Jeb Bush Defends Common Core At ALEC Meeting
Posted: 08/09/2013 1:03 pm EDT
Kind Of Says It All, Now Doesn't It!
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush once again defended the Common Core education standards in front the American Legislative Exchange Council's highly-protested annual meeting in Chicago Friday.
"There are critics of Common Core Standards from both ends of the ideological spectrum. I know there are some in this room," Bush said, according to prepared remarks provided to The Huffington Post. The meeting was closed to the press.
"I respect those who don’t share my views. What I can’t accept are the dumbed-down standards and expectations that exist in almost all of our schools today," Bush continued, echoing language often used by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The speech places Bush, a Republican, among an ever-dwindling group of conservatives who speak out in favor of the Core. That group also includes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who last week told charter school supporters that Republican pushback to the Core is a "knee-jerk" reaction to President Barack Obama's promotion of the project. The business community also is defending the
