Jeb Bush Still Loves Common Core, Blames Obama for ‘Co-Opting’ It

Jeb Bush has distinguished himself from other
potential Republican presidential candidates by remaining
steadfastly supportive of the Common Core State Standards
Initiative. The former Florida governor likes the standards and
thinks that if states have a problem with them, they should propose
something even better.

However, just like other supporters of Common Core on the right,
Bush recognizes that federal involvement in the issue has given the
standards a bad name (deservedly or not). In an interview with
Education Next, Bush blamed the Obama administration for
all the bad PR Common Core has
received:

States are free to modify the Common Core State Standards or
adopt their own individual standards, because academic standards
are the prerogative of the states.

The opposition to the common core has been mostly fueled by
President Obama and his administration attempting to take credit
for and co-opt a state-led initiative.

I don’t know if “mostly” is a fair description. Many teachers
now oppose Common Core because of its standardized testing
requirements. But it’s certainly true that federal involvement has
fueled hostility toward the standards on the right. That’s because
the Obama administration issued waivers and grants to states in
exchange for becoming Core-compliant, effectively ending their
ability to decide this important education matter for
themselves.

But there is
hope! A Republican-controlled Congress could pass an amendment
to federal education law prohibiting the federal Department of
Education from issuing such bribes to states. This would mean
advocates and critics of Common Core could again argue over the
actual standards, rather than concentrate on the Obama
administration’s creeping curriculum nationalization.

It’s a reform that both sides could—and have—agreed on.

For more on this subject, read
“How a Republican Congress Could Kill Common Core.”