Gov. Mary Fallin continued Friday to talk about setting academic standards, even as the Legislature appeared poised to dismantle Common Core, the national initiative Oklahoma and most other states joined in an attempt to do just that.
"I believe it's important that we have academic rigor that we raise our standards and have accountability in our school system," Fallin told the Tulsa Republican Club during a noon speech at the Summit Club.
The governor spoke just hours before the Oklahoma Senate's Education Committee filed its version of House Bill 3399, which would repeal the Common Core statutes passed four years ago and replace them with a homegrown alternative.
The Senate version retains the basic thrust of the bill passed a little over a week ago by the House, with additional language re-emphasizing that decisions about curriculum, textbooks and learning materials would be left to local school boards.
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Proponents of Common Core say it is simply a list of things children should know at each grade level, but skeptics fear that it is a federal or corporate takeover of public schools.
"I have heard some people say," Fallin said, "and certainly that is something that concerns us, is (they don't want) Washington, D.C., coming into Oklahoma to tell us we have to do this or do that, that we're for local control and we believe in our parents and teachers and educators; the people in our communities know what's best for our state and our citizens. I want you to know I've heard those concerns.
"But we also have to make sure we have high academic standards. The fact of the matter is, Oklahoma school children are falling behind when it comes to reading and math and other important subjects."
Fallin raised the issue during her speech and had no questions on the subject during a brief question-and-answer session afterward.
She was, however, cornered by local activist Ronda Vuillmont-Smith, who asked for and received Fallin's assurance that she would support a substitute for Common Core.
A committee vote on the Senate's version of HB 3399 is expected Monday.
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
