Georgia GOP Lawmakers Divided on New Education Standards
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Georgia is one of 45 states adopting a new set of education standards called the Common Core. The state-led initiative was devised with input from educators, parents, and other stakeholders. But recently, some state lawmakers have opposed Georgia’s adoption of the standards.
Georgia is wrapping up year one of Common Core implementation in Math and English/Language Arts. Lawmakers who support the move, such as Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), say it will help boost achievement.
“Over half of our kids in Georgia take remedial mathematics when they go to college,” Millar says, “So, we need to better; we need to elevate, we need more rigor. So, I think at the end of the day, the advantages outweigh the potential pitfalls.”
Millar says those potential pitfalls include tying federal money to Common Core adoption. The U.S. Department of Education required any states applying for a federal “Race to the Top” grant to adopt the standards first. Requirements like that make other lawmakers, like State Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) think Georgia should opt out of Common Core and stick with locally-developed standards.
“Georgia has set the bar high in the past,” Setzler says, “And I think we, like other states, shouldn’t tie ourselves to a federal standard that gives up any more control of what our students learn from Kindergarten through 12th grade than we have to.”
This year, the House didn’t pass a bill to repeal Georgia’s Common Core adoption. The Common Core is expected to be hotly debated at the Georgia Republican Convention this weekend in Athens.
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