The Virginia Senate on Friday passed SB 724. State Senator Richard Black (R-Leesburg) was the chief patron of the bill which prohibits the Virginia State Board of Education from adopting the Common Core State Standards. Virginia was originally a member of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. When former Governor Bob McDonnell was elected in 2010 he pulled the state out.
State Senator Thomas Garrett (R-Hadensville) was the co-patrons for the bill. Delegates Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg), Dave LaRock (R-Hamilton), Robert Marshall (R-Hamilton), and Jeion Ward (D-Hampton) are co-patrons for the bill when it is taken up by the Virginia House of Delegates.
Recently Virginia’s math standards were found to have aligned with the Common Core by 95%. I wrote back in December:
Virginia in its approved No Child Left Behind flexibility waiver request noted its involvement with the American Diploma Project (the precursor of Common Core). They also included an alignment study of its standards indicating strong parallels to the Common Core. McDonnell even held conversations with U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan regarding his state’s standards.
So it’s questionable how much different its current standards are from the Common Core anyway. At least with math. If I were a state legislator in Virginia I’d demand a review of the standards as they are now.
It is best to be proactive however. AP reports that Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe’s administration was opposed to the bill because they have no plans to adopt Common Core.
So what’s the beef then? If you don’t have any plans to adopt it then the bill shouldn’t bother you.