Whenever we address parents, grandparents, and taxpayers about the dangers posed by the federally incentivized education reforms known as Common Core, the most frequently asked question is “What can we do to stop it?”

Until now, there has been very little that an individual could do that would impact the monstrosity of Common Core education reform, but now we have a good chance to “pull the pin” on the Common Core. The tests, called assessments in the vernacular of reform, have always been the lynchpin of the whole apparatus. It is through the assessments that the standards are enforced, much of the data is collected, and comprises the greatest percentage of the evaluations of teachers and principals. Without the assessments, the reforms are significantly weakened.

In February of this year, the very day that the South Dakota House of Representatives refused to debate the topic of Common Core on the House floor, Missouri Governor Nixon and other state officials and departments were successfully sued by two plaintiffs over their state’s membership in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), a multi-state testing group. At issue is the expenditure of taxpayer funds for annual fees to belong to the consortium and for purchasing the Common Core aligned computer adaptive tests agreed to in the Missouri Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SBAC.
The judgment held that the State of Missouri cannot have a binding contract with an entity whose existence and operation is illegal under Missouri law as well as in violation of the Compact Clause of the US Constitution, because Congress has never approved of the consortium.

South Dakota is in a rare position to file the same challenge that was successful in Missouri. According to the details in the South Dakota Memorandum of Understanding with the SBAC, South Dakota’s involvement with the SBAC is even deeper than Missouri’s. We have agreed to administer every test offered by SBAC in every grade, K-12. The fact that South Dakota has become a Governing member of the SBAC makes our case even stronger. North and South Dakota are among the states with the most favorable taxpayer standing laws in the country, and our state has the additional advantage of a one-tier appeals process.

The law firm that successfully argued the Missouri case is working with South Dakota and with other states to mount a legal challenge to the testing. North Dakota already filed their challenge last Thursday, June 18, 2015, and there is a powerful movement to bring a similar challenge in the state of California.

The good news for our state is that a South Dakota attorney is talking with Mr. John Sauer, of the law firm Clark & Sauer, LLC in St. Louis in preparation to file legal action in South Dakota. Two mothers of school-aged children are poised to initiate such legal action on behalf of South Dakota’s taxpayers.
The barrier we face in South Dakota is finding adequate funding for that effort.
Here is how it breaks down:
The required retainer for South Dakota is $20,000.
The Thomas More Law Center has offered to contribute $5,000 to the South Dakota challenge, leaving a balance to be met of $15,000. Private contributions totaling $1,170 so far have further reduced the amount needed to $13,830.
While few of us are able to contribute a large sum toward this cause, there is strength in numbers.
A trust fund has been set up for South Dakota’s legal challenge to our state’s involvement with SBAC. Anyone who wants to help South Dakota bring this legal challenge may contribute any amount – no matter how small – toward the effort. Please help take down the main pillar of Common Core.

Contributions may be sent with the notation South Dakota SBAC suit
c/o Mr. John Sauer
CLARK & SAUER, LLC
7733 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 625
St. Louis, MO 63105

Facts About Common Core In South Dakota

***Tonchi Weaver*** is a conservative activist and Life and Liberty News contributor