After 3 hours of testimony, the Arizona House Education Committee passed a Common Core Repeal and Replace bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Finchem. The House panel passed the bill on a 5-2 vote.
The landmark legislation was supported by parents, teachers, taxpayers and members of the business community. Cathleen Barton, education manager for Intel, sat directly behind the speaker’s podium as members of various organizations, funded in part or otherwise supported by Intel and the chambers of commerce, made impassioned pleas for the federal standards.
One attendee referred to Barton as the woman behind the curtain. Craig Barrett, former chairman of the board of the Intel, frequently flexes his muscle for or against legislation, however he is strident in his commitment to Common Core. Computer companies stand to make millions off of the new technology required for Common Core testing.
Administrators testified to as much. One administrator claimed that Common Core must stand because her district has already spent millions of dollars on technology and training.
“Today’s vote was a huge victory for Arizona’s kids on the way to ridding our state of the federal Common Core machine. However, there are still monied interests in our state who want to keep the Common Core in place so now is the time for all parents, teachers, and other concerned citizens to begin the email, letter, and phone call campaign to reach every member of the Arizona House to pass HB2190 to repeal/replace Common Core,” said teacher Brad McQueen.
The normal decorum was disrupted by mostly school administrators, who made rude comments and guffaws as opponents addressed the panel. One observer noted that the administrators would be displeased if students acted that way in their classrooms.
Rep Bob Thorpe, a former university level instructor, asked McQueen what he had heard from other teachers and their views on Common Core. McQueen testified that with few exceptions, teachers who were currently working with Common Core based curriculum were disappointed with it. As McQueen found from his own experience, teachers who expressed displeasure are often harassed by Common Core proponents as he was by Arizona Department of Education and PARCC employees after he expressed concerns about it while working with them on the development of Arizona’s tests.
Finchem’s bill would repeal the Common Core standards and schools would revert back to the previous Arizona owned and controlled standards and the AIMs test while an independent committee of educators revise those standards to be then approved by the Arizona Legislature.
The bill also places strict protections on student data privacy.
HB 2190, if passed, would prohibit the State Board of Education from adopting standards that are “substantially similar to standards or assessments used by 20 or more other states.” That language caused a problem for Rep. Coleman, who had paid lip service to anti-Common Core constituents. The provision was written at the request of constituents who wanted to guarantee that Arizona would not enter into or otherwise become part of a Common CORE consortium. Under former Superintendent John Huppenthal, Arizona was part of the PARCC consortium.
The committee also passed HB2246, which will allow parents to opt out of having their children take any sort of statewide assessment.
Earlier in the day, the House voted 35-22 in favor of HB2180, which allow local school boards to choose from at least three state approved tests.
“As a society, we cannot let corporate America dictate how we educate our children. Parents and teachers spoke passionately and clearly in the last election,” concluded Finchem.
Anti-Common Core sentiment swept Superintendent Diane Douglas into office after she handily defeated Huppenthal in the Republican primary last year. Despite the widespread opposition, few lawmakers were willing to take on the chambers of commerce and run a repeal and replace bill. When asked why he sponsored the Common Core Repeal and Replace bill, Rep. Finchem said, “Because I said I would.”
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