Response from Senator Don Barringtom: March 5, 2014 Greg, Thank you for your email regarding Common Core Standards and for your patience as I try to respond to all inquiries. We realize there continues to be much discussion as this is not only happening in Oklahoma, but in all states. There were many bills filed this session to address Common Core concerns from full repeal to delayed implementation. SB 1146, HB 2786, HB 3399, and HB 3167 were all filed by various legislators, however, HB 3167 by Representative Gus Blackwell seems to be the remaining viable vehicle to watch. It is rumored to be set for hearing in the Oklahoma House of Representatives tomorrow or early next week. You can watch live at okhouse.gov/Video/Default.aspx. You can also track the measure through the LENS program by clicking the Capitol icon to the left. HB 3399, by Hickman and Nelson, prohibits an official, agent, agency or board of the state from entering into agreement or contract with federal or private entity that cedes state discretion or control over academic content standards, teaching standards, student assessment or student data collection and use in public schools. It directs any state official, agent, agency or board that is party to any such existing agreement or contract with federal or private entity to amend agreements or contracts. It directs the State Board of Education to revise transition plans for academic standards to allow school districts an additional 2 years to prepare for full implementation in 2016-17. It directs the State Board of Education to evaluate the English language arts and mathematics standards and consider input from parents, educators, higher ed, careertech and business representatives; compare the standards to the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) standards; and make revisions to standards after review. It directs the State Board to submit a report outlining evaluation and comparison results to the governor, House speaker and Senate president pro tempore. Representative Blackwell’s HB 3167, as introduced, removes the requirement to adopt curriculum standards that align with the common core standards. Additionally, the measure establishes a pilot program to provide verifiable information on the advantages and disadvantages of curriculum standards developed at the local, state, or other level. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, each district board of education may elect to participate in the pilot. Such boards may adopt local curriculum standards that are not aligned with the state standards, or they may modify the state standards for the purpose of developing local curriculum standards. Students enrolled in participating districts must complete course and testing requirements as provided under the curricular standards and school testing program act. Districts must notify the department of education and submit a copy of the adopted standards. Participating districts have until the 2019-2020 school year to adopt local curriculum standards, at which time the department must compare the academic performance of participating districts to comparable non-participating districts. Lastly, the department will report their results of the comparison by October 1, 2020. Opposers of the repealer including the State Dept. of Education personnel provide that a potential loss of significant federal funds could occur as related to the state’s federal flexibility waiver whereby the state has adopted college and career ready standards in at least reading/language arts and mathematics that are common to a significant number of states. I am not sure if HB 3167 will progress out of the House of Representatives, but should it, it would be up to Senator John Ford to allow the measure to be heard in the Senate Education Committee. I do not serve on that committee though I have discussed the matter with Senator Ford in depth. If a clean bill opposing implementation or repeal of Common Core should come to the Senate floor, I would likely support the effort at this time. Speaker Hickman and House leadership are working on an immediate solution. Their efforts could make it to the Senate chamber in the coming weeks. I support parents protection in education rights. I understand your issue and am working to restore parental and local control rights on such issues while maintaining high standards. Thank you again for bringing this to my attention. If you wish to discuss this further, please feel free to call our office at any time.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 23:12:41 +0000