“Play” by Annie Roi on Flickr. CC-BY.
The Midwest Unrest is here. Three states have recently been fussing about the Common Core State Standards: Indiana, Michigan (my home state), and Illinois. Strangely enough, I had more luck learning about the Michigan action from out-of-state newspaper articles than from in-state ones.
The Indianapolis Star is reporting that Indiana’s legislature — long seen one of the states most likely to change its mind about its adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) — has decided to “pause” CCSS for a year and re-evaluate in 2014. From the article:
What happens next for Common Core now that the legislature has passed a bill to “pause” its implementation?
The answer is not as clear as some observers might expect.
Whether schools are actually slowed down or stopped from moving ahead to adapt their teaching practices to the new national standards depends on several factors.
Key among them: how state Superintendent Glenda Ritz’s office interprets the instructions of the bill and whether the State Board of Education remains deeply committed to Common Core this summer after a new round of gubernatorial appointments are made…
On Monday, Gov. Mike Pence tried to clarify where he stands on Common Core, but it’s uncertain whether either camp in the debate got any closer to understanding his position.
“I don’t come at it with any preconceived notion for or against,” he said. “My only bias is that we’re going to do education the Indiana way. We’re going to set our curriculum in Indiana, for Indiana.”
A Common Core pause, as Pence described it, would allow a year of reflection and conversation for both legislators and the public about the standards, culminating in a second state board vote in 2014 to either reaffirm support for Common Core or change direction…
Pence will have a chance to replace six of 10 state board members whose terms are expiring June 30. All 10 voted in recent months to show their unanimous support for Common Core.
“We’ve got some appointments that come up in June, and we’re going to be evaluating those appointments at that time,” Pence said. “We’re going to give Common Core a fair look and a serious look.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Ohio’s legislature has voted to withdraw $10 million set aside for CCSS implementation.
The Blaze reports (and the Cincinnati Enquirer article above reiterates, as does this mention in the Washington Times) that the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill last week prohibiting any funding from going to Common Core. It’s actually traveling through House Committee and isn’t passed at the House level, but it makes no mistake about its CCSS sentiment:
“Giving our authority to control what is taught in schools to any national entity is wrong. I am glad the House is taking up the debate of whether this is appropriate,” said state Rep. Tom McMillin, Rochester Republican.
The bill also must be passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder to become law, though it’s unclear whether it will move beyond the House.
Michigan’s House Bill 4276 says (and yes, it says it in all caps AND, on the legislative site, in bolded type!):
SEC. 1278C. (1) THE STATE BOARD AND THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT IMPLEMENT THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS PROMOTED BY THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE COORDINATED BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION CENTER FOR BEST PRACTICES AND THE COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS. THE STATE BOARD SHALL TAKE THE NECESSARY ACTION TO RESCIND THE STATE BOARD’S ADOPTION OF THOSE COMMON CORE STANDARDS, WHICH OCCURRED ON JUNE 15, 2010, AND TO DISCONTINUE ANY ASSESSMENTS ALIGNED TO THOSE COMMON CORE STANDARDS.
(2) AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE STATE BOARD OR ANY OTHER STATE OFFICIAL OR AGENCY SHALL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (1).
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(3) THE STATE BOARD SHALL ENSURE THAT THE STATE BOARD MODEL CORE ACADEMIC CURRICULUM CONTENT STANDARDS UNDER SECTION 1278 AND THE SUBJECT AREA CONTENT EXPECTATIONS THAT APPLY TO THE CREDIT REQUIREMENTS OF THE MICHIGAN MERIT STANDARD UNDER SECTIONS 1278A AND 1278B ARE NOT BASED UPON THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (1).
From reading this, you would think that Michigan’s legislature didn’t voluntarily commit to this state-by-state network …
Here’s the next question: what does this unrest mean for the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards?
Hat Tip: Tech & Learning’s newsletter