Legislators urge calm, cooperation over Common Core

Legislators on both sides of the aisle came together to urge calm and cooperation on the state’s Common Core issues in a letter issued Friday afternoon.
Of the 40 people who signed the letter, there were 35 representatives and five senators. Four were democrats and two independent.
Among them was Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, usually a vocal opponent of the Jindal administration.
The letter says the “extreme rhetoric and negative tone that has come to dominate the debate over Common Core is counterproductive to a successful resolution of the issue in the best interest of Louisiana students. This same negative tone and rhetoric in response to Governor Jindal’s announcement isn’t constructive either.”
Jindal wants the state out of Common Core, while state Superintendent of Education John White and other education leaders support the use of the grade-by-grade benchmarks of what students should learn in English and math.
The Republican governor recently suspended the education department’s testing contract with Data Recognition Corporation to stop White from buying testing material tied to Common Core standards for grades three through eight.
Jindal says the education department didn’t follow state law in choosing which testing material it plans to use in classrooms next year. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Chas Roemer and John White disagree, saying the governor has overstepped his legal authority in his actions against the testing contract and the department’s testing plans.
BESE has a special meeting scheduled today to discuss whether to take legal action against the Jindal administration.
The governor can’t directly shut down the use of the tests in classrooms, and lawmakers rejected attempts to replace Common Core with Louisiana-specific education standards.
Jones said he has problems both with Jindal’s switch from supporter to Common Core opponent and a low state-wide readiness for the change to the standards.
“My concern with Jindal is I wish he would make up his mind. He was for Common Core for the last couple or three years and now he’s against it. My concern is not being ready for the high stakes testing that comes with Common Core. They haven’t provided enough of the materials. We still have schools that don’t have the necessary computers. We have teachers being forced into the PARCC testing process for which many, many places are just not ready,” he said.
The letter states that it’s impossible to deny that there is tremendous confusion and concern about the impact of Common Core.
“On this issue, we believe the Governor made the right decision. We also believe the evolution of his thinking on Common Core is sincere. In his travels, he has surely seen the concern about Common Core among teachers and parents all across the country as well as here in Louisiana. This concern can be found across the political spectrum — from Tea Party conservatives, Republicans, Independents and more than a few Democrats,” the letter states.
Jones held a slightly different opinion.
“Here at the 11th hour of implementation the governor now is against Common Core, which he’s passed seven or eight bills to implement over the last three years and then ‘boom’ we now have this sudden about face,” Jones said.
He attributes the governor’s change of stance to “national politics and not the best interest of people back home and kids in this state”
The representative also said he had a problem with the contract purchasing the PARCC tests. It is the same contract Jindal issued an executive order to disregard in his effort to dismantle Common Core.
“We have a sole source that’s going to provide the material, which is always a problem for me. That always smacks of corruption when you are forced to buy something from one place and spend hundreds of millions of dollars without a bid,” Jones said.
He said he believes the state has no option at this point but to move forward with implementation, at least for now, he said.
“Although I’m with him on this particular item, it’s time for some consistency, and it’s time to establish and maintain a policy that we’re going to live with. … This is what happens when people act like politicians instead of leaders — confusion,” Jones said.