Blake Neff of The Daily Caller documents the latest developments in Louisiana’s consideration of Common Core-related legislation.
By vetoing a bill activists say would have entrenched Common Core, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has raised hopes he is preparing to pull the state out of the controversial standards once and for all.
The bill, HB 953, was passed two weeks ago as a compromise bill that suspended for one additional year any punitive actions associated with low performance on Louisiana’s new Common Core-aligned test, created by the multi-state consortium Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
HB953 953 irritated activists on both sides of the Common Core divide. Supporters of Common Core said the bill was an unnecessary delay in Common Core’s full rollout, but opponents were more vociferous, arguing that the bill’s approval would entrench Common Core and make it tougher to pull the state out in the future.
The veto bolsters those who hope Jindal will act unilaterally to dismantle Common Core and withdraw the state from the PARCC testing consortium by use of an executive order. Jindal had previously said he wanted to wait on the legislature to act, but proposals to junk Common Core and pull out of PARCC ultimately failed to pass before the end of the legislative session. Now, Jindal is sending signals that he might pull the state out on his own.
“Louisiana needs to raise the academic performance of our students so we can compete in the 21st century, but not at the expense of handing away our school system to the federal government through Common Core and PARCC,” Jindal said in his veto statement last Friday. Since his veto did nothing to actually stop Common Core from being implemented, the message seems to imply more drastic action on his part could be forthcoming.
In North Carolina, lawmakers are considering setting up a new study group that would find a replacement for Common Core. It’s an idea that mirrors recommendations from the John Locke Foundation.
