U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick on Wednesday refused Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s request for an injunction against the U.S. Department of Education, saying the governor failed to show the federal government would penalize his state for abandoning Common Core standards.
The following statements from education policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000.
“There’s no way of knowing how a court will rule on any given case, but the fact of the matter is that the U.S. Department of Education bullied states into Common Core and continues to do so. State lawmakers and bureaucrats constantly tell constituents they can’t drop Common Core curriculum mandates or tests because that would endanger their No Child Left Behind waiver, which the Obama administration has been handing out without legal authorization. The confusion is the result of the degradation of the rule of law in education policy making, which is a direct result of the Obama administration’s contempt for laws and the American public.”
Joy Pullmann
Research Fellow, Education
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“It’s not surprising that the judge ruled this way. The good news is Gov. Jindal is going to appeal and will continue to fight Common Core in Louisiana. No matter what the courts rule, in the end, there is an undeniable fact that states were lured by the potential of money from the Race to the Top program. It’s not an overstatement to say states were bribed. States looking to leave Common Core are fearful of retaliation from the national government, including having their No Child Left Behind waivers yanked.
“The implementation of Common Core has been a nightmare, and states that want to remove the standards are struggling to do so. This looks less like a voluntary process and more like an unmitigated disaster as time goes on.”
Heather Kays
Research Fellow, The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor, School Reform News
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Nothing illustrates the ‘federalization of education’ more than today’s decision by a federal court to deny the request for an injunction by Governor Bobby Jindal. The decision, which may result in the loss of federal support for Louisiana, shows that the national government seeks to control education through denial of funding.
“Whatever the merits of the case, the decision clearly illustrates that the Common Core State Standards are a federal project to centralize education at the federal level.”
Bruno Behrend
Senior Fellow, Education Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Race to the Top funding was the mechanism to coerce states into adopting Common Core State Standards sight-unseen. Rejecting Common Core comes with the financial penalties of the federal government removing the No Child Left Behind waiver received with Race to the Top adoption.
“The financial penalty for rejecting Common Core is real, as Oklahoma found out last year. This ruling shifts more power to the national government to further control over and dictate education policy to the states.”
Lennie Jarratt
Project Manager, Education
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 31-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Joy Pullmann is a research fellow on education policy for The Heartland Institute and managing editor of The Federalist, a web magazine on politics, policy, and culture.
Heather Kays is a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute and former managing editor of School Reform News, a national monthly publication.
Bruno Behrend, J.D., is a senior fellow for education policy at The Heartland Institute.
Lennie Jarratt is the former director of the Center for Education Opportunities at The Heartland Institute
