Today, six of the Republican candidates for president met in New Hampshire for an in depth discussion of K-12 education policy. Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, and Scott Walker each took the stage to talk in depth about their views on the government’s role in education.

FreedomWorks was on hand to present our Activist of the Year Award while at the Utah G.O.P. Convention in Sandy, Utah August 15.

Clinging to the hope that a model for a universal preschool program could run effectively, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created a project known as Head Start CARES in order to put this concept to the test. The purpose of this initiative was to put to the test three "evidence-based" ways of helping children in lower income communities develop a love of learning, which would eventually grow their academic prowess and help create a rise in the number of high school graduates in impoverished communities throughout the country. Sadly, Head Start has proved to be a failure to launch. According to Heritage Foundation research fellow David Muhlhausen, PH.D. "Experimental evaluations released in 2014 and 2015 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that enhanced Head Start CARES demonstration programs had little to no effect."

During the first round of the 2016 GOP presidential debates, Jeb Bush was pressured by the moderators to explain his history of pushing for Common Core implementation across the country. In his statement, Bush said:

A recent study shows a huge push in the number of homeschooled children in the state of Florida, showing a record high number of 7,000 plus homeschoolers added in the past ten years. This hefty increase was due in part to the rising number of online learning resources that allow students at home more opportunities and ease thanks simply to access to the internet at home. Home Education Resources and Information Chairperson Karen Harmon stated recently she believes the change has occurred due to several factors:

From coast to coast, states throughout the country are trying to find any way possible to escape the widespread mess of Common Core. Recently, a large number of Long Island schools were at the center of attention when they reported having the highest number of Common Core opt-outs in the nation. Due to the immense number of students who refused to take place in the intrusive and cumbersome standardized tests, two schools in Long Island risk losing their prized national "Blue Ribbon" award for academic excellence nominations.

A local school principal's recent suicide has rocked her Harlem community to the core, shockingly though, the suicide was not the only incident found to be a part of an even larger scandal regarding recent standardized testing. According to the New York Post:

Senate Republicans and GOP presidential contenders Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky jumped in on a congressional effort to strike against Common Core by advocating on behalf of a recent House bill that would increase the opportunity for students to opt-out of Common Core based PARCC testing which has been a force of frustration and unwarranted obstacles to both parents, students, and teachers alike; while additionally criticizing a version of the Senate education bill which did not go far enough.

On July 6th, fifty-eight prominent grassroots leaders from Wisconsin published an open letter to current governor and possible 2016 contender, Gov. Scott Walker. The purpose of the letter was to show the growing discontent for the failed program Common Core, and that they want "no more games" in regards to the standards that have frustrated many parents and teachers throughout the country.