Indiana Legislator Proposes Pulling Out Of Common Core

The Bloomington (IN) Herald-Times (1/16, Price) reports that Indiana state Sen. Scott Schneider (R) has introduced legislation "to pull Indiana schools off the national education standards that he said are a 'step backward for Indiana,'" saying that the state's standards "are 'far superior' than Common Core. He said adoption of the Common Core standards has resulted in a loss of local input from parents, teachers and administrators." His bill "would shift the state away from Common Core."

 

The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal (1/15) reports that Schneider "is pushing fellow legislators to eliminate the Common Core standards," and "spoke Tuesday about his proposal to withdraw the state from the standards, which are now used by 45 other states. Schneider has assembled a team that will testify in favor of his bill today when it is introduced . Bill Evers, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said the Common Core causes teachers to implement unorthodox education measures that hurt a child's education." The piece notes that past legislation from Schneider failed last summer.

 

Indiana's New Education Chief Calls For Common Core Review.The Indianapolis Star (1/17, Elliott) reports that incoming Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz "wants state legislators to back off a plan to change education standards and let her lead a yearlong review instead. Appearing before the Indiana Senate's education committee Wednesday, Glenda Ritz stopped short of asking lawmakers to defeat a bill that would withdraw Indiana from the Common Core, a set of education standards that 45 states have agreed to follow." The paper portrays Indiana as "one of a handful of showdown states where a national battle is playing out over the Common Core, which faces a growing backlash."

 

Fordham Fellow: Little Difference Between Indiana Standards, Common Core.Meanwhile, an NPR (1/16, Moxley) "StateImpact" piece explores the differences between Indiana's current standards and the Common Core Standards, noting that Kathleen Porter-Magee, a fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, says there is little difference. She is quoted saying, "In Indiana, probably more so in most states, there's more overlap than there is difference. A lot of the essential content that was outlined in the Indiana standards exists in the Common Core as well."