The Common Core – a set of K-12 national education standards – were conceived of by governors, designed by consultants, and have the support of teachers across the country. Yet Republicans are standing in the way in states like Michigan and Indiana. Michigan’s State Senate passed a budget measure preventing the Michigan Department of Education from spending any money on implementing the Common Core. Similarly, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill postponing Common Core implementation.

Many Republicans are mistakenly claiming the Common Core represents a federal takeover of education even though 75% of teachers support the Common Core. In fact, this kind of support for education policies is common among the country’s teachers. A report released today by the Center for American Progress documents the prominent teacher voice organizations –- like VIVA Teachers, Teach Plus, and Educators for Excellence –- and analyzes the wide-array of policies that influence work in the classroom around issues like the Common Core.

The report finds that teacher voice organizations have diverse memberships, operate under the premise that teacher voice is not monolithic, and are working to professionalize the teaching profession. These grassroots organizations began forming at a time when teachers decided they were no longer satisfied with the status quo and began expressing great interest in embracing new leadership opportunities.

Teachers are often depicted as standing in the way of change in the classroom. Yet the increase in organizations that involve teachers directly in policy paints a different picture. Teacher voice groups opened up a new outlet for teachers to express their views on pertinent education policy issues like the Common Core and many teachers are taking advantage of these groups. In fact, almost 2,700 Teach Plus teachers have attended events on the Common Core and another 400 attended webinars on the same topic.

While Tea Partiers are rallying together against the Common Core, it’s important to note that the politicians aren’t the ones whose work will be most affected by them. Maybe we should ask the teachers themselves about whether the standards matter and will improve education for all students. In a Center for American Progress video highlighting teachers’ views on education policy released today, Amelia Herbert of VIVA Teachers says, “I am really interested and concerned with the Common Core and its implementation because I believe that it can really level the playing field for students despite what neighborhood they are coming from.”

It’s time to start listening to teachers’ voices on the Common Core and other important education policy issues that directly impact their work.

Chelsea Straus is the Special Assistant for the Pre-K-12 Education Policy team at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

A group of four parents and school employees kicked off a hunger strike on the steps of the governor’s office on Monday to protest Philadelphia’s recent decision to close dozens of underutilized schools and lay off some 19 percent of the workforce, including “all 127 assistant principals, 646 teachers and more than 1,200 aides.” The protesters say they will fast “until the cash-strapped Philadelphia district gets enough city and state funding to hire back” the aides.

The reductions come after Gov. Tom Corbett (R) and the legislature slashed the K-12 education budget by 12 percent, or $961 million. The district is currently operating under a $304 million budget deficit and the superintendent is asking teachers to accept salary cuts of between 5 and 13 percent.

“I care about my daughter and grandson,” hunger striker and parent Earlene Bly in a statement first reported by MSNBC. “I am making this sacrifice to make sure they have safe schools. I am fasting to show my family and the city how serious this situation is.” The union Unite Here Local 634, which represents school food aides in Philadelphia, is coordinating with the hunger strikers.

Parents and school officials fear that low-income, special needs and bilingual students who rely heavily on school counsels will suffer most from the cuts. The Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in October alleging that the schools closed by the district in 2012 also had “a higher population of minority students than the district average.”

Philadelphia has experienced a decrease in public school enrollment in recent years, as students are increasingly attending private charter schools. In the 2011-2012 school year, “the proportion of students attending charter schools jumped to 23 percent,” up from from 12 percent in 2004-2005.

The Kansas State Board of Education voted Tuesday to adopt a multi-state science curriculum that gives new emphasis to evolution and climate change science in K-12. Developed by 26 states over the past two years, the Next Generation Science Standards include teaching climate change science to children as young as middle school. Kansas, Rhode Island, and Kentucky have already approved them.

Creationists have cried foul, and one state representative distrusts education standards as a whole because he viewed them as a form of federal overreach. At a school board meeting that discussed Common Core reading and math and Next Generation Science Standards, state Rep. Allan Rothlisberg compared these education benchmarks to the IRS, which is under scrutiny for targeting Tea Party groups.

“We’ve seen in the news lately, obviously with the IRS spying on us,” Rothlisberg told the Lawrence Journal-World. “Why on Earth would we expect the (U.S.) Department of Education — which is not constitutionally authorized — to look out for our children? That’s our responsibility.” Rothlisberg serves on the House Education Budget committee.

While the board approved the standards by a firm majority, 8-2, Kansas lawmakers have worked to move science backward in the state. Even though Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution says the state board has authority over public education, the Kansas Senate passed a bill last month to block funding for both Common Core standards and Next Generation Science Standards, which ended in a narrow defeat in the House. If it had passed, it would have resulted in a lengthy lawsuit to determine which branch had authority. This spring, the Kansas House Education Committee also introduced a bill that eventually died in committee mandating that teachers question the scientific basis of global warming in the classroom.

More states are moving ahead with approval, even as elected climate deniers and creationists threaten they may respond with anti-science legislation.

The Department of Education just released figures showing exactly how each state would benefit from enacting President Obama’s proposed preschool for all initiative. In total, about 338,000 children would be served in the first year of the program.

The states with the most children who would be impacted by the program are California, with 40,857, Texas, with 37,644, and Florida, with 20,242.

The proposal calls for an investment of $75 billion over the next decade, and states would have to match 10 percent of the money they receive in the first year. The states stand to see anywhere from $2,600,000 in federal dollars in North Dakota to $334,300,000 in California. The new report includes a map with fact sheets for spending in each state.

Some states are already moving ahead with plans to expand access to preschool, but overall the trend is going in the opposite direction: funding for preschool programs saw the largest drop ever last year, with states now spending the lowest amount per child in a decade.

Yet the economic benefits of investing in preschool are backed up by a wide body of research. Despite that evidence, the United States lags far behind its developed peers in how much it spends on early childhood education.

Wednesday is a National Day of Action for Early Learning. Parents, policymakers, and concerned citizens around the country are coming together to voice their support for early childhood education and demand that Congress and the president act now. Every year that we wait to act, a new cohort of children lose out on the benefits of early education. Here are some reasons to get behind universal preschool that may surprise you:

1. Preschool can help combat crime, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates. When children have the benefit of a high-quality early childhood education, they make cognitive and social gains that prepare them to start school. These foundational skills allow them to build on their learning and knowledge through school and into adulthood. As a result, a child without an early childhood education is 25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 40 percent more likely to become a teenage parent, and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

2. Early childhood education has a better return on investment than the stock market. Some policymakers worry about the upfront cost of early childhood education. However, studies show that early childhood education is one of the best investments we can make—and that includes investments in the financial market. The estimated return on investment for high quality early childhood education is ten percent. In comparison, the average return on investment in the stock market is 7.2 percent.

Why does early childhood education pay off so well? Children who participate need fewer services over the course of their lifetime. The benefits show up almost right away, with reduced need for special education and grade retention, which costs taxpayers an estimated $7,500 per child. Over time, we reap benefits when these children become adults and need fewer public benefits and are less likely to be incarcerated.

3. The U.S. lags behind almost every other country when it comes to preschool, including Mexico, Chile, and Russia. When it comes to access to high-quality preschool, the U.S. is getting beat by virtually every other developed country, including Mexico, Chile, Russia, and New Zealand. Each of these countries—and most of Western Europe and Scandinavia—enroll a greater proportion of four year olds in preschool and invest more in early childhood education relative to the size of their economies. If the U.S. wants to compete in a global market and continue its role as an economic and military superpower, we must keep up with other countries when it comes to early childhood education.

4. Early childhood education is a bipartisan issue. Politicians from both sides of the aisle recognize that when we invest in early childhood education, we improve the lives of children and families and save money for generations to come. That’s why 27 governors mentioned early childhood education in their state of the state addresses and 14 were Republicans. Governors from Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, to name a few, all advocated for expanded access to preschool.

One reason why both liberals and conservatives support early childhood education is that it’s necessary to ensure our country’s economic health and military readiness. In fact, business and military leaders have called on the president and Congress to fund early childhood education.

5. Preschool can save families thousands of dollars in child care costs each year. Early childhood education is an expense that few families can afford. The estimated cost of sending a four year old to a center-based child care ranges from $4,000 per year in Mississippi to $12,000 per year in Massachusetts. For families living below the poverty level with children under five, child care costs constitute 36 percent of a family’s budget each month. In most regions of the country, the cost of child care exceeds every other household expense, including housing, transportation, food, and health care. Few families have access to subsidies to help alleviate the cost of child care; just one in five eligible families receives those benefits.

And while child care is expensive, the quality varies considerably. In many cases, parents are paying for child care that is mediocre at best. In state preschools programs, the states dictate quality standards, such as ensuring that programs are taught by certified teachers with a college degree and mandating a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Thus, children are much more likely to be in high quality settings that are preparing them for school.

Katie Hamm is the Director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) 2013 budget request for an additional $65 million in spending on preschool, a 60 percent increase over the current funding level, is set to be signed into law soon, the Detroit Free Press reports. The money will help pay for the full cost of preschool for low-income families who make up to 250 percent of the poverty line. The new funding will mean as many as 16,000 more four year olds will be able to attend preschool next year.

Snyder is also expected to ask for another $65 million in his 2014 budget, which would bring the number of four year olds enrolled in preschool from the current 32,000 to 66,000 in two years.

At a conference of business and political leaders, the Republican said he was “really proud” of the agreement to increase spending on early childhood education. “Over the next two years we’re going to get rid of the waiting list for kids in the state of Michigan to say they can have preschool now,” he said.

Unlike two other budget proposals to expand Medicaid and raise taxes and fees for road maintenance, the preschool proposal had broad support from bipartisan political leaders and the business community.

The American business community has been vocal in its support of increased preschool enrollment in the country. Three hundred business leaders and organizations, including representatives from Proctor & Gamble, Citibank, Delta, IBM, and McKinsey, sent an open letter last month to President Obama and members of Congress urging them to take action on Obama’s proposal to expand preschool. They cited the increase in a skilled workforce and economic output that comes from investing in preschool.

The benefits of preschool to children and society have been supported by a body of research, the latest of which finds that it boosts children’s IQ and education levels, reduces inequality, increases the college completion rate, lifts people out of poverty, and could mean an extra $113 in income per year for all Americans. Other studies have found that universal programs lead to increases in human capital and GDP and that every dollar spent on early childhood education generates about $7 in savings.