Just a few years ago, Common Core was supposed to be a done deal — remember bipartisan support? Now, in the closing days before the voting starts, candidates from Ted Cruz to Marco Rubio and Chris Christie are running against it — at least in theory.
Now Donald Trump releases a video in which he says “Common Core is a disaster” and pledges to end it:
[facebook url=”https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10156570856100725/”]Trump says a lot of things. Education must be locally controlled and that education will be a priority of his administration. As usual, it’s a little short on details.
Does he understand the GOP Congress just passed a bill (ESSA) that gives the Department of Education the explicit power to approve or disapprove of state education plans? That federal control of testing leads to federal control of curriculum?
It’s not clear what he would do to get rid of Common Core. But the fact the front runner for the GOP nomination wants to weigh in heavily against it is a good thing and a sign of the power of the Common Core parents across the nation who’ve fought for their children’s education.
And congrats to Emmett McGroarty for his leadership and hard work.
Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project.
