from Living in Dialogue
By Anthony Cody
... The Gates Foundation sponsored the Common Core in order to work around laws that prevented the federal Department of Education from enacting national standards. Massachusetts has long led the nation in student achievement, so it was a challenge to convince policy makers there to jettison the state’s standards in favor of the Common Core.
There is currently an effort under way to place an initiative on the state ballot which would reverse the state’s embrace of the Common Core. But individuals associated with the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) have filed a lawsuit to block the initiative from being voted upon. The MBAE last year received a $375,000 grant for general operating expenses from the Gates Foundation – on top of $250,000 it received in 2013, and $151,431 in 2010. The New Boston Post reports:
End Common Core Massachusetts, the citizens group behind the ballot question, earlier this year garnered enough signatures to advance the measure. But on Jan. 22, ten plaintiffs sued to stop the question from reaching the voters. Plaintiffs include William Walczak who is a director of the [Massachusetts Business] Alliance, and Jack Dill, who is on its advisory council.