OKLAHOMA CITY — A Senate panel is poised to continue the process of rescinding what have become controversial education standards known as Common Core.
The Senate Education Committee on Monday will take up a version of House Bill 3399 that repeals Common Core, said Jenni White, president of Restoring Oklahoma Public Education and a vocal critic of the standards. The bill will move on to the full Senate, if it advances from the committee.
"The bill will repeal Common Core state standards from law," she said. "It will just allow Oklahoma two years of time to create our own college- and career-ready standards without being attached to any federal or nationalized program."
The current standards remove local control from parents, she said.
White said the controversy over Common Core is in part due to it not being on the radar until right before the implementation date, which is next year. In addition, the authorization for them came from one paragraph in a 34-page bill, she said.
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Common Core standards are learning goals that outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade, according to the Common Core website. The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed, regardless of where they live.
The standards were developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers through Achieve Inc., which received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gov. Mary Fallin chairs the National Governors Association and in the past has expressed support for Common Core.
On Friday, she said she would sign new legislation if it increased classroom rigor and accountability while guaranteeing education is protected from federal interference.
"My hope is that House Bill 3399, which is soon to be heard by the Senate Education Committee, will accomplish these goals," Fallin said. "If it does so, without creating unintended consequences that would hamstring educators or invite more federal influence in education, it will have my support."
Common Core standards were adopted by 45 states, including Oklahoma in 2010, and the District of Columbia.
Opponents say the standards represent a federal intrusion into state and local education policy and will increase the amount of classroom time devoted to testing.
"Our activists are highly concerned about the potential for a federal takeover of our local schools," said Dave Weston, Oklahoma Republican Party chairman. "We certainly realize the need to set high standards."
The party has adopted a resolution opposing Common Core, he said.
"Common Core has become the magnet for all things bad or misunderstood in education reform," said Shawn Hime, Oklahoma State School Boards Association executive director. "Common Core is only a set of standards or outcomes."
The association's greatest concern is that repealing Common Core will pull the rug out from underneath teachers who have been working on them and leave them in limbo, Hime said. Schools have already spent millions of dollars on implementation, he said.
Proponents say the aim of the Common Core is to provide curriculum standards that are consistent throughout the country and ensure that all children get a more rigorous education.
But the words "Common Core" at the state Capitol are the proverbial bogeyman, with politicians who once supported them playing word games when asked if they still support Common Core. Many will merely say they support higher standards.
The State Chamber opposes repealing the Common Core standards, said Gwendolyn Caldwell, senior vice president of government affairs.
"We believe the standards are going to help kids be college or career ready when they graduate high school," she said. "Now, so many have to go through remediation at college."
She thinks the issue has become controversial due to a lack of understanding of what the standards are and what they are intended to do.
"I don't think the groups that support the standards did a very good job of explaining what they were and getting our information out before all the rhetoric started on the opposition," Caldwell said.
Lynn Stockley, Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association president, said a lot of teachers are not opposed to the Common Core standards, but some are concerned about the grade-level appropriateness of some of them. In addition, teachers are concerned about testing, she said.
"I don't think anyone feels they are standards that should be thrown out," Stockley said. "I don't think it is some government conspiracy trying to control your children's minds."
She called the fight over the issue "some of the strangest politics I have ever seen."
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Education Association was not available for comment.
Repealing Common Core will confuse educators and sends the wrong message, said Senate Minority Leader Sean Burrage, D-Claremore.
"It appears to me you have got a far-right fringe element choosing this to be the issue of the year and it has Republican lawmakers running scared," Burrage said.
The original Common Core legislation
Common Core was approved by state lawmakers in 2010. The original legislation states: "By August 1, 2010, the State Board of Education shall adopt revisions to the subject matter curriculum adopted by the State Board for English Language Arts and Mathematics as is necessary to align the curriculum with the K-12 Common Core State Standards developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative, an effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The revised curriculum shall reflect the K-12 Common Core State Standards in their entirety and may include additional standards as long as the amount of additional standards is not more than fifteen percent (15 percent) of the K-12 Common Core State Standards."
Barbara Hoberock 405-528-2465
