ servers on your behalf. The Cooperative has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to deliver or store your Personal Page or any other public forum, or any information, pictures, content or email provided by or stored by you on your Personal Page or any other public forum, regardless of whether the deletion or failure was due to the established practices or as a result of our error, intentional misconduct, or negligence. The Cooperative reserves the right to log off accounts that are inactive for a period of time designated by the Cooperative and reserves the right at any time it determines appropriate, and from time to time, to modify or discontinue, either temporarily or permanently, your access to the Site, or any part thereof, with or without notice. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance of your access to the Site.

 

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The Cooperative does not represent or warrant that the Site will be error free, free of viruses or other harmful components, or that defects will be corrected. We may make changes to the features, functionality or Components at any time. We reserve the right to edit or delete any documents, information or other Components as we determine appropriate.

 

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We reserve the right, and you authorize us, to use and assign all information regarding Site uses by you and all information provided by you in any manner consistent with our Privacy Policy. All remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information about the Components or the Site (or any service, information, content or documentation therein) communicated by you to us (collectively, a “Submission”) and all intellectual property rights from the date of creation or inception will forever be our property. We will not be required to treat any Submission as confidential, and will not be liable to you or others for any ideas (including without limitation, Components or ideas) comprising Submissions, all of which may be freely used by us without compensation, accounting or restrictions, and we will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in our future products, TCMPC Revised 08/21/2013 Page 7 of 10 services or operations. Without limitation, we will have exclusive ownership of all present and future existing rights to each Submission of every kind and nature everywhere. We will be entitled to use the Submission for any commercial or other purpose whatsoever, without compensation or accounting to you or any other person. You acknowledge that you are responsible for whatever material you submit, and you have sole responsibility for the content thereof, including its legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality, accuracy, and copyright.

 

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This Agreement is effective from the date you first access the Site, and continues in effect until terminated in accordance with this Agreement.

The Cooperative may terminate your access to the Site without prior notice if: (i) you breach this Agreement; (ii) any government agency so directs; (iii) technical or security issues occur; or (iv) the LEA User License Agreement under which you are an Authorized User terminates.

On termination, the Cooperative may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all related information, files or content in your account and bar any access to such information or content by you or others. The Cooperative shall not be obligated to return or provide copies of any information, files or content in your account to you upon deactivation. The Cooperative shall not be liable to any third party for any deactivation of your access to the Site.

Upon termination, neither you nor the Cooperative will have any further obligation to the other under this Agreement except for liability arising prior to the effective date of termination. Also, your obligations under this Agreement, which by their nature are intended to survive termination (such as indemnification) shall survive the termination of your access to the Site.

 

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We reserve the right to investigate complaints or reported violations of this Agreement and to take appropriate action, in our reasonable judgment. If you wish to submit a complaint or report a violation of this Agreement, please notify the Cooperative at the address stated in Section 11 with a description of the alleged complaint or violation and the person or entity that is the subject of your complaint or of the violation.

 

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The Components may include pictures, information, testimonials, letters, marks, slogans and other content uploaded or provided by third parties or otherwise received from third parties. The Cooperative does not permit the use of Components that infringes on the copyright or trademarks or rights of publicity of others, and will remove any such content that violates the copyright or trademarks or other rights of others if properly notified of such violation in accordance with the procedure set forth in this Agreement. If you believe that any of the Components infringes your copyright or trademark rights or your rights of publicity, please TCMPC Revised 08/21/2013 Page 8 of 10 provide the Cooperative (whose contact information is provided below) with the following information:

  • a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
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The Cooperative’s agent for the notice of any claim of infringement of any copyright or trademark or right of publicity is as follows:

By mail:
Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative
Attention: Wade Labay
5701 Springdale Road
Austin, Texas 78723

Please provide all of the information requested above. No specific form is required to provide the Cooperative with notifications of possible infringement. However, it will take the Cooperative longer to process your notice if any of this information is not provided, and in some cases, we may not be able to process your notice.

 

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This Agreement, and all related matters, shall be governed by Texas law and United States law. Any action arising out of any dispute with respect to this Agreement shall only be brought in the state or federal courts located in Travis County, Texas. You agree that the statute of limitations for any claim against the Cooperative shall be brought within one year from when the claim arose, and any claims not brought within such period of time shall be deemed waived.

 

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You agree that, if the terms of this Agreement are not specifically enforced, we will be irreparably damaged, and therefore you agree that we shall be entitled, without bond, other security or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect any breaches, in addition to any other available remedies.

 

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This Agreement shall be interpreted as to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against any party. Any rule of construction to the effect that ambiguities are to be resolved against the drafting party shall not apply in interpreting this Agreement. This Agreement and all incorporated agreements and your information may be automatically assigned by us in our sole discretion to a third party in the event of an acquisition, sale or merger. If any provision of this Agreement is held illegal, invalid or unenforceable, it shall be replaced, to the extent possible, with a legal, valid, and enforceable provision that is similar in tenor to the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision as is legally possible. To the extent that anything in or associated with the Site is in conflict or inconsistent with this Agreement, this Agreement shall take precedence. Our failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision nor of the right to enforce such provision. Our rights under this Agreement shall survive any termination of this Agreement. The captions used in this Agreement are provided for convenience only and shall have no effect on the construction of the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement (and each supplemental agreement referenced in or referencing this Agreement found on the Site) constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Cooperative with respect to the Site, the Components and any related matter.

 

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We reserve the right to change the Terms of Service any time by reasonable notice, including without limitation by posting revised Terms of Service on the Site (which shall constitute reasonable notice). All amended Terms of Service shall be binding upon you immediately upon their posting on the Site. Thus, you should consult the most recent version of these Terms of Service each time you view the Site.

Do you agree?

 

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CSCOPE Assessments Now Posted on Public Website

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“CSCOPE Assessments Now Posted on Public Website”

by Donna Garner

 

9.6.13

Kate Alexander, liberal and biased reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, has written an article in today’s paper entitled “Activists publish CSCOPE tests online.” I have posted excerpts further on down the page.

 

WHAT KATE “FORGOT” TO MENTION

Kate mentions nothing in this article about the fact that the TESCCC (made up of all 20 Education Service Center directors) was the corporate owner of CSCOPE (and all its parts).  TESCCC announced on May 20, 2013, that TESCCC would cease to exist. 

 

From what has been widely publicized, the TESCCC decided to shut itself down because it was set up originally as a “shell corporation” without the appropriate business mechanisms having been put in place; millions of taxpayers’ dollars are still unaccounted for; and lawsuits may be in the offing because of plagiarism found in the CSCOPE lessons. The Texas State Auditor, John Keel, is presently doing a formal audit of TESCCC/ESC/CSCOPE; and shortly a formal complaint may be filed with the IRS.   

 

The TESCCC directors signed a letter saying that the CSCOPE lessons would be taken off the website on Aug. 31, 2013, when the yearly school contracts expired.  In the same 5.20.13 letter, the TESCCC also announced that the ESC’s would produce and sell no more lesson plans to Texas schools.

 

THOMAS RATLIFF INFLUENCES HIS CRONIES

Then up popped Thomas Ratliff who loudly began advising Texas public school administrators to let their teachers download the CSCOPE lessons and to keep using them anyway.  Ratliff is a registered lobbyist for Microsoft and gets richer each time online technology in Texas schools is utilized.  Because of his obvious conflict of interest, Ratliff is an illegal member of the Texas State Board of Education because of the monetary/business ties that the Texas Education Agency and SBOE have with Microsoft.  

 

Grassroots citizens have generated a petition to have Ratliff impeached by the Texas House  — IMPEACHRATLIFF.COM.

 

CSCOPE IN PUBLIC DOMAIN

At the July 17-19, 2013 Texas State Board of Education meeting, David Anderson, legal counsel for the Texas Education Agency, verbalized his interpretation of this confusing situation, saying that after Aug. 31, 2013, the CSCOPE lessons would become a part of the public domain and could be utilized by any and all.  On 8.22.13, the Texas Tribune published the CSCOPE lessons on their website.

 

However, nothing has been decided legally about the ownership of the CSCOPE assessments. The TESCCC owned the CSCOPE lessons and the accompanying assessments; but since the TESCCC has shut itself down and its contracts with districts have ceased to exist, it seems reasonable to assume that the CSCOPE assessments should be in the public domain also.  

 

MEANWHILE, TESCCC HAS MORPHED

On 8.12.13, the former TESCCC members met as a committee at ESC 13 in Austin and suddenly began calling themselves the Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative (TCMPC).  The name CSCOPE has been changed to the TEKS Resource System, and all of the same CSCOPE “parts” are being marketed by the ESC’s except for the CSCOPE lessons (which can now be accessed on the Texas Tribune website).

 

CSCOPE ASSESSMENTS PUBLISHED

This week a few of the CSCOPE assessments have been put into the public domain on a public website with more assessments sure to be published soon.  The question remains, “If TESCCC shut itself down, then who owns the CSCOPE assessments?” 

 

TEXAS TEACHERS SPEAK OUT

Please go to this link to see how Texas teachers feel about the CSCOPE lessons, assessments, and scope and sequence:  http://www.voicesempower.com/voice-of-a-teacher-and-a-student-cscope-assessments/

 

SBOE REVIEW AND PUBLIC HEARING — CSCOPE SOCIAL STUDIES LESSONS

The Texas State Board of Education is supervising the review of the CSCOPE social studies lessons since many schools in Texas have decided to keep using the CSCOPE lessons which are now in the public domain.  The review teams are evaluating whether or not the CSCOPE lessons are aligned with the state-adopted-and-mandated curriculum standards (TEKS) and are free from factual errors.

 

As a part of the SBOE review of the CSCOPE social studies lessons, a public hearing will be held by the SBOE on Sept. 13 at 9:00 A. M. (changed from an earlier start time of 1:00 P. M.)  Here is the link to the information people need who wish to testify at that meeting:  http://www.tea.state.tx.us/Communications/CSCOPE/Public_hearing_scheduled_on_CSCOPE/

 

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – PARENTAL ACCESS

For those school districts that insist on using CSCOPE lessons (or whatever the new name may be), the “elephant in the room” is still parental access 24/7 to the CSCOPE curriculum.  

 

Statute established in the Texas Education Code (TEC) states that the school district must “allow the student to take home any instructional materials used by the student…The parent must be allowed to review all teaching materials, instructional materials, and other teaching aids used in the classroom of the parent’s child…A school district shall make teaching materials and tests readily available for review by parents.”  (Texas Education Code, Title 2. Public Education, Subtitle E. Students and Parents, Chapter 26. Parental Rights and Responsibilities, Sec. 26.006. Access to Teaching Materials — http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/htm/ED.26.htm#26.004 )

 

Definition of “instructional materials” – The term includes a book, supplementary materials, a combination of a book, workbook, and supplementary materials, computer software, magnetic media, DVD, CD-ROM, computer courseware, on-line services, or an electronic medium, or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means, including open-source instructional material. (Texas Education Code, Title 2. Public Education, Subtitle F. Curriculum, Programs, and Services, Chapter 31. Instructional Materials, Subchapter A. General Provisions, Sec. 31.002, Definitions, Instructional Material —

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/htm/ED.31.htm )

 

 

As described by an experienced Texas teacher:

 

Hypothetically, if a teacher ‘does’ a CSCOPE lesson, the parent will never be able to see it. It will be played out in the classroom. The only thing that will come home is a graphic organizer with a bunch of empty boxes — no explanation at the top, no content to review…

 

CSCOPE doesn’t provide the content — meaning the informational text for the student. That is why it is so dangerous.  It provides a script for the teacher, which the parent will never see. The teacher is left to scramble for material all over the internet. 

 

When dangerous links in the CSCOPE lessons were made public by concerned citizens, the TESCCC (corporate owner of CSCOPE) pulled those links. This is the big danger of CSCOPE and other online materials.  Links and other content can be taken out or put back in ‘at the click of a mouse’ without parental knowledge.  

 

 

Another expert on CSCOPE has stated:

 

We also need to keep going back to the fact that the TESCCC was never forced to provide actual access for parents  – a requirement of the Texas Education Code. TESCCC skirted by on pledges to create a new website with total access, which turned out to be a sham since parents did not have genuine access to the lessons being used in CLASSROOMS, only samples (as was the case with the original CSCOPE domain)…

 

No access was ever truly granted.  Therefore, the question of access is still a valid one for the courts and should be the primary focus of legal efforts. 

 

For success in court, parents need to seek injunctive relief on the basis of being denied access to the lessons used by both the District and TESCCC. Injury on the basis of ACCESS will give all parents standing. And standing, is what judges care about.  

 

 

============

9.5.13 – “Activists Publish CSCOPE Tests Online” – by Kate Alexander, Austin American-Statesman —http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/activists-publish-cscope-tests-online/nZn59/?icmp=statesman_internallink_textlink_apr2013_statesmanstubtomystatesman_launch

 

Excerpts from this article:

A conservative blogger has published online the questions and answers for social studies tests available to hundreds of Texas school districts because she maintains they reflect a pro-Islam and anti-American bias.

The public release of the tests could render them unusable and is the latest development in an ongoing saga over a curriculum system, formerly known as CSCOPE, that has inflamed conservative and tea party activists over the past year.

Ginger Russell, half of the mother-daughter duo that sparked the CSCOPE controversy, posted the 10 tests on her website —redhotconservative.com — on Wednesday. Russell said she believed that parents needed to see the tests, which had been provided to her by teachers

It will be left up to the school districts whether to continue using the tests, but many teachers and administrators have already expressed concern that the integrity of the assessments had been compromised, said Mason Moses, a spokesman for the state-funded Education Service Centers that developed the assessments.

“We take this very seriously. … This may be just 10 or so now, but there is concern that moving forward it could multiply significantly,” Moses said.

Posting the tests online harms the schools that have found them to be a useful resource, said State Board of Education member Thomas Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant.

“Clearly, what she’s trying to do is destroy the whole program,” Ratliff said of Russell

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com

 

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CSCOPE Gets New Name… TEKS Resource System

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8-29-2013 1-30-27 PM

 

 

The directors of the Texas Education Service Centers who created CSCOPE are jumping through hoops trying to salvage  CSCOPE’s well deserved tainted image. The fact that you have individuals create a non profit within a state agency, fund it with tax dollars to create a product and in turn sell the product back to the tax payers is ludicrous if not illegal.

This week the director of ESC 12, Jerry Maze sent out the letter below stating that CSCOPE will now be referred to as TEKS RESOURCE SYSTEM. It has been said “you can run but you can’t hide & a “rose by any other name is still a rose”.. CSCOPE is still the implementation of a progressive ideology in our Texas schools, no matter what they call it. Nothing about CSCOPE has changed except for the fact that through  grassroots involvement the Exemplar lessons are now (after revisions from exposure) have been put in the public domain. The governing board originally called Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) is getting a face lift as well. Their new name is Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative.

 

TESCCC Original Formation for the Secretary of State

TESCCC Public Information Report

 

jerry maze

 

 

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CSCOPE.. Not What It’s Quacked Up To Be!!

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duckwalk

 

The CSCOPE “duck walk”  is in play once again. CSCOPE, is a curriculum management system that changes on a daily basis that will now get a new name in hopes of salvaging it’s undesirable image. It will be referred to as  TEKS RESOURCE SYSTEM beginning August 30th. The governing board has already disbanded under pressure from the Texas legislature and is now operating under the new name “Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative.”

As the Lt. Governor David Dewhurst tweeted today “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…” and I will finish by saying “It is a duck” Absolutely nothing about CSCOPE will change except for the fact that the “exemplar lessons” that were to be removed by August 31st are now in the public domain. The controlling aspect that teachers have to deal with, as progressive educrats work to implement “Project Based Learning” will remain in place.  The CSCOPE assessments will still be administered. These completed assessments are not sent home to help students review what they need to improve. These assessment are more subjective and the results are entered into database as school .

 

david D tweet

The link on the tweet takes you to the document below.

jerry maze

The letter is signed by Jerry Maze, director of ESC 12. 

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CSCOPE CONFERENCE UNDERWAY IN SAN ANTONIO

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CSCOPEbanner

by Lou Ann Anderson

WatchDogWire

Akin to Mark Twain and his famous “report of my death was an exaggeration” quote, the same seems increasingly applicable to the alleged demise of CSCOPE, the controversial curriculum management system developed at taxpayer expense by Texas Regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) and used by approximately 875 public, private and charter schools. While CSCOPE’s lesson plans are theoretically scheduled to be unavailable after Aug. 31, the program appears alive and well – at least in consuming taxpayer dollars – as evidenced by a convention currently underway in San Antonio.

A recent article asked CSCOPE’s lesson plans: gone or gone into hiding?. The last State Board of Education meeting suggested the lesson plans were merely hiding – in fact, hiding in plain sight as they are now alleged to be in the public domain and, per Texas Education Agency attorney David Anderson, with “no statute” that would require districts to refrain from using CSCOPE.

With the Texas legislature now adjourned from its third special session, any legislative fixes anticipated prior to the school year start appear totally off the table. Meanwhile, in a Have No Fear CSCOPE Is Here? post, Red Hot Conservative alerted readers to the 2013 CSCOPE State Conference scheduled Aug. 6-8 at the San Antonio Convention Center.

The event’s 72-page agenda includes a welcome in which the “20 regional education service centers of Texas that comprise the Texas Curriculum Management Program Cooperative (TCMPC) are pleased to present this unique event filled with a wide variety of sessions and networking opportunities.”

The TCMPC board is staffed by ESC executive directors, all Texas public school employees, as was the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), a governing board of the nonprofit corporation formed to oversee the CSCOPE curriculum management system. The board disbanded in the wake of CSCOPE’s controversy based on concerns over its formation without legislative authority and administrative operations that include a history of resisting to post or make public its meetings as per the Texas Open Meetings Act and efforts to withhold information requested through the Public Information Act, efforts that included using taxpayer-funded lawyers to argue it was a nonprofit.

As the San Antonio conference runs through Thursday, CSCOPE’s long-term fate remains unknown. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Sen. Dan Patrick have called for administrative audits and other new transparency with Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Pauken echoing those concerns.

Meanwhile, since its 2005 inception and 2006 rollout into schools, CSCOPE has received new tax dollars for a program taxpayers paid to develop, for a curriculum that’s been a fight to see while generating financials so far withheld from all interested parties.

But one certainty: CSCOPE’s command of public dollars currently continues with Texas taxpayers footing the bill as thousands of Texas public school employees travel to San Antonio for this conference.

 

Lou Ann Anderson Lou Ann Anderson

Lou Ann Anderson is an information activist and the editor of Watchdog Wire – Texas. As a Policy Analyst with Americans for Prosperity – Texas, she writes and speaks about a variety of public policy topics. Lou Ann is the Creator and Online Producer at EstateofDenial.com, a web site that addresses the growing issue of probate abuse in which wills, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney are used to loot assets from intended beneficiaries or heirs. Contact Lou Ann at Texas@WatchdogWire.com with story ideas and for ways to get involved with citizen journalism in Texas.

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Senator Dan Patrick on CSCOPE

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Senator Patrick posted the following on his Facebook Page today July 19, 2013.

CSCOPE UPDATE:

Over the past few months I told several groups that I was working with the Attorney General’s office and planned to ask the State Auditor to perform an audit of the CSCOPE program. 

My concern is that millions of dollars may have been spent by the program without the proper bidding process, contracts, and full transparency, required by government entities when using taxpayer money.

On Friday of last week the Attorney General’s office sent a letter to our state auditor, John Keel, sharing their concerns about CSCOPE. 

Yesterday, as Chairman of Education, I sent a letter to Mr Keel requesting an official state audit of the program. After months of research, once again with the tireless help of the grassroots, it appears that CSCOPE may have spent millions of dollars outside of normal government rules and regulations. 

I am not suggesting any wrong doing at this time. However, we need a full state audit to examine exactly what taxpayer money was spent and how it was spent since the inception of this program.

Another CSCOPE issue was raised this week by a TEA attorney who said that schools could possibly use any CSCOPE material still in the public domain. We disagree with his analysis, but are checking further into this matter.

The CSCOPE lesson plans are no longer available after August 31. I urge parents to monitor closely the decision of their districts who attempt to use any public domain material whether it is CSCOPE or another program and to make sure their voice is heard. According to the Texas Tribune districts that used CSCOPE saw lower scores on the STAAR tests than districts who did not use the program. This is in addition to the mistake ridden and objectionable lesson plans we uncovered in our hearings this year. 

It is clear that the majority of teachers, parents, and legislators want CSCOPE lesson plans gone from the classroom. I will continue do everything possible to ensure that no one tries to slip these flawed and failed lesson plans under the classroom door.

I will update you on what is happening in your classrooms and alert you to those who try to circumvent the will of the people and the legislature.

 


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SENATOR PATRICK CALLS FOR AUDIT OF CSCOPE ….CSCOPE IS NOT DEAD!

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AUDIT 2

[7.19.13 — From Donna Garner – I will try to give the public some background on Sen. Dan Patrick’s press release issued a few minutes ago. To read what I sent out yesterday about Thomas Ratliff and the SBOE, please go to:  http://educationviews.org/contact-tea-sboe-cscope/

 

Here goes:  On 6.6.13, Alice Linahan invited Sen. Dan Patrick to come on her community conversation show.  During that show, Alice read a letter from a parent in a Texas school district who was questioning the fact that her local school district was downloading the CSCOPE lessons off the CSCOPE website and putting them onto their own computers so that they could continue to teach the CSCOPE lessons in the future. 

 

Furthermore, Alice played a voice recording of Thomas Ratliff, Texas State Board of Education member, verifying that he was the very one who had been telling teachers to download and keep using the CSCOPE lessons. Here is the link to that part of the podcast:  https://soundcloud.com/alice-linahan/sboe-elected-official-thomas-1

 

Thomas Ratliff has been advising teachers to defy the will of the Texas legislature as stated in Sen. Dan Patrick’s press release on 5.20.13 in which CSCOPE lessons were not to be utilized after the Aug. 31, 2013 contract runs out.  If teachers follow Ratliff’s advice and continue to use the CSCOPE lessons, this could leave their school districts open to lawsuits or worse. 

 

Why would Thomas Ratliff do such a thing?  We must remember that Ratliff is serving on the SBOE illegally. He has been a registered lobbyist for Gates/Microsoft for at least 13 years, and the TEA/SBOE purchases products from Gates/Microsoft.  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has ruled that Ratliff is in violation of the law because of this obvious conflict of interest and that there is nothing short of resigning from the SBOE that Ratliff could do to “cure” his situation.  Defiantly, Ratliff has still continued to remain on the SBOE; and even though Texas citizens begged the House to begin impeachment proceedings (which by law is where such proceedings must begin), they chose not to do so, probably because Ratliff’s brother is now in the Legislature.

 

Gates/Microsoft has been pushing Type #2 Common Core Standards (CCS) from the very beginning of Obama’s Presidency.  Gates is a leftist progressive and believes personally in Type #2, and he also stands to make billions off the technology used to implement the Common Core Standards.  (Please go to this link to see a chart explaining Type #1 and Type #2 — http://educationviews.org/2-types-of-education-philosophies-chart/ )

 

 

CSCOPE follows the same Type #2 philosophy and is closely linked to Common Core Standards. Thomas Ratliff knows that if he can keep the Type #2 CSCOPE lessons going, he can continue to indoctrinate Texas children into the Type #2 philosophy used in the Common Core Standards; and anything Ratliff can do to increase online lessons/software/systems/databases  will benefit his pocketbook and that of his boss, Bill Gates/Microsoft.

 

Because Thomas Ratliff has no limits to the brazen gall he will demonstrate, he conned The Texas Tribune into writing an article on 7.17.13 that appears to make it look as if he is coming alongside the education establishment and is blaming Sen. Patrick and the chair of the SBOE for the demise of the CSCOPE lessons.  Ratliff is trying to act shocked that teachers are downloading the CSCOPE lessons even though it was he who has been encouraging them to do just this which, in essence, defies the will of the legislature.  Alice Linahan has  Ratliff on tape saying this!  Now Sen. Dan Patrick has answered back today with the following press release: 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 CONTACT: Logan Spence (512) 463-0107    

July 18, 2013

 

Senator Patrick Seeks Audit of CSCOPE

 

AUSTIN— Today, Senator Dan Patrick sent a letter to State Auditor John Keel asking for his review of the operations of the TESCCC, governing board of the CSCOPE program. This letter follows a similar letter submitted to the State Auditor by the Office of the Attorney General last week.

 

“While my initial concerns with CSCOPE focused on the content of their lesson plans,” said Patrick, “further review revealed that CSCOPE had potential underlying legal issues that need to be addressed.”

 

Among the concerns outlined in his letter to State Auditor John Keel are the facts that the Education Service Centers failed to comply with state law requiring a bidding process and the adoption of formal contracts with state government vendors.

 

In part, the letter reads:

“In light of these issues, I am writing to ask you to exercise your authority as State Auditor and determine if the Education Services Centers acted appropriately under state law when they paid NER to produce the CSCOPE materials without a bidding process and without the protections of a legally binding contract.”

 

“Texans deserve an open and transparent state government and that is particularly true of our public education system,” said Patrick. “The curriculum in our classrooms must be open to public scrutiny as well as the contracts to publish them.”

 

In response to TEA’s suggestion to the SBOE that CSCOPE lesson plans could be used because they are in the public domain, Senator Patrick said, “I disagree with that analysis but I am looking into the issue further. Until I started asking questions, and holding hearings, parents weren’t even allowed to view these materials.”

 

“Until this question is resolved, parents need to continue to make their voices heard at the local school district level that they want CSCOPE out of their schools.”

 

“The vast majority of parents, teachers, and ldegislators have made it clear they want CSCOPE out of their schools. I stand with them and intend to make sure no one tries to slide CSCOPE lesson plans under the classroom door, ” said Senator Patrick.

 

State Sen. Dan Patrick

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Dr. Hawkins I Apologize (Man, when I eat Crow it’s a big Crow!)

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Dr. Brent Hawkins, I am very sorry for the following accusation and blog. I was wrong. I mistook an accounts receivable statement for accounts payable. I made a mistake and will not pretend I did not. Again, I am sorry.~ Ginger Russell
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
money tree

Texas Education Service Center VI along with the Texas’s other 19 ESC”S are part of the Collaborative Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) that sells CSCOPE to their local school districts.  Why the ESC’s would be paying school districts for CSCOPE is beyond me. Was this a kick back or a payoff to Houston ISD? Not sure so  I filed a Public Information Request with ESC VI asking for “any and all info as to why they would have sent a check to Houston ISD for 17,500.00 in relation to CSCOPE. Strangely enough they don’t have any information as to why they paid the money. ESC VI’s Deputy Director for Administrative Services, Dr. Brent Hawkins  sent the following in response to  my PIR request.

Dr. Brent Hawkins

Dr. Brent Hawkins

 

brent hawkins

The fact that the ESC’s offer bookkeeping services to local school districts would make you think that the ESC would also keep proper and detailed records of their own financials but this does not appear to be the case.

esc 6 bookkeeping

 

cscope contract

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TEACHERS! SAVE CSCOPE LESSONS!!!

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Lacey Rainey

 

Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction Community ISD

Lacey Rainey

 

 

Below you will find an email sent to Community ISD teachers asking them to save CSCOPE lessons. English teacher Stephanie Mohr, sent the email on behalf of the Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Lacey Rainey. Rainey is known for supporting the Marxist/Progressive CSCOPE curriculum.

How liable will  Community ISD be if they continue ,to use the CSCOPE lessons after Aug 31? How about the students that may have failed the STAAR this year, is Community ISD and districts responsible for implementing an un-vetted program? If CSCOPE lessons are so rotten that TESCCC would remove the lessons, why would Rainey now want to save them?

CSCOPE… as you can see it is far from over. 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

From: (Teacher Name Removed)
Date: Wed, May 29, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Subject: Need to do
To: TEACHERS (NAMES REMOVED)

 

Lacey has asked us to save the C-Scope lessons for her by grade level. The instructions are below. She wants this completed by next Friday 🙂 Let me know when you are done please.

The instructions for saving CScope lessons are as follows:

Sign out of your gmail
login to gmail with:
password:  cisdcurr
select Drive
Select CISD Curriculum Folder
Select your grade level
Select your subject
Upload your lessons
To save your lessons:
go to CSCOPE
select the exemplar lesson
select printer friendly version
a check box appears; everything needs to be checked
select print
open
save to h drive
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Taxpayer Parasite CSCOPE Still Alive

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parasite

May 24, 2013 | BlogFeatured

Why is CSCOPE being given the time and room to plot it’s next move? CSCOPE has broken trust with Texas parents and taxpayers in every possible way.

Intrepid parents and taxpayers like Donna Garner, Janice Van Cleave, Women on the Wall, and Americans for Prosperity-Texas are finding out just how bad the picture really is. Let us review.agenda wise

CSCOPE got massive amounts of tax money to develop “time management” tools for teachers, even though a calendar and a pen still cost about $15 at Wal-Mart.

They were also tasked with creating a “professional development” tool to help teachers teach the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This is the basic knowledge tested in the STAAR test.

What on Earth this “professional development tool” was ever supposed to be is anyone’s guess. The TEKS are the nuggets of knowledge kids need to know for the STAAR test, and they are on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website.

As it turns out, CSCOPE pretty much just cut-and-pasted the TEKS off of the TEA website and called this their “professional development tool”.

At some point they also began developing curriculum – embarrassingly sub-standard curriculum that was also peppered with anti-Americanism and anti-Christianism. This aspect of CSCOPE has gotten most of the headlines, and rightly so, but it is just one part of what is wrong with both CSCOPE and the regional Education Service Centers (ESCs) that have perpetrated CSCOPE on Texans.

This curriculum is what CSOPE is no longer allowed to use, curriculum that included burka-wearing day for young Texas girls, communist flag-making day for school kids, and other such activities.

It is inconceivable that a group that would do such things would be allowed continued access to Texas classrooms by our elected officials, but that is what is happening right now.

CSCOPE tried to keep anyone from finding any of this out by making school districts sign non-disclosure agreements, binding them to not showing anyone the “tool”. This is very weird, and it turns out to be illegal. Parents have the legal right to see what their kids are being taught.

Since these “tools” were bought and paid for by the Texas taxpayer, we expected to be done paying for them.

Not so. CSCOPE is now renting their glorified calendar and cut-and-pasted TEKS to school districts. They also hold seminars to teach people how to use these masterpieces of learning technology.

If you think this sounds like a scam, it’s because it does.

Best of all, the TEA has these time management tools downloadable on its website. The TEKS are there too, which is what the “professional development” tool is.

This all means that CSCOPE is 100% obsolete.

What about it’s origins?

“CSCOPE”  is actually a product of a 501c3 non-profit corporation called TESCCC. The Board of TESCCC are the directors of these regional Education Service Centers (ESCs). The ESCs were given around $180 million in education grants to create these “tools”, and they contracted the work to TESCCC, who produced CSCOPE.

School districts are still paying rent for CSCOPE, and for absolutely no functional reason.

Some districts are pulling this continuing CSCOPE funding. Many are not.

Are parents and taxpayers powerless? No.

Parents and taxpayers can check to see if their ISD has pulled CSCOPE funding and use. If the Superintendant is protecting it, parents can organize to elect school board members who promise to hire a new Superintendant who will cut CSCOPE off.

When the CSCOPE controversy first hit, Sen. Patrick quickly emerged, saying he was pushing for more regulation of this obsolete, wasteful, anti-American, anti-Christian, and incompetent taxpayer leach.

“Regulate CSCOPE!” was not then a rallying cry that satisfied Texans. It still isn’t, despite Sen. Patrick’s recent press conference that failed to generate any sense of finality for the many Texas parents and taxpayers following this drama.

Instead of getting rid of this taxpayer parasite, the now-taskless-but-well-funded CSCOPE has been put under the State Board of Education’s purview.

The Attorney General is an elected official who has actually borne his teeth to CSCOPE, saying he will investigate them and kick them out of Texas if he finds illegality.

These days the executive branch is, hands-down, a better bet than the land-of-comically-low-expectations that is our legislative branch.

 

–AFP article “CSCOPE or C-SCAM?” (AFP has done excellent work on CSCOPE all session)

 

weston

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TEXAS PRINCIPAL promotes EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION

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REVOLUTIONARY EDUCATOR

TRA HALL

MUNDY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

 

Texas we have a MAJOR PROBLEM in our schools. The uncovering of the Marxist/Progressive Curriculum Cscope are not going down with out a fight. The educators behind the deception tried their best to keep their agenda hidden from the public.

Tra Hall, a principal in Mundy Independent School District has been hot on twitter in support of CSCOPE. He even advocated today that teacher hurry and download the lessons while they still can.

TREY HALL 2

 

Below is a copy of Mr Hall’s blog from 2012 when he wanted to rid his school of CSCOPE though it is quite apparent he isn’t for a traditional (Type 1) education.  Has he changed his mind on CSCOPE? Maybe it is the progressive ideology that he hopes to protect, being that he advocates an educational revolution in our schools.

trahallblog

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THREAT OF SUBPONEA PRODUCES TEXAS CURRICULUM RECORDS

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author-image

JOHN GRIFFING

WORLD NET DAILY

CSCOPE, a controversial school curriculum management system in Texas that once included a description of the Boston Tea Party as an act of terror and has called Islamic terrorists freedom fighters has given up pages of its financial records under threat of a subpoena by state Sen. Dan Patrick.

 

Patrick sought the records after Texans told him they had uncovered financial irregularities in the organization’s operations.

 

Patrick threatened CSCOPE with a subpoena of all financial documents if disclosure was not achieved voluntarily. CSCOPE TEXASprovided 5,000 pages of documents in response to Patrick’s request, and the information now is being reviewed.

 

“I’m glad that the CSCOPE board finally recognized that they must respond to our request for detailed financial information,” said Patrick. “I only wish I didn’t have to threaten a subpoena before getting this information.

 

“For some reason the board at CSCOPE believes they are above open disclosure and total transparency to parents and legislators,” Patrick added.

 

CSCOPE is owned by a corporate nonprofit started in 2009 called the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC). TESCCC is comprised of 20 separate “Education Service Centers” who all pay for the right to sell CSCOPE as a product to independent school districts.

 

Board members of the TESCCC claimed for months that no financial documentation existed, since all funds leave the nonprofit and are transferred to a “fiscal agent,” a claim which has stumped some financial experts who told WND that only public agencies have “fiscal agents,” and that a nonprofit must show distribution of funds.

 

According Chriss Street, the former treasurer of Orange County, Calif., and the individual who was instrumental in exposing the savings and loan debacle of the 1980s, the TESCCC reporting methods are questionable.

 

“The Texas Educational Service Center Curriculum Collaborative appears to have not applied for a Government Exempt, or a Tax Exempt 501C-3 or 501C-4 determination letter. I have made an investigation and have not discovered any Government Exempt or Tax Exempt determination letters on file,” said Street.

 

“There is no federal or state requirement for individuals or associations without revenue or sales to file any tax reporting. But it is my understanding and belief that TESCCC appears to have substantial sales and significant fee income and may be fully taxable as a trade or business and or subject to gift taxes,” Street added.

 

All nonprofits are required to file what is called a “Return of organization exempt from income tax” – form 990 – which would show income and distribution. CSCOPE has never filed a form 990, even though it handles millions of dollars annually.

 

As Patrick told the press in his release of May 10, “It was clear to me the non-profit was set up to hide information from someone. I’m glad the board is beginning to understand they are a public entity and the people of Texas and the legislature have a right to their records.”

 

TESCCC board minutes obtained by WND show that expenses and payments have been approved by the nonprofit, yet no public record exists for these transactions.

 

According to information sent to WND through citizen public information requests, the TESCCC also did business with companies without formal contracts, and paid millions of taxpayer dollars to these companies.

 

“National Education Resources, Inc. (NER),” which turns out to be a single individual, James Jennings, who filed a DBA under his residential address, received over $6 million from the TESCCC without a formal contract, records show.

 

The documents indicate that CSCOPE did not have a contract with NER until spring 2011, when the contract was put in place and made retroactive to July 2010.

 

NER was paid an estimated $3 million from 2010-2011 and about $3 million 2011-2012, records show.

 

The TESCCC (CSCOPE nonprofit) voted against conducting an audit or background check of Jennings when his two-year contract was negotiated. When the contract termed out, CSCOPE gave Jennings another $213,000 during the summer, when teachers were not even utilizing CSCOPE.

 

CSCOPE’s original price tag was just over $4 million, but schools are required to lease the product annually, and costs by district can exceed the $1 million mark. Ector County ISD paid $1.7 million in a single year for what certified curriculum professional and WND education correspondent Mary Bowen says is a “glorified calendar.”

 

WND previously reported on a school district’s attempt to charge parents for copies of CSCOPE lessons that are the property of taxpayers.

 

Amy Zimmerman, a mother in the Collinsville Independent School District, asked to see the 7th grade CSCOPE science lessons used between September 2012 and May 2013, citing her “parental right” under state law.

 

But Zimmerman received a letter from an attorney for the district requiring the payment of $770 to see the materials.

 

CSCOPE has faced heavy criticism by parents, teachers and legislators, culminating in legislative hearings that revealed serious academic deficiencies in the areas of math, science and English, as well as what many critics believe is an agenda-driven bias in social studies content that promotes a negative view of America.

 

WND has reported on lessons claiming the Boston Tea Party was a terrorist act, and lessons requiring students to design flags for a new communist country. The latter lesson was created in October 2012.

 

Teachers also have told WND:

 

  • Lessons are not matched to grade level; a ninth-grade lesson asks students to circle capital letters in a sentence.
  • One social studies lesson teaches that capitalism is obsolete and communism is the best economic system, using a diagram that shows a man climbing a ladder towards communism.
  • A third-grade lesson defines American “equality” as “fair share.” Competing definitions that include “equality under the law” or “equal opportunity” are not discussed.
  • Muhammad is portrayed as a social justice crusader. There is no mention of his marriage to a young girl or his beheading of indigenous population groups.
  • Political parties are taught from what critics claim is a subjective and left-leaning perspective, e.g. Democrats “benefit each individual” while Republicans “favor big business.”

 

WND has also recently acquired lessons covering the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, teaching students that “medicine” and “food” are “rights,” and not a matter of personal responsibility.

 

Students who do not answer that “medicine” and “food” are “rights” have their answers marked as incorrect, sources report.

 

Other controversial lesson content includes a science lesson that instructs students to set things on fire in the middle of class and also lessons that promote anorexia and mercy death, according to Bowen.

 

CSCOPE also has come under fire for its secrecy and lack of transparency, forcing teachers and districts to sign “user agreements” – what whistleblowers say amount to “gag orders.”

 

Teachers are exposed to legal liability if they share lesson content or other class materials with the general public, and threats of termination have been reported by teachers who attempt to engage parents about controversial CSCOPE content.


Read more at 
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/threat-of-subpoena-produces-texas-curriculum-records/#s2THHLHCzJigwhWA.99

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CSCOPE: Update from Sen Patrick

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Dan Patrick Photo

CSCOPE UPDATE

May 15, 2013 

CSCOPE review legislation (SB 1406)  is on the House calendar today.  The following is a CSCOPE Update from Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick:

AS SESSION NEARS AN END, THE REVIEW OF CSCOPE BY MY OFFICE, THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, AND THE SBOE, IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING.

The following is rather long, but it will bring you up to date on the very latest regarding CSCOPE, a recap of the last 5 months, and where we are going next regarding this program.

Once again I want to thank the courageous teachers and vigilant parents who alerted me last fall as to the problems with a program few were aware of, CSCOPE. It didn’t take long for me to see their were serious problems with this program. I promised the parents and teachers that I would make this a priority in session.

In January, to the surprise of almost everyone, my first major hearing on education policy was on this relatively unknown program called CSCOPE. Today everyone is aware of CSCOPE.

In April I passed out SB 1406, 31-0, which places CSCOPE under permanent review of the SBOE. My Joint author is Senator Donna Campbell. She has been on point concerning CSCOPE since day one. We have made a good team.

Today, May 15th, 2013, the Texas House is expected to take up and pass SB 1406 by sponsor Rep. Steve Toth.

We continue to work with Attorney General Greg Abbott looking into the business practices and policies of CSCOPE. Last week he issued a letter to the TSCCC instructing them to inform all of their client school districts of the following:

May 6th, 2013

Excerpts from the General Abbott Letter:

Section 26.006 (a) of the Texas Education Code provides that parents are “entitled” to review all teaching materials, instructional materials, and other teaching aids used in the classroom of the parent’s child. The Education Code also provides that school districts “shall make teaching materials and tests readily available for review by parents.” A student’s parent is entitled to request that the school district…allow the student to take home any instructional materials used by the student.”

Notwithstanding the fact that Texas law clearly requires school districts to make educational materials accessible to parents, it is our understanding that school districts have recently attempted to charge hundreds of dollars for information related to CSCOPE-related information. Such a fee is not authorized by the Education Code.

In light of these concerns, we request that the TESCCC promptly notify school districts that information related to CSCOPE must be provided to parents in accordance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code, which does not authorize the imposition of a fee. It is imperative that the TESCCC distribute the notification requested herein immediately so that parents are assured access to CSCOPE related information before the end of the school year.

Finally, be advised that failure to comply with the Education Code’s disclosure requirements could result in legal action against school districts.

Sincerely,
Greg Abbott
Attorney General of Texas

End of letter ————-

Once again this is a victory for the parents, concerned citizens, and teachers who continue to send us information weekly concerning CSCOPE. I had passed on the information to the General that some parents were charged hundreds of dollars by districts for copies of the lesson plans. One district wanted to charge a parent over $700. They also said the district would have to check with the TESCCC first to be sure they could even send the material. This district not only wasn’t aware that the TESCCC had already released districts to share information with parents, which they should have done from the beginning, but the district was also potentially violating the law.

Two days later:
May 8th, 2013

excerpts from the TESCCC response:

The TESCCC sent the General a letter saying they had contacted all of their school districts encouraging their districts to be in compliance with Texas law.

They go on to say that their website went live on April 8th, 2013 with CSCOPE lesson plans and as of now 73% of all plans are on line and more are added each day.

They went on to say that in their January Advisory, after our first hearing I believe, they clarified that all parents may view CSCOPE content. They added that this practice had always been the intent, but had been misinterpreted by some individuals.

End of letter —————————

A recap of the last 5 months: 

The TESCCC originally testified in our first January hearing that all was well with CSCOPE. Parents had access to the lessons through a portal, teachers had freedom to teach as they pleased, and everyone was happy with this wonderful program.

It turned out they either had no idea of what they were doing, what was in their contracts or lesson plans, or did know and were less than candid in their testimony.

They then testified the same day that they weren’t sure of what was in the teacher contracts, weren’t sure what was in various lesson plans, weren’t aware that parents had problems with access, couldn’t explain why they formed their shell company, said their meetings were open, but then admitted they weren’t, and in general couldn’t answer most questions with a clear direct answer on anything.

If it seems I’m being tough on CSCOPE, I am. They are the ones who decided to take over the content of lesson plans and instructional materials in almost every district in Texas. Minutes from their meetings reflect they had plans to go nationwide with their program. In one board meeting one directors asked if they were in it for the money or for the education of students.

This is serious business. Parents take it seriously, teachers take it seriously, and I and other legislators take it seriously. The Attorney General takes it seriously. The future of our children and the future of our state are at stake. We can’t allow any group, for profit, non-profit, public, or private to takeover our curriculum without oversight by the state and most importantly by parents who have a right to know what their students are being taught.

Since January I have demanded changes in their program and got them to agree in a signed letter that they would do the following:

1.Work with the SBOE and turn over their entire lesson plan package to them for review until we could hopefully pass legislation later in the session.
2.Agreed to close down their shell company.
3.Agreed to make lesson plan available to parents
4.Agreed to change their teacher contracts removing criminal penalties to teachers who shared CSCOPE content
5.Agreed to support SB 1406. This is the bill I filed with Senator Campbell that will permanently put CSCOPE under SBOE review
6. The TESCCC and each region sent nearly 5000 financial documents to our office. I had sent a letter a few days prior that said I would ask our committee to take the unusual step of issuing a subpoena for the records if they did not comply
7. Agreed to follow General Abbott’s instructions on the law after receiving his letter.

What has been most frustrating for me and others is that it seems they seldom take any proactive steps unless asked or required to do so. The same management team that over-saw a program that was dysfunctional is still in charge as far as I know. That is troubling to me as it is clear the program has been clearly mis-managed, or not managed at all.

With session coming to an end in a few weeks they need to understand that I will still be on the job as will the Attorney General.

There are some good people with CSCOPE, who were truly unaware of the problems with the program and want to try to fix it if possible. I appreciate their help, but unless the management team changes I’m not sure there will be any long term changes. I’m still not convinced some people in charge of TESCCC think there were or are any real problems.

If I had the votes to end the lesson plan program now I would for the sake of all concerned, especially the students. I do not have those votes yet.

My recommendation to the TESCCC Board is to get out of the lesson plan business and go back to the original design of a management system for teaching the TEKS. All eyes will be on the results of the lesson plan review by the SBOE over the summer and our audit of the financial records.

For additional updates on CSCOPE and the session please go to   www.facebook.com/dan.patrick.texas      and like the page so you get my daily updates.

Senator Dan Patrick
Chairman of Senate Education

 

Read more: http://americansforprosperity.org/texas/legislativealerts/cscope-update-2/#ixzz2TZt5mtml

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CSCOPE: Rub a Dub Dub There’s Two in the Tub

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two

 

I have highlighted this lesson in an earlier blog titled Mom & Dad, My Global Footprint is too Large.  Looking further into this crazy environmental quiz you find where they demonize the parents for decisions they have made (large house, swimming pools, more children, etc) Shocking is the fact that they  suggest High School students share baths in order to lower their global footprint. Who are they suggesting these kids share a bath with? Do you feel comfortable sharing baths with your family members? I think I will stick with the poor score of having a higher environmental footprint.

rubdub

I also want you to notice that this lesson was uploaded into CSCOPE’S online portal on April 15th, less than a month ago. You would think that they would lay low with their controversial material due to public outrage that has taken place across the state of Texas.

dubdate

 

CSCOPES’ interpretation of your child’s Environmental Footprint SCORE. We may need more planets.

earthdub

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Texas Education Service Centers Threatened With Subpoena

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subpoena

The Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative, (TESCCC) who owns CSCOPE were asked months ago to turn over their financials and have failed to do so until yesterday, May 10th. And I personally question what was turned over after taking this long and dragging their feet in being transparent.  They have hidden the whole CSCOPE fiasco from the public by having teachers sign non disclosure statements, not disclosing the lesson content or financials when requested. Transparency is not this group’s forte. What are they hiding? Is is shocking to say the TESCCC board of directors, which are the directors of the Texas Education Service Centers are the  men and women who have a great influence over our Texas School system, either directly or indirectly? Senator Dan Patrick had enough of their lollygagging and threatened them with a subpoena. Read the following ……

 

Senator Patrick posted the following post on his Face Book page
Friday May 10th.

patrick

patrick1

Monday May 6th Senator Patrick addressed the following letter to TESCCC’s chairman of the board, Anne Poplin. (Note: there is an error in the following on the date. It should of stated May 10, 2013. ) I think they got the HINT though!

POPLIN

Senator Patrick’s Press Release as of Friday, May 10th. Please contact Sen. Patrick and tell him thank you for staying on top of this. Our children deserve better. 

ANNE POPLIN

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Texas Attorney General Sends Letter to TESCCC on CSCOPE Materials

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Attorney General Abbott Sends Letter to TESCCC Regarding Disclosure of CSCOPE Materials

 

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sent the following letter to the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) regarding allegations that Texas parents are being denied access to CSCOPE curriculum and materials.

 

Text of letter:

May 6, 2013

Ms. Anne Poplin
Chair, Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) Governing Board
301 Loop 11
Wichita Falls, Texas 76306

Dear Ms. Poplin:

It has come to our attention that school districts may be denying Texas parents access to CSCOPE curriculum and materials in violation of the Texas Education Code. Specifically, it has been alleged that school districts are improperly attempting to charge parents hundreds of dollars in order to access CSCOPE-related information that must be provided to them under Texas law.

As you know, Section 26.006(a) of the Texas Education Code provides that parents are “entitled to review all teaching materials, instructional materials, and other teaching aids used in the classroom of the parent’s child.” The Education Code also provides that school districts “shall make teaching materials and tests readily available for review by parents.” Further, Texas law specifically states that “A student’s parent is entitled to request that the school district…allow the student to take home any instructional materials used by the student.”

Notwithstanding the fact that Texas law clearly requires school districts to make educational materials accessible to parents, it is our understanding that school districts have recently attempted to charge hundreds of dollars for information related to the CSCOPE curriculum. To the extent parents are being charged a fee in order to access CSCOPE-related information, such a fee is not authorized by the Education Code.

In light of these concerns, we request that the TESCCC promptly notify school districts that information related to CSCOPE must be provided to parents in accordance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code, which does not authorize the imposition of a fee. With summer fast approaching, it is imperative that the TESCCC distribute the notification requested herein immediately so that parents are assured access to CSCOPE-related information before the end of the school year. Finally, be advised that failure to comply with the Education Code’s disclosure requirements could result in legal action against school districts.

Sincerely,

Greg Abbott
Attorney General of Texas

cc: The Honorable Dan Patrick
Chairman, Texas Senate Committee on Education

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CSCOPE Was Not Needed!! Where is the Money?

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money tree

The Texas 81st legislative session gave TEA & Texas Education Service Centers (ESC’S) millions through Rider 42 to  development Professional Development Academies (PDA’S)  at no cost for teachers, to prepare them for the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).  At the same time the ESC directors developed their non profit, Texas Education Service Centers Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), who then developed CSCOPE. Why? TESCCC has been leasing CSCOPE to school districts on a yearly basis.  They then turned around and started charging teachers or districts for additional training in using CSCOPE.  The ESC did not stop there…. oh no…… they then began holding huge Conferences in the summer on the taxpayers dime as well,  for educators. Talk about sucking as much as you can out of taxpayers… this is so Ridiculous.

While we are uncovering this the ESC directors are testifying in front of the Senate Education Committee and to any audience who cares to hear their lies that “teachers were begging for CSCOPE. It was developed by teachers for teachers”. If they would have used the millions given to them and advertised the “Professional Development Academies” for teachers to utilize, teachers would have had all they needed to prepare them for the new TEKS. Instead they were busy creating their new business TESCCC. For what?

I have emailed most of the directors of the ESC’s asking them why CSCOPE was needed when they were given money for the “Professional Development Academies” they have yet to respond.

I have one question.. Where is the Money?

 

Rider 42

rider 42 jpg

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