Speaker Bosma and Common Core...some encouraging news!

On November 6, 2013, Speaker of the House Brian Bosma met with concerned Hoosiers to discuss the Common Core State Standards. Speaker Bosma was very firm in his commitment that Indiana retains full control of our children's education. Because of his concern over Common Core and his desire to insure Indiana maintain control of education, Speaker Bosma was instrumental in pausing Common Core by helping to craft and guide HB1427 through the 2013 legislative session with its ultimate passage and signature by Governor Pence. He was surprised to learn that some schools are continuing to implement new Common Core materials into the classrooms despite the pause. Speaker Bosma said that a statute needed to be submitted to the House that would require high, independent Indiana Standards compatible with SAT and ACT and with independent Indiana testing. He expressed in the strongest terms that his goal is that we are not going to implement Common Core Standards in Indiana.

Although Indiana has some of the finest universities in the nation: Purdue, Indiana University and Notre Dame, Common Core committees ignored Indiana professors while setting the standards that could affect all Hoosier students. Indeed, none of the writers of the Common Core Standards was a professor and the only two professors who were part of the validation committee refused to support the poor quality of Common Core. 

In 2009,  46 governors committed their states to Common Core and by 2010 Common Core was approved by their states' boards of education. Common Core Standards gained support through the Federal Government’s Race To The Top program and the No Child Left Behind waivers.  Furthermore, organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce have supported Common Core Standards from its outset.  Precisely why these organizations have a say over the educational needs of Hoosier children but the voices of parents and many educators are squelched remains unclear.  Perhaps, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers ownership of the copyright and financial interest of the Common Core standards may offer some insight.

Yet, with Speaker Brian Bosma’s interest in listening to the concerns of Hoosiers, there is an expectation that strong leadership for the future of Indiana’s children will prevail.