Please share resolutions with your legislators and pastors, and

ask pastors to send to the Governor, State Bd Member, and legislators with their personal note.

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2014/11/alabama_baptists_call_for_repe.html 

The Rev. John Killian, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, presided over the annual meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The Alabama Baptist Convention voted today to call on the governor, the state board of education and the Alabama Legislature to repeal Common Core.

The convention, a gathering of Southern Baptists from across the state, voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution, "On Parental Authority Through Local and State Control of Education," that calls on the state to "repeal Common Core and accompanying assessments and replace them with sound, proven practices of educating and testing through local and state control of what is taught and how it is taught for the betterment of all children in the great state of Alabama."

The resolution passed with no debate or discussion. The state Baptist convention opened on Tuesday at Lakeside Baptist Church and concludes Wednesday.

The Alabama State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards in 2010.

The Common Core State Standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governor's Association and are intended to improve college and career readiness of high school graduates in the United States.

Adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia, they're essentially a list of what concepts and topics students should grasp in each grade. 

The standards are also intended to provide portability between states, ensuring students who move to a new state -- particularly military students -- are not ahead or behind their counterparts.

Republicans have criticized the standards as a federal intrusion in state education since the Obama administration announced in 2009 that states seeking federal Race to the Top grants would be scored in part on whether they adopted the Common Core.

The other resolutions passed by the Alabama Baptists on Tuesday were as follows with a brief summary:

"On Concerns Related to Illegal Immigration" (Resolution No. 5): "affirm the biblical call for Christians to show hospitality, Christian love, and care for immigrants and aliens that are here in our presence."

"On Science Curriculum in Alabama Public Schools and Universities" (Resolution No. 3): "...we advocate that public school subjects (such as origins science) that touch on religion be either presented objectively so that the effect is religiously neutral or omitted from the curriculum...."

"On Pay Day Loans in Alabama" Resolution No. 2: "...we encourage Alabama legislators to pass a bill capping payday and title loan interest rates at 36 percent annually..."

"On Orphan Care" Resolution No. 1: "...we encourage Alabama Baptist pastors and church leaders to preach and teach on God's concern for orphans and on the biblical mandate to care for needy children ...."

"Commendation for CVS Health" Resolution No. 13: "...commend CVS Health and other businesses that may make similar decisions to no longer sell tobacco products..."