Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) this week issued an executive order pushing the state to replace the national Common Core public education standards with tests and standards created by the state. “We want out of Common Core,” Jindal said, adding that Common Core does not comply with state law.
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 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Gov. Jindal has finally put his pen where his mouth has been, which can be rare for a politician. He has also drawn a clear distinction between his policies and those of governors such as Indiana’s Mike Pence, who talks a big anti-Common Core game but entrenched Common Core in his state with another name.
“Jindal’s decision shows that Common Core is important to voters, as he’s clearly looking ahead at a presidential run in 2016. Perhaps then will be the year to finally return power over education to families and individuals, rather than keeping it controlled by central planners in Congress and elsewhere.
“Jindal has recognized that Common Core contradicts his strong support for empowering families and entrepreneurs through school choice. His challenge will be to discern what other policies stand in the way of fostering a better education for Louisiana children through bottom-up empowerment rather than Common Core-style centralization.”
Joy Pullmann
Research Fellow,
The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor,
School Reform News
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“This is a pretty bold move on Jindal’s part, as he’s using his executive power to make the change, instead of being able to share responsibility with the legislature. And that suggests just how angry much of the public is about Common Core in Louisiana. Governors in other states would do well, both politically and in policy terms, to consider following Jindal’s lead, as Louisiana is by no means unique in the public’s opposition to this de facto federal takeover of K-12 testing and curriculum.”
S.T. Karnick
Director of Research
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 30-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago, 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.
S. T. Karnick is a senior fellow and director of publications for The Heartland Institute.
