Marco Rubio On Common Core: The Federal Government Will 'Force It Down Our Throats'
The Republican presidential candidates from Florida tangled over the issue of Common Core State Standards for curriculum at the prime-time GOP debate in Cleveland on Thursday. Senator Marco Rubio challenged his one-time mentor, former Governor Jeb Bush, on one of the most divisive issues in education today.
Bush, an early support of Common Core, says it’s about “higher standards measured in an intellectually honest way” at the state level. “I don’t believe the federal government should be involved with the creation of standards directly or indirectly, or the creation of curriculum or content,” Bush said. “It’s clearly a state responsibility.”
Rubio, who argues against the standards for math and English, said the federal government will eventually “force it down our throats.”
“The Department to Education, like every federal agency, will never be satisfied,” Rubio said. “They will not stop with it being a suggestion. They will turn it into a mandate. In fact, what they will begin to say to local communities is: ‘You will not get federal money unless you do things the way we want you to do it.’”
Fox News moderator Bret Baier asked Bush a question from a viewer that touched on the topic of the Department of Education. Baier wanted to know if Bush agreed with Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s view that Common Core opposition is mostly limited to “a fringe group of critics.”
Bush, 62, touted his record in Florida, where he served as governor from 1999 to 2007. ”We had rising student achievement across the board because high standards, robust accountability, ending social promotion in the third grade, real school choice across the board, challenging teachers’ unions and beating them is the way to go.”
Rubio, 44, reminded the audience that he is also a supporter of curriculum reform. “It’s critically important in the 21st century,” he said. “We do need curriculum reform and it should happen in the state and local level.That’s where education policy belongs. Because if a parent isn’t happy with what their child is being taught in school, they can go to that local school board, their state legislature, or their governor and get it changed.”Marco Rubio On Common Core: The Federal Government Will 'Force It Down Our Throats' - Forbes: