State Senator William Ligon has been a champion in the fight against Common Core and related false education reforms in Georgia. So, it should be no surprise that he would stand up against the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)--the proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), currently authorized as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal bill would entrench the Common Core standards and other troubling initiatives nationwide.

In a four-page letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, shortly before the House vote on ESEA/ESSA, Ligon blasted the proposed federal legislation, laying out clear, factually based concerns that seriously undermine the talking points being used to encourage yes votes. Ligon has since given his permission to use the letter as a tool in reaching other state and federal legislators, as well as the public, about this bill. The goal is to at least slow the impending vote in the Senate.

Indeed, Resounding Books is still urging citizens to reach out to state legislators regarding ESEA/ESSA. It is those legislators' constituencies that will be affected by the policies the Feds are about to pass. State legislative assistance thus becomes incredibly important in helping federal-level senators to see past the haze of dreamy but incredibly misleading talking points being used to push ESEA/ESSA, so that they can understand the truth about the legislation on which they're about to vote. 

Admittedly, because Senator Ligon's letter comes from a Republican, presented as-is, it will likely be most effective in reaching other Republicans. But much of what Ligon shares could be provided in a different format for use in reaching state and federal Democrats. We encourage you to leverage the inforamtion Senator Ligon has graciously provided, in either case.

We would also encourage you to be tweeting Senator Ligon's letter straight at state and federal legislators or posting it on their Facebook pages, where possible. The more people from whom these officials are seeing this information, the better. To that end, we've created a handy, customized link that you can use to make it easier to see why someone should click on it: 

http://bit.ly/GA-State-Senator-on-ESSA

Twitter Action Page

PJNet has also been working with Dr. Karen Effrem to establish a Twitter action page that will help you reach out to federal Senators, much like they one they provided for House members. The tweets are pre-loaded but can be modified. So, if there are tweets you don't feel comfortable sending, you can compose something of your own instead. Certainly, the link to Senator Ligon's letter can be inserted if you wish.

How Much Time Do We Have?

Not much! That's why it's still imperative that we make every second count. 

We are now told that vote may take place Tuesday, Dec. 8th. HOWEVER, the information we've had up till now has indicated Monday, Dec. 7th. Better not to sit back.

Don't forget that the other informational tools we've shared are still available in our past posts. See our Dec. 1st post, in particular, to access some really valuable information you can use. Look both in the body of the post and the updates at the end! Also, scroll through the recent posts on our Facebook page to leverage some great #StopEsea videos, articles, and other items that may be useful in communicating on this issue. We've done our best to provide a treasure trove there. And more is coming.

Resounding Books will be tweeting much of the day tomorrow and right up to the vote. We look forward to keeping you updated and doing good work with you to #StopESEA in the Senate.