CRAIGforCONGRESS

Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives

  
 

 

 

Congressional Issues 2010
MISSOURI FARM BUREAU
Education



Missouri Farm Bureau

Kevin Craig - "Liberty Under God"

Agricultural Education  
Few courses of study and related extracurricular activities do as much for leadership training and personal development as vocational agriculture. Therefore, we favor and urge continued emphasis on agricultural education in Missouri. Education should not be a federal issue, and the MoFB rightly calls for the abolition of the federal Department of Education. But we must go way beyond this. We must achieve the "separation of school and state."
We support "10 x 15: The Long-Range Goal for Agricultural Education" to help create new programs in communities not yet served by agricultural education and FFA and ensure the quality and high performance of current programs providing personal, academic and career education in agriculture. We support an increase in federal funding to advance the initiative. The federal government (most importantly, the judiciary) has completely altered the character of American Education, and by so doing has altered the character of the nation itself, including "the rural culture of America." When voluntary prayer and Bible reading were taken out of public schools in the early 1960's, one of the Supreme Court Justices admitted that this was contrary to the intent of America's Founders:
Religion was once deemed to be a function of the public school systemThe Northwest Ordinance, which antedated the First Amendment, provided in Article III that 
Religion, morality, and knowledge 
being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, 
schools
and the means of education shall forever be encouraged
.

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962)

The most important function of schools should therefore be the teaching of religion and morality. And this was in fact their function for the first 340 years of American history (1620-1960).

Early Education and Child Care

Higher Education

Education

We encourage students to enter agricultural education with an emphasis on classroom education. We also support financial aid and incentives for students and agricultural education graduates that commit to teaching in the area of agricultural education from rural to urban areas of Missouri.
Currently, many high school students can not meet college entrance requirements and take agricultural education classes because college entrance requirements generally allow very few electives outside the required English, Math, Science and Social Studies courses. We believe all public universities in Missouri should accept certain agricultural education courses to fulfill entrance requirements such as allowing three units of vocational agriculture to meet the requirement for two units of science.
We believe there is a need for advanced training of adult farm employees in today's farming operations. We support the institution of certificate programs through the University of Missouri, University Extension, state colleges, community colleges and area vocational schools that would meet the educational needs and provide the technical training of farm employees.
We support continued full funding by the state for adult agricultural education.
We believe that all state-funded educational institutions in Missouri should be encouraged to offer an introductory agriculture course as a component of general education requirements.
We support the ALOT (Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow) program.
We believe agriculture education programs offered in secondary educational institutions should be twelve-month programs. All teachers within these programs should be employed to teach on a twelve-month contract.  
Universities producing agriculture graduates aspiring to become teachers should be provided a solid foundation knowledge and understanding of the culture of rural America and production agriculture. The essential difference between "the culture of rural America" and the culture of urban America is "religion and morality."
Agriculture in the Classroom  
We commend the Agriculture in the Classroom program, which has developed educational materials, including online programs, on agriculture for use in the school systems and would encourage their acceptance in the curricula of all schools. Parents who want their children to be taught Agriculture should be allowed to choose schools that do so at a competitive price. They would have this option if education was a function of the Free Market, like shopping for groceries.
We favor increasing the annual federal appropriations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Agriculture in the Classroom" program . This is in conflict with the MoFB's call for the abolition of the Federal Department of Education
Career and Technical Education  
We support career and technical education and believe student organizations such as FFA and FCCLA should remain an “intra-curricular” element of programs. We oppose proposed changes that would undermine the importance of student organizations as an integral part of career and technical education.  
Credit Transferability  
We support the development of a standardized system for the equal transfer of credits such as math, science, English, etc., within all accredited universities, colleges and community colleges in Missouri. Most of what follows should not be federal issues.
Driver Education  
We believe driver education should be made available to all Missouri high school students.  
Economic Education  
We favor basic instruction in economic principles for teachers and students in our public schools.  
Federal Department of Education  
We believe that decisions affecting education, including the distribution of tax revenue, should be made at the state and local level. Therefore, we support the dissolution of the Federal Department of Education. When our current Congressman was elected in 1996, the Republican Party National Platform made the following promise:

As a first step in reforming government, we support elimination of the Departments of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Energy, and the elimination, defunding or privatization of agencies which are obsolete, redundant, of limited value, or too regional in focus. Examples of agencies we seek to defund or to privatize are the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Legal Services Corporation.

Republicans had control of Congress from 1995 to 2006, and the White House from 2000-2008 -- all three branches from 2000-2006 -- yet the Department of Education has not only not been abolished, but its budget is now nearly triple what it was under Bill Clinton.

Foreign Students  
We believe Missouri students should be given priority for financial assistance and admission over foreign students into tax supported institutions of higher education.  
Higher Education  
We believe that fiscal efficiency is of the utmost importance at all Missouri institutions of higher education.  
We believe that financial aid packages should keep pace with annual increases in both tuition and associated fees.  
We do not believe any academic institution should compete with agricultural producers for farmland unless:  
1. it can be proven that land already owned by the institution is not suitable;  
2. efforts were made to contract for the production with local farmers, and;  
3. the institution conducts public outreach to explain the reasons for its actions.  
We believe a greater emphasis should be placed on education in International Marketing.  
We support additional funding for research to develop new uses and markets for Missouri agricultural products.  
We believe persons desiring to bequeath land to an institution of higher education should do so without stipulation to allow for the best use of the resource.  
We do not believe admission standards should include a foreign language requirement. Certain vocational agriculture and human environmental science courses should qualify as science units.  
We do not believe that academic standards should be too reliant upon test scores and class rank. Non-academic factors such as willingness to work hard and strong leadership skills are often a better predicator of success.  
We believe the governing body of each institution of higher education in Missouri should include an active agricultural producer.  
We believe a greater emphasis should be placed on professors teaching rather than non-teaching activities.  
We believe that credits earned within a school or university should be acceptable in every academic program at the school or university.  
We support line item budgeting to provide administrators with greater control of their finances.  
We believe a strong system of public higher education is essential to our state in order to provide Missouri residents affordable and meaningful post high school educational opportunities.  
Higher Standards of Education  
In keeping with the principles of Farm Bureau philosophy, we support a strong academic education for all Missouri students. We strongly support the right and role of parental responsibility for their children's attendance and performance in public schools. We would also encourage increased parental accountability and involvement in their children's evaluation, assessment and curriculum through local boards of education.  
We recognize that students should be expected to obtain proficiency in the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history. To this end, adequate public hearings and legislative approval should be required before offering the academic standards and statewide assessment system to the local school board for approval or rejection. When religion and morality are not taught in schools, as America's Founding Fathers intended, each student is in effect taught that he is his own god. He doesn't need to submit to the authority of the teacher, because he is his own authority. Without religion and morality, America's Founders believed, students become unteachable.
We oppose changes in Missouri high school graduation credit requirements that restrict course options for students such as agriculture education and other electives.  
We do not believe it to be in the best interest of Missouri educators or Missouri students to implement an exit exam for high school graduation. We will not support any standards or assessment system to be used for punitive actions against local school districts, such as withholding of state school funds, consolidation of schools, or the removal of local school boards.  
We oppose Transformational Outcome Based Education as found in the 1993 Outstanding Schools Act.  
We stand opposed to both its philosophy and implementation in Missouri's schools, both secondary and higher educational institutions. Parents should have the same choice in education as they have in computers, cars, and groceries. The Free Market would provide better education at a lower price.
We call upon Missouri legislators to repeal the reform portion of the Outstanding Schools Act. Most of the remaining issues are local rather than federal.
KC's next: Moral Issues
Be it further resolved that we favor an educational system that is driven by academic standards that can be objectively tested. We further believe that the education of our children can best be managed on a local level.  
We believe that A+ funds should be available for students who meet the requirements and that students be allowed to use the amount of money they receive at any community college or four-year institution.  
We oppose reauthorization of the “No Child Left Behind” Act.  
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act  
We support provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow students with disabilities to be disciplined in the same way other students are disciplined provided that the student's behavior is not related to his or her disability.  
Language  
We favor English as the compulsory language in all schools. Bilingual education shall be limited to a transitional role.  
Length of School Year  
In order to be competitive in an increasingly complex world, we favor improving the quality of education within the time frame of the existing school year.  
We oppose extending the minimum school year beyond the current 174 days .  
Parents As Teachers  
We favor full funding by the state for the Parents as Teachers program.  
Pupil-Teacher Ratio  
We favor the State Department of Education encouraging local school boards to lower their pupil-teacher ratio in the elementary grades by working to increase funding in the school foundation program. We believe each school district should have the authority to establish its own ratio.  
School Boards  
We favor local control in the form of elected school boards for the management of school districts.  
We believe that convicted sex offenders should not serve on local school boards.  
School Employees  
We are opposed to strikes by school employees.  
We favor legislation that would penalize teachers or other school employees who deliberately violate the law by striking after they have signed their contracts.  
We believe all certified staff, including vocational agriculture education instructors, enrolled in the Public School Retirement System should remain exempt from Social Security.  
School Finance  
We support the concept of a minimum tax levy base in order for local school districts to receive state funds. We oppose any increase in the current minimum tax levy. We believe any school foundation formula should achieve an equitable distribution of funds for rural school districts. We strongly support full funding of the foundation formula for education.  
We continue to believe decision-making should remain at the local level as much as possible, that local school districts should be allowed more creative school financing authority, that state management and local administration expenses be kept to a minimum, and that teacher salaries and educational materials receive high priority as increased funding is made available.  
Due to the financial cuts to schools, we believe that two rural school districts in the same county with 300 students or less be allowed to share a superintendent of schools.  
We believe that student participation in a bonafide 4-H or FFA activity should be an excused absence and the school should not be penalized in the school funding formula as a result of their absence.  
We are concerned that local governing bodies, particularly school boards, refuse to roll back tax levies to comply with the state constitution.  
We believe that the state constitution has precedence over statutory laws and that failure to comply with the constitution should be grounds for removal from office.  
We believe that state funds should be made available to rural school districts for the construction of school buildings through such programs as matching grants or low or no interest loans.  
We oppose tax funded child care facilities in our public schools.  
We believe the percentage of funding for programs within the Missouri Department of Education should not be cut after a program is started .  
Student Loans  
We favor the continuation of student loan and work programs. We believe, however, there should be uniform enforcement of penalties for not repaying the loans.  
Student Records  
We believe that when a student moves to a new school, all records, including academic and discipline records, should be required to be transferred to the new school. Furthermore, we believe any current expulsions or suspensions should be honored by the receiving school. However, records should not be released until all unpaid fees are resolved.  
Summer School  
We believe summer school is a suitable alternative to retaining students who are not ready to advance to the next grade level as long as they master skills at the same level as students progressing to the same grade level.  
We believe summer school in Missouri public schools should be revised to put an emphasis on the curriculum offered during the regular school year.  
Teacher Tenure  
We recommend that teacher tenure be re-examined at all levels and that some better means be devised to remove incompetent instructors without regard to their tenure.  
Testing and Accountability  
We commend the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for implementation of the new testing and certification programs for new teachers. We favor having present holders of lifetime teaching certificates recertified every few years to be able to continue teaching.  
We favor establishing a basic knowledge test for teachers along the lines of the tests administered to eighth grade students except on a much higher level. We believe that establishing such a program would improve the performance of teachers, create a more favorable public opinion of our teachers and result in a better environment in our schools.  
We believe that college teachers, who are training teachers, should be required to take a sabbatical leave every five years and go teach that subject in a public school.  
New college teachers who are training teachers need to have previous teaching experience in public schools.  
University of Missouri  
Missouri Farm Bureau has a long history of supporting the University of Missouri, particularly the teaching, research and Extension efforts in the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (CAFNR). We believe strongly that a land-grant university is a public university dedicated to meeting the educational and research needs of the state with a strong emphasis on agriculture. We encourage University of Missouri administrators to follow carefully the basic principles of a land-grant university by providing ready access to students from the public sector, ongoing funding of programs with public funds and the continuation of a strong agricultural research and Extension effort.  
We believe CAFNR should emphasize the importance and mechanics of modern production agriculture to all students in the college, especially those who intend to pursue careers in the regulatory environment.  
We believe that funding above base levels for Agricultural Experiment Stations should be used at the discretion of their respective advisory boards.  
We support the Life Science Center and believe agriculture should be a key component of the Center's mission and research programs. We support increased university, state and federal funding for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).  
We believe Agricultural Research Stations play an important role in agricultural research. We support additional funding for competitive research grants, infrastructure and support staff.  
We support funding the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station (MoAES) Fund earmarked for agriculture research stations at $6 million annually.  

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