Jindal Sets Stage for Killing Common Core

On Friday, Governor Jindal vetoed HB 953 which would have slowed the implementation of some of the effects of the Common Core implementation in Louisiana. Make no mistake about it: Contrary to appearances, this veto was not a move by Jindal to support CCSS.

The main reason Jindal vetoed HB 953 was not because he wants to insure that Common Core is  implemented without delay,  but instead because this bill contained language that tied Louisiana to National standards. Many observers of the legislative process believe that the bill was carefully crafted to insure that Louisiana would remain committed to implementing Common Core. Some of the language in the bill made it clear that Louisiana must implement standards and testing that would compare our students to the rest of the country. This is a philosophy being pushed by Arne Duncan that is very much opposed by the anti-Common Core activists that Jindal is courting in his quest for the presidency of the United States.

Now Jindal will continue his drive to junk the Common Core and the PARCC testing. Jindal is not one bit concerned about John White's warnings that junking CCSS now would introduce too much uncertainty and would cause teachers to waste many of their planning efforts. Jindal basically has no concern or any real regard for classroom teachers as he has demonstrated by passing Act 1 of 2012 which destroyed teacher tenure, seniority, and put teacher's jobs in jeopardy from the implementation of the inaccurate VAM system. He is doing this for purely political reasons as his incessant quest for the presidency has caused him to drop all semblance of ethics and intellectual honesty.

But parents opposing Common Core will be watching to make sure that Common Core standards are not retained under a different name such as "Louisiana State Standards".  What the Governor does not realize is that because of the heavy handed tactics of John White, Chas Roemer, and big business lobbyists, the anti-Common Core activists have become just as suspicious of mandates of education policy by the state as they are of federal mandates. These concerned parents want their child's education run by their elected school boards where parents can have a real voice in their child's education.

Jindal should know that parents are not going to be fooled by a re branding of the CCSS as has been done in some states where the politicians have continued to mandate a Common Core like curriculum while calling it a state designed standard. These parents are too sophisticated to be fooled by just changing the name of  Common Core to Louisiana State Standards. This fight is far from over.