UT Gov. Herbert Reveals IN Gov. Pence’s Knowledge of Common Core Rebranding
Governor Gary Herbert (R-UT) was gave his March press conference. He was asked a question by Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune about the Common Core repeal bill that was signed in Indiana. Governor Herbert’s answer revealed that Pence is aware Indiana is simply rebranding, not rewriting, the Common Core.
Robert Gehrke (Salt Lake Tribune): So when Governor Pence said yesterday that they’re not going to be part of Common Core anymore, you don’t think that we’re to the point where we need to consider that? Because you do have the authority to do that under Senator Dayton’s bill…Governor Herbert: Well, our state school board really is the one that’s had the public hearings, and has implemented this program. Again, adopting the *standards.* I mean, a lot of people we talk to haven’t even read the standards. Read the standards, see if you don’t like the standards. How we get to that standard—our curriculum, our textbooks, our testing—is our decision.I’ve talked to Governor Pence about what they’re doing there. In essence, they’re creating what’s called the Indiana Core. It’s not the Common Core. It’s the Indiana Core, but their standards are almost mirroring exactly what’s commonly referred to as the Common Core standards. So they’re just doing it in a different way, which is what we’ve already been doing in Utah.
First I’ll acknowledge that Governor Herbert could be putting his own spin on his conversation with Governor Mike Pence. However, there is no denying this is being done in Indiana. The question is how complicit is Governor Pence? This is a convincing piece of evidence that Governor Pence knows exactly what is being done. Regardless of whether he is complicit or not, he’s responsible