Today, the Arizona State Board of Education severed ties with Common Core at the request of Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas. Douglas made a motion to remove Common Core as the basis for language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards.
The State Board of Education met at 9:00 a.m. today, and after a contentious discussion accepted SBE Board member Jared Taylor’s arguments in favor of the motion. The motion passed in a 6 – 2 vote. Board President Greg Miller and Vice President Ballantyne voted against the motion.
Ballantyne remained combative toward Douglas while attempting to derail the motion. A political animal himself, Ballantyne claimed that Douglas was making the request for strictly political reasons. The soft spoken Taylor took exception to Ballantyne’s characterization of the Common Core discussion as “going back to Jurassic Park.” Taylor’s carefully chosen words aimed at Ballantyne left little for the other members to do but take a more civil tone.
The net effect of the motion is to send a clear message to the State Committee currently working on Arizona standards that they are not bound by the Memorandum of Understanding that put the standards in place in 2010, according to Douglas.
Douglas ran and won the 2014 race for Superintendent of Public Instruction on an anti-Common Core platform. She promised voters that she would fight to replace the federally crafted Common Core standards. As a result, she has become a target for the various chambers of commerce across the state, and Governor Doug Ducey. Although Ducey claimed that he opposed the standards during his 2014 campaign, he has worked to protect them.
Douglas told her fellow SBE members, “What I want this Board to do is make a clear statement that we will not use, what are called Common Core/Arizona College and Career Ready Standards. As you may be aware,” said Douglas directing to comments of Board member Carter, “Common Core standards are copyrighted by certain organizations and while we have received a release from that copyright, this is to make a clear – to make a statement that Arizona is severing our ties to that set of standards. This I believe will do three things: it will send a clear message to the citizens of Arizona, and to the nation, that Arizonans are smart enough, engaged enough, and collaborative enough to control the education of our children without a prescribed set of standards that have been put upon us.”
Douglas explained that the new Standards Review Committee process will allow for the creation of more “rigorous standards we need for our students.” She said today’s vote will put the public on notice where the members of this of this Board stands on the issue of Common Core, and finally I believe it will send a loud and clear message to the Standards Review Committee – when they actually get to the point of reviewing some standards – where the Board stands on this issue.” Douglas said those are “all very important things for our community to understand.”
Douglas issued a statement after the vote thanking SBE members “Jared Taylor, Amy Hamilton, Roger Jacks, Chuck Schmidt and Tim Carter for their votes on this important issue. Today’s action means that Arizona is once again in control of its standards, which is a key step as we work together to improve education in our state.”
“While the current standards for English language arts and mathematics will remain in place pending modification by the Board, this decision gives us the flexibility to make the standards more rigorous and will give us the ability to tailor them to the unique needs of our students,” stated Douglas.
“It is significant to me that despite our differences, we were able to come together in support of Arizona parents and students. At the same time, Gov. Doug Ducey has stated he is open to revising his K-12 funding plan and the Legislature appears close to resolving the education funding lawsuit. I’m convinced that while opinions on details may differ, all Republican leaders in Arizona are pulling together to move Arizona’s education system in the right direction,” said Douglas. “I again applaud the Board for its action and look forward to robust Arizona developed and approved standards for our children.”
Rep. Mark Finchem, who ran an anti-Common Core bill last legislative session stated after the vote, “I am very pleased to hear of the Arizona Board of Education action this morning, the standards that were delivered with it; and the Memorandum of Understanding that bound Arizona to the federally driven, one size fits all education system. This action puts control of education in the control of the State of Arizona where it should be, and sets a course for improved K-12 educational outcomes through age appropriate standards.”
“The State Board of Education has empowered the Standards Committee, by lifting a cumbersome burden off of it, while at the same time giving The Committee freedom and the go ahead to fashion standards that are a good fit for Arizona school children,” continued Finchem.
Finchem commended Taylor for “his leadership on the action that so many voters demanded of elected officials during the 2014 election.”
Douglas made her agenda request on October 20 in a letter to State Board of Education (SBE) Chair Greg Miller. In it, Douglas offered a suggestion for a motion to be made at the meeting. She wrote:
“It is hereby moved the actions of the State Board of Education (SBE) on June 28, 2010 to adopt Common Core, now referred to to as the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards, as the standards for language arts and mathematics be reversed and all links to Common Core be severed. Current language arts and mathematics standards will replace in place subject to modification by the SBE which will have the power to add, delete or modify these standards.”
“The net effect is to sever the tie between Arizona and the Common Core Standards created by the Council of State School Officer (CCSSO) and the state. It will return Arizona to developing its own standards for approval by the SBE,” continued Douglas. “Standards currently in effect will not be changed, including those provided through Common Core. CCSSO has indicated that they do not intend to update Common Core nor provide a Common Core 2. Those standards will become increasingly out-of-date and with five years of experience can be significantly approved.”
The agenda item read:
Arizona Revised Statues (A.R.S.) §15-203 requires that the Board define college and career readiness. A.R.S. §§15-701 and 15-701.01 specifically authorize and mandate that the Board adopt academic standards and minimum competency requirements for grades K-12. The Board adopts academic standards addressing what a student is ultimately expected to learn (i.e., multiplication, grammar, understand simple words and expressions in a foreign language). Arizona retains authority to approve and modify academic standards; there is no federal law requiring the adoption of specific standards.
The State Board of Education’s Standards Development Committee will be holding a meeting to seek public input on Arizona’s Mathematics and English Language Arts Standards in Tucson on October 29th.
Rep. Kelly Townsend, a staunch advocate for Arizona’s school children stated, “I am pleasantly surprised to learn that the Arizona Board of Education voted today. The pressure on Superintendent Diane Douglas has been immense, yet she has not backed down in fighting for the repeal of federally controlled standards. As the voice of Arizona’s parents in regard to the education of their children, she has remained faithful to the reason they elected her to office, and for that she is to be commended.”
“I appreciate Jared Taylor’s professional tone while reasoning for the appeal, and I hope this is a representation of what is to come in future meetings of the Board,” continued Townsend. “It is my additional hope that the protection of personal student data remains intact, regardless of what standards we choose.”
“Finally, the importance of local control was nearly forgotten, yet preserved on this fine day for future students in our State. I still believe in Arizona, and her ability to tailor educational needs according to the unique challenges faced in various regions of the State.” Townsend concluded, “I hope this reignites parents desire to play a more active and primary role in the education of their children. May the people be encouraged today, your voices are important and have been heard and acted upon. Let’s now put bureaucracy aside, roll up our sleeves, and create superior standards for Arizona.
The following letter was sent to Arizona educators after the vote:
Dear Educator,
You may have heard conflicting information about what the action taken today by the Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) means for Arizona’s English language arts (ELA) and mathematics standards.
Please know that today’s vote does not mean that the current Arizona College and Career Ready Standards have been repealed.
What the vote does mean is that complete control of the ELA and mathematics standards has been returned to Arizona, as had been the case before the Common Core standards were adopted in 2010. Those standards will now be developed the same way they always were before and the same way standards for all other subjects are developed, through an annual process during which ADE reviews standards, makes recommendations and gathers public input.
This year we have already seen the adoption of updated physical education, arts and world and native language standards. At a minimum, ADE will recommend over the next year adding higher mathematics standards, which do not currently exist in Common Core.
However, until such time as the SBE chooses to adopt any new standards those currently in place remain in use. ADE is also sensitive to making changes on a gradual basis and for future school years so as not to create a financial or other crisis related to their implementation.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Communications@azed.gov.