As the courts hash out the attempts to preserve and shelve Common Core in Louisiana, a group of six state lawmakers are planning an Aug. 22 trip to Oklahoma to meet with their counterparts and strategize for the 2015 regular session.
As the courts hash out the attempts to preserve and shelve Common Core in Louisiana, a group of six state lawmakers are planning an Aug. 22 trip to Oklahoma to meet with their counterparts and strategize for the 2015 regular session.
The legislators, all Republicans, want to explore options for replacing Common Core with educational standards that are state-controlled. In June, Oklahoma became the third state to withdraw from Common Core.
The lawmakers participating in the visit include Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles; Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie; Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria; Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson; Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville; and Rep. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs.
This is the same group of lawmakers that recently and unsuccessfully sued the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and Superintendent John White for not following proper guidelines when Common Core was implemented in Louisiana.
Regardless of the outcome of other legal action, Geymann said the Legislature will have to replace Common Core or try once again to bury it.
"Either way we are dealing with related legislation in the spring," he said.
Once the lawmakers have a plan for the session, Geymann said it might be presented to the governor.
"Maybe we'll see if we can get a buy-in from the administration," he said, adding that the anti-Common Core bills debated during the recent session will be married with what is learned in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma repeal allowed new standards to be developed and prohibited the state from ceding control over assessments. It also created a supposed firewall from federal overreach and allows for the use of paper and pencil tests if online testing creates problems for students.