Much has been made by the pro Common Core people about the forty minutes that was given to both sides to present their case regarding HB 1223. I would like to share some information about that.

When we were told that this bill was scheduled for committee hearing on February 18, 2015 , we were told that each side would have 20 minutes. Knowing that 20 minutes was not a lot of time, we scheduled four people to speak for five minutes each.

The day before that hearing was to take place, on February 17, 2015, I sent the following email to all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

February 17, 2015

Dear                                   ,

I have attached a 3 minute video in which parents share what is happening with children when they are exposed to the developmentally inappropriate Common Core Standards. Please take three minutes to watch this video.

http://youtu.be/aVHrCAKGBPo

When the video is finished there is the option to watch the full documentary, “Building the Machine”. It is about 40 minutes. In forty minutes you will receive a wealth of information from experts in education about the Common Core Standards. This is information that the proponents of Common Core will not share with you. There are two sides to every story. The proponents of Common Core have been given hours to share their side of the story. Please take 45 minutes to learn the other side of the story of Common Core.

Thank-you for your service to the people of South Dakota.

Sincerely,

 Mary Scheel-Buysse

The afternoon of February 17, the same day this email was sent, at 3:30 pm, we were told that HB 1223 would be the only bill heard in committee and that both sides would receive 40 minutes. Is this a coincidence?

So when Representative Sly says that while both sides were given 40 minutes and neither side used the full forty minutes, could it be because neither side was prepared for 40 minutes?

Legislators say they want to hear from parents. Why would parents make arrangements to get off work, arrangements for their children and family come to Pierre for 20 minutes? By the time we were told 40 minutes, what citizen of South Dakota could have made all those arrangements in that time period? Parents across the state listen to the committee hearings online. I received comments from many parents regarding the make up of the committee this session. They felt there was no point is coming to Pierre for this hearing, The House Education Committee seems to have a majority of representatives who will love the Common Core and SBAC assessments no matter what.empirical evidence and documentation is presented.

Maybe the South Dakota Legislature could have done as North Dakota, who held a three hour hearing about Common Core and Montana, who held an eight hour hearing regarding the Common Core. Is South Dakota trying to hide something?