Common Core a national game of Old Maid
The Common Core is playing out across the nation like a game of Old Maid, nobody wants her. Indiana is not alone in its legislative efforts to discard the Common Core Standards (CCS) and PARCC assessments which dictate what children learn in math and English for grades K-12. Thirteen states are actively working to pass legislation to disentangle their education system from this centrally controlled establishment which threatens education across the United States. Hopefully, the Indiana House of Representatives will see the CCS is a bad play and move forward with SB193 which passed the Senate and awaits a hearing in the House Education Committee, chaired by Representative Behning.
In Georgia, Sen. William Ligon (R-Brunswick) held a press conference today to discuss Senate Bill 167 to withdraw Georgia from its participation in the CCS and PARCC:
“First of all, there has been no thorough cost analysis of what the unfunded mandates will cost Georgia’s taxpayers at either the state or the local level to implement and maintain the terms of (CCS), the lack of accountability to the parents and taxpayers of this state is stunning,” said Sen. Ligon.
“Secondly, allowing a consortium of states to work with non-profits and other unaccountable parties to develop our standards without open public oversight is untenable in a country of free people, especially considering that Georgia’s taxpayers support K-12 education with $13 billion of hard-earned dollars every year,” Sen. Ligon explained. “Georgia needs to have a transparent, democratic process of developing curriculum standards and a means to ensure more direct accountability at the local level. Our educational system should not be accountable to Washington bureaucrats, but to the people of this state who pay the taxes.”
His arguments are sound and being used by other legislatures in states to remove or at least adequately vet the CCS. The map below shows which states are pursuing legislation to withdraw from the CCS. Please support legislation in your state and contact our site for more information about outreach groups in your state.
As a public school teacher I would like more information on how I can help Indiana withdraw from the CCS. Please send me information on how I can help.
At this point, we are trying to motivate the House Education Committee Chairman, Bob Behning, to give the bill a vote. It seems he is trying to kill it in committee. The bill already passed the Senate 38-11. Many of the House Ed Committee members have co-sponsored the bill and it is likely it would pass if a vote was taken. I’m not sure which district you live in, but please call the House of Representatives at 317-232-9600 and tell your rep to vote yes on SB193.