When it comes to K-12 education, goals of GOP contenders are moot
To hear the top-tier Republican presidential candidates tell it, on their first day in office, they will shift power over education from the federal government back to states and local communities.
Problem is, Congress already took care of that.
In December, the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a new law that dials back the power of the federal government when it comes to local classrooms. It marked a profound reset of the relationship between federal and state governments. States, not the federal government, decide curricula, teaching methods, academic standards, what to do about struggling schools and how to define success or failure, among other things.
All but two of the GOP candidates — former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — are also promising that they will rid the country of Common Core, the K-12 academic standards in math and reading adopted by more than 40 states and the District of Columbia.
The trouble is, the president has no power over the Common Core. States decide academic standards. That has been true for years but was spelled out explicitly in the new federal education law.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump, Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, or retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson from telling voters that they will reduce the federal role in education while they also mothball the Common Core.
From a 45-second video released by Trump on Wednesday: “I’m a tremendous believer in education, but education has to be at a local level. We cannot have the bureaucrats in Washington telling you how to manage your child’s education. So Common Core is a total disaster. We can’t let it continue.”
Two weeks ago, Cruz posted a video in which he said, “If I’m elected When it comes to K-12 education, goals of GOP contenders are moot - The Washington Post: