North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory announced July 16 that he will sign a bill that will initiate what he says is a “review” of the Common Core State Standards, but won’t automatically force whole-sale changes to or a repudiation of the common core.
“I will sign this bill because it does not change any of North Carolina’s education standards,” McCrory, a Republican, said in a statement, referring to Senate Bill 812. “It does initiate a much-needed, comprehensive and thorough review of standards. No standards will change without the approval of the State Board of Education.”
The state Senate passed the bill on July 10, while the House approved it on July 16.
I’ve written before about the legislation, and that despite many characterizations of it, the bill (as McCrory said) does not mean the state is dropping the standards. The bill doesn’t require North Carolina to revert to its prior standards, for example, as Oklahoma did in early June. State Superintendent June Atkinson, a Democrat and ardent supporter of the common core, said that while she isn’t a fan of the legislation, it’s not as damaging to the standards as it might have been.
Under the legislation, a new advisory committee will review the common core and develop recommendations regarding changes to the standards to the state school board. But the state board’s authority to have final say over standards adoption isn’t reduced—again, in Oklahoma, the bill signed by Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, gives the state legislature the authority to review the new standards adopted by the state board and ultimately approve them.