South Dakota lawmakers addressed a debate surrounding Common Core Education standards – again. Tuesday’s full House of Representatives calendar included a resolution rejecting the education benchmarks.
In Pierre, the clash over Common Core is far from over. The education standards adopted by dozens of states – including South Dakota – are under scrutiny. Lawmakers can’t even agree on what the Common Core education standards include, let alone the philosophy behind them.
State Representative Stace Nelson says the Common Core is rooted in a one-size-fits-all approach.
"The Common Core State Standards effectively removes educational choice and competition since all schools in all districts must use Common Core assessments based on the Common Core State Standards to allow all students to advance in the school system and to advance to higher education pursuits," Nelson says.
Some lawmakers disagree. State Representative Jacqueline Sly says House Concurrent Resolution 1023 includes inaccuracies. Sly points to a section that says schools must purchase Common Core curricula that fit with standardized testing. Sly says districts aren’t mandated to sink money into materials that are Common Core specific.
"They have the text books, but they also use online open-source resources, so they do not have to buy any particular textbook or any media that they’re using," Sly says.
The resolution rejecting Common Core fails in the House. Twenty-four support the measure; 45 oppose it.
This session has seen multiple proposals to remove the Common Core standards; lawmakers have rejected those efforts. Bills regarding student data privacy and waiting to adopt any new education standards are still alive in the State Capitol.