Louisiana lawmaker plans Common Core repeal bill for 2014 legislative session

By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org
BATON ROUGE, La. – It looks like Louisiana lawmakers will get another chance early next year to withdraw the Pelican State from the latest education fad, known as Common Core.

State Rep. Cameron Henry, a Republican, announced Monday “he will file legislation before the 2014 legislative session urging Gov. Bobby Jindal to halt implementation (of Common Core),” reports NOLA.com.
Henry believes the nationalized math and English learning standards – which tell schools which concepts they must teach students at each grade level – will eventually lead to the federalization of public education.
In an open letter to Jindal, Henry urged the governor to use his executive power “to withdraw Louisiana from the Common Core State Standard Initiative and PARCC testing” even before the 2014 legislative session begins.
PARCC is one of two federally funded assessment groups that are designing new Common Core-aligned standardized tests that will be given to students beginning in the 2014-15 school year.
In place of the one-size-fits-all Common Core standards, Henry reminded Jindal that “improved standards and testing can best be developed under the direction of Louisiana parents, teachers, and the Louisiana legislature.”
Jindal doesn’t seem likely to follow Henry’s advice, considering the Republican governor has been an outspoken supporter of the Common Core standards since 2010.
Henry may also have trouble convincing his fellow Republicans lawmakers.
NOLA.com reports that an earlier anti-Common Core bill “flamed out on the Senate floor after receiving condemnation from other conservative lawmakers. Support for the (Common Core) education standards was so strong … that senators chose to wipe the bill from the books completely by withdrawing it from the Legislature’s files.”
Henry is already getting flak from state Rep. Steve Carter, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Education.
Carter suggested misinformation was to blame for Henry’s fears that Common Core will give D.C. bureaucrats and lawmakers the opportunity to influence what gets taught in the nation’s K-12 schools.
“The federal government has nothing to do with (Common Core),” Carter told NOLA.com.
That’s a standard defense from Common Core advocates, but it’s not quite true.
The federal government – in the form of the U.S. Department of Education – has used No Child Left Behind waivers and Race to the Top financial grants to pressure states into adopting the nationalized learning standards.
The feds are also reviewing Common Core-aligned test questions that many students will be given in the spring of 2015.
A Jindal spokesman said the governor shares some of Henry’s concerns, but he still supports the new standards.