Dive Brief:
- Both the North Carolina House of Representatives and a senate committee voted in favor of repealing the Common Core Wednesday.
- The Senate and House bills would both drop the Common Core on July 1, calling for an Academic Standards Review Commission to create new benchmarks for the State Board of Education.
- State Superintendent June Atkinson is urging lawmakers not to forgo the Common Core, saying such drastic changes force teacher to "go back to the drawing board.”
Dive Insight:
The Common Core appears to have a very theoretical air for many lawmakers. The waffling of lawmakers seems to ignore the fact that changing standards so close to the start of the school year is not going to benefit anyone. A similar situation has been ongoing in Louisiana, where State Superintendent John White recently asked lawmakers, for the sake of teachers, to stop bickering over the Common Core.
His sentiment was reiterated by North Carolina Superintendent June Atkinson, who said "The big question is why would you want to pile on another level of frustration for our teachers?"
Debate over the Common Core follows news that the Republican-led Senate made significant cuts in its $21.2 billion budget.