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Ohio House committee OKs bill to repeal Common Core
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
A House legislative committee has signed off on a bill that would repeal Common Core standards in use in Ohio schools.
On a party-line vote with Democrats opposing, the Ohio House’s Rules and Reference Committee gave its OK to HB 597, setting the stage for vote of the full chamber.
The latter may be an issue, as backers say they’ll have to find enough votes to ensure passage.
“This is a good first step,” said Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, primary co-sponsor of the legislation and a vocal critic of Common Core. “We probably have a good solid 30 or more [votes out of the 50 needed] right now.”
HB 597 calls for a repeal of Common Core standards, replacing them with new ones to be developed by the state over the next few years. During the interim, Ohio would adopt standards that formerly were in place in Massachusetts, before that state adopted Common Core.
“They were tested, proven and effective,” Thompson said of the Massachusetts standards. “The state went from mediocre to tops in the nation.”
During hearings over the summer, proponents of Common Core told lawmakers that the standards are rigorous, that schools and teachers already are heavily invested in them, and that curriculum and lesson plan decisions still are made at the local level.
“Our members are committed to the continuation of the Common Core State standards,” Barbara Shaner, associate executive director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, said in a released statement. “Districts have spent countless hours and precious resources preparing for their implementation. To repeal them now would cause confusion and frustration for students, parents and teachers, in addition to setting back Ohio’s progress toward higher student-achievement levels.”
But opponents said the standards represent an overreach of federal and corporate interests into classrooms and that the standards aren’t rigorous enough to prepare students for future college studies and/or careers.
The Ohio School Boards Association, Buckeye Association of School Administrators and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials issued statements Wednesday urging lawmakers to reject the legislation.