Common Core bill divides parents, educators

HELENA — The legislative battle over Common Core standards began Wednesday with divided testimony from more than 60 parents, teachers and education leaders during a committee hearing that lasted nearly seven hours and ended in executive action.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Debra Lamm, R-Livingston, that would repeal the K-12 English and mathematics standards was advanced by the House Education Committee with a vote of 8-7.

“I believe that there is a real constitutional problem with the way Common Core has come into the state,” Lamm said during the hearing before the House panel, of which she is vice chairwoman.

She added: “The standards aren’t that great.”

Evergreen Superintendent Laurie Barron had a different opinion.

“Much of what you’re hearing about the Common Core is not happening here in Montana,” Barron said. “There is no statewide curriculum.

“The standards provide the end goals that students much reach. Choices about what and how to teach the standards rest with classroom teachers, where they should,” Barron said.

In 2011, Montana bacame the 46th state to adopt the Common Core — a national set of standards that outlines specific skills students are expected to learn by the end of each grade. Students will be assessed on the new standards for the first time this spring.

The standards have become controversial around the country, with primarily conservative opponents decrying what they see as federal intrusion on local schools. The U.S. Department of Education has incentivized adoption of common standards through grant competitions.

Several states have withdrawn participation from the standards or the assessment systems.

Those who said they support the repeal of Common Core described the standards as an unproven experiment that usurps local control, while more than three dozen people, led by a coalition of teachers, education officials and the state parent-teacher organization, said scrapping the standards would be an unconstitutional step backward for schools.

“We should not go back on setting high expectations for our students,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau said.

Juneau and others said the bills drafted by Lamm are a “constitutional overstep” that undermines the authority of the state Board of Public Education, which has general supervisory authority over Montana schools.

The three bills that target Common Core standards or assessment have attached legal notes raising possible constitutional questions.

House Bill 377 would void the 2011 decision by the Board of Public Education to adopt the standards. It would then establish a separate 16-member committee to create alternative standards.

HB376 would prohibit schools from using an annual assessment that is developed out of state. Montana was part of a group of more than 20 states that reviewed and signed on to the new Smarter Balanced online assessments.

HB521 would prohibit the board from changing a school district’s accreditation status or withholding funding should it refuse to implement the standards or Smarter Balanced tests.

A fourth bill sponsored by Lamm and presented at Wednesday’s hearing was HB501, which would require school districts to obtain written consent from parents to collect data from students, including biometric or psychometric data, personal or socioeconomic information or results of standardized tests.

Proponents included a former state education official in Massachusetts, Sandra Stotsky, who participated in creation of the standards at the national level but has become an outspoken critic. Stotsky said the English/language arts component of the standards is inadequate and unvalidated.

One Billings parent brought copies of a fourth-grade math homework assignment she said had brought her daughter to tears.

“The fallacies within Common Core go beyond party lines,” said Kari Zeier, another Billings parent and state co-director for Concerned Women for America. “It is time to stop playing politics and work together to create new educational standards by Montanans for Montanans.”

Teachers and school administrators said the new standards do not impinge upon local districts any more than the previous standards but simply have raised the bar for students.

Several bill opponents spoke enthusiastically about how they said Common Core is improving public education in the state, including nationally recognized Helena math teacher Melissa Romano.

“Montana’s math standards are focused, rigorous and they are right for Montana’s kids,” Romano said.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.