The U.S. Secretary of Education is not a fan of Oklahoma’s recent decision to repeal Common Core and wonders why Governor Mary Fallin appears to have flip-flopped on supporting it.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan believes the repeal was motivated by politics, and not what is best for the students.
According to Education Week, during a White House press briefing Monday, Duncan read from a speech that Governor Fallin made earlier this year.
Duncan says she recently blasted the program as being a ‘federal initiative’ although previously she praised common core. Duncan read from a speech Governor Fallin gave earlier this quoting “Common Core standards ‘outline what students need to be college and career ready…Common Core is not a federal program. It is driven and implemented by those states that choose to participate. It is also not a federal curriculum, in fact it is not a curriculum at all. Local educators and school districts will still design the best lesson plans, and choose appropriate text books, and will drive classroom learning.”
“What’s changed?” Duncan asked. “Politics changed.”
When asked if Oklahoma will lose federal funding for repealing Common Core, Duncan replied, “We are partnering with folks who have high standards. If people want to dummy down standards, that is a very different thing. We partner with states whether they have Common Core or have their own high standards. Where we will challenge the status quo is when states dummy down the standards.”
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The governor’s spokesperson responded to Duncan’s comments stating, “As the governor said, the federal government has become increasingly involved and aggressive in championing Common Core, which has politicized the issue.”
Although Fallin and the National Governors Association helped develop Common Core, she said it is now widely looked at as “the president’s plan.”
