New Jersey parent Michele Thornton's 9-year old daughter, Cassidy, was recently banned from attending an end of the year party for students at her elementary school because Michele had previously opted her daughter out of New Jersey's version of Common Core testing, known as the Partnership for Assessment and Readiness for College and Careers exam (PARCC).

This past weekend, fifty-five of FreedomWorks top activist were flown out to our Washington D.C headquarters for an exclusive “Activist Boot Camp” in order to help arm them with the resources, connections, and knowledge to engage in their communities.

There’s nothing more frustrating than when state legislatures try to do the right thing, only to be stopped by the intrusive federal government, sticking its nose where it has no business being. The latest example comes from Oregon, where a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of Common Core-aligned standardized tests is set to be passed by the State Senate, only to face aggressive pushback from U.S. Department of Education.

As Scott Walker tours the country on his campaign for the presidency, he has not forsaken his state, turning in a budget that would make important reforms in education policy. It’s beyond the scope of this piece to analyze the budget in full - it contains rather more spending and borrowing than most conservatives would like - but in the area of education reform it takes some pretty important steps forward.

As the Senate prepares to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a bill which could have big implications for the American education system, state legislatures and governors have been busy tackling their own reforms to Common Core education standards. Here’s what’s been going on in several key states.

Say what you will about Republican governors, eventually they catch on. Well, most of them do, anyway (I’m looking at you, Jeb.)The latest addition to the ever-expanding number of governors turning against Common Core education standards is New Jersey’s own Chris Christie

The Buckeye state is fighting back against the intrusive federal testing mandates that come with Common Core education standards. A House version of the state’s budget contains provisions defunding and blocking the use of PARCC, the set of Common Core aligned assessments that have students in tears all over the country.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a county in West Virginia was trying to intimidate students who wanted to opt out of the standardized testing mandated under Common Core standards. Despite assurances from the State Superintendent of Education that there were no consequences to students for opting out, schools were fearing a loss of funding, and therefore overreacting to parents exercising their rights by singling out and pressuring students to comply.