|
 Jindal's push to ditch Common Core, announced in June and given
teeth by his orders to scrap the multistate tests, came amid a
backlash against the English and math standards aimed at boosting
critical-thinking skills and unifying state guidelines.
Judge Todd Hernandez, in issuing a preliminary injunction against
the governor in a lawsuit filed by Common Core backers that is
awaiting trial, said plans to drop the tests, slated to serve as a
must-pass benchmark for fourth-graders, had sowed uncertainty.
"The evidence is clear that this state of the unknown has caused
anxiety and other harm to the parents, teachers, administrators and
students in Louisiana," he wrote.
Jindal's office, which has argued that the state's contract with the
test maker violated Louisiana laws against no-bid contracts, said
the governor would seek to have the ruling stayed ahead of the
trial.
"The judge took the arguments from Common Core proponents hook, line
and sinker," Jindal's chief of staff, Kyle Plotkin, said in a
statement.
Jindal's push to scrap the standards has pitted him against
Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White, a Jindal
appointee, who applauded the judge's ruling.
Jindal, who is widely viewed as holding presidential ambitions, was
a supporter of Common Core when the state joined 44 others, along
with the District of Columbia, in passing the standards into law in
2010.
[to top of second column] |
But the standards have since come under fire across the political
spectrum. Left-leaning groups argue they increase reliance on
standardized testing and discourage creativity and flexibility in
the classroom. Some conservative groups say they amount to a federal
takeover of education.
Although the standards were developed and implemented at the state
level, the Obama administration encouraged their adoption through a
competitive-grant program called Race to the Top, which gave money
to cash-strapped states during the recent economic downturn.
Several Republican-led states have dropped Common Core this year,
including Indiana, South Carolina and Oklahoma.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
