Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Sues Obama Administration Over Common Core
Saying that Common Core national education standards violate states’ sovereignty, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has filed suit against the Department of Education, MSN is reporting.
“The federal government has hijacked and destroyed the Common Core initiative. Common Core is the latest effort by big government disciples to strip away state rights and put Washington, D.C., in control of everything.”
The suit alleges that the Department of Education illegally interferes with states’ rights by offering federal money for education and police waivers – some $4.3 billion – to states that adopt the standards. This federal incursion into education, according to Jindal, violates the 10th Amendment to the Constitution (the 10th Amendment concerns states’ sovereignty).
The Common Core Standards, according to the program’s website, are a set of standards outlining what each student in public schools should know by the end of each grade.
“The standards were created to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live. Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have voluntarily adopted and are moving forward with the Common Core.”
Common Core has been controversial from the beginning, with its proponents saying that it standardizes what children are taught in all of the schools that adopt it. Its opponents, mostly conservatives and libertarians, say that the standards give the federal government too much control in what is taught at local public schools.
The implementation of Common Core standards has also caused its share of controversy among parents, many of whom have found the standards overly complicated.
Several states have simply passed on the money and refused to implement Common Core, or implemented it and later rejected it, including Jindal’s Louisiana, according to the home-schooling association HSLDA.
Even Jindal’s most strident supporters believe that his suit has no chance, MSN reports, but the move is likely a strategic one, meant to bolster his image among conservatives in preparation for a possible 2016 presidential run. Jindal has been deliberately trying to market himself as a strong conservative; most recently, he hinted at civil war, saying “rebellion is brewing” against Washington (see this Inquisitr article).
Do you think Jindal’s lawsuit will have any affect on Common Core being implemented nationwide? Had any experiences, positive or negative, with Common Core? Let us know below.
Image courtesy of Bing, Young Cons
