Updated: MONTGOMERY – A bill to repeal the state’s Common Core education standards cleared the Senate on Thursday, a day after being passed in committee.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, in previous years stood in the way of Common Core repeal efforts. But now he says removing the standards and charging the Alabama Board of Education to start over is aimed at improving Alabama’s lagging student performance.

“My position early on was that the (state) Department of Education and the board, elected by the people, should figure this out,” Marsh told Alabama Daily News this week. “That’s policy. We’re sitting here today with math scores in the eighth-grade level at 49th in the country and reading at 46th. I mean, you can’t justify that. So we’re saying after nine years with this program, it’s not working and we need to change direction.”

The bill would require the state board of educatiion to adopt new standards for the 2021-2022 school year. Originally the bill had called for the new standards to be in place for the 2020-2021 school year, and it required the state to revert to the previous standards in place during the 1990s and 2000s for the upcoming academic year. Some educators objected to changing the standards twice in two years and said making the changes would be a burdensome and costly task.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey said the bill would have a lot of unintended consequences.

“Changing teaching standards requires a lot of expert work by dedicated education professionals,” Mackey said. “It will not happen overnight.”

A fiscal note on the bill before it was amended said switching standards twice in two years would have cost the Alabama State Department of Education $6.1 million. The cost to local school systems would have been about $4.8 million.

Developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, Common Core standards were meant to address deficiencies in several states’ curriculum standards based on a report from the American Diploma Project that showed 28 percent of U.S. high school graduates were not prepared for college math or English. They are also meant to align the varied curriculum standards across the country, providing portability between states that is particularly coveted by military families. Forty-five states have adopted the standards, including Alabama in 2010.

Marsh’s bill, Senate Bill 119, would “terminate the adoption and implementation of the curriculum standards commonly known as the Common Core Standards, also known as the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards, in K-12 public schools” and “terminates all plans, programs, activities, efforts and expenditures relative to the implementation of” the current curriculum standards.

The bill specifically applies to math and reading standards and prohibits the state board from adopting new standards related to Common Core.

Concerns About Ramifications

The Alabama Superintendents Association and the Alabama Association of School Boards expressed concerns about the bill’s impact on schools during the committee meeting. The Alabama Education Association, which lobbies on behalf of teachers and school workers, took no position, saying its members were split on the issue of Common Core.

In an email alert, the A-Plus Education Partnership warned the legislation could prohibit students from taking Advanced Placement courses and earning career technical credentials. It would also prohibit teachers from achieving National Board Certification, for which they’re offered monetary bonuses. Those programs are tied to national standards, which Marsh’s bill prohibits.

“That’s not my intention,” said Marsh, who is considering running for U.S. Senate next year against Democrat Doug Jones. “Common Core is my objective, and in fact we are going to have an amendment on the floor to make sure that’s very clear.”

 

Support From Legislators

The bill has 22 co-sponsors in the Senate, signaling more than enough support to pass that chamber. They include Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, and Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper.

“I’m more than willing to look at alternatives because what we’re doing is not working,” Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee, said Wednesday.

The committee approved the bill without opposition, with Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, noting that her support was contingent on the understanding that the bill would be amended. Other committee members include Priscilla Dunn, D-Birmingham, McClendon and Shelnutt.

“It’s time,” Melson said about a change.

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, told Alabama Daily News that he didn’t oppose ditching the current standards, but he does not agree with how the bill would leave the state with the old standards.

“I don’t have a problem with repealing Common Core as long as it is getting replaced with something,” Singleton said. “We at least need to look at what comes in behind it instead of just leaving it open ended.”

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, is chair of the House Education Policy committee, which likely will consider Marsh’s bill should it clear the Senate. In previous sessions, Collins has said the state’s strict standards have had a positive impact in her district and local educators support them.

On Wednesday, Collins said Marsh’s bill caught her by surprise.

“I always support high standards for Alabama students and will watch the bill as it progresses through the process,” she said.

Marsh said that, as of earlier this week, he hadn’t spoken with state Superintendent Eric Mackey but had shared his intent with some board members.

Gov. Kay Ivey, signaled general support for Marsh’s bill Wednesday but added that changing standards “should not be taken lightly.”

“As a former educator and president of the Alabama State Board of Education, I know how important it is to have good course materials to teach,” Ivey said in an emailed statement.

“Efforts like this should not be taken lightly, and I believe we should be deliberate in determining a course of study for our state. I support Sen. Marsh’s efforts to ensure that headlines about Alabama ranking last or close to last in education become things of the past.”

The Department of Education and state board have been deliberating for months over revisions to Alabama’s current math and reading curriculum standards as well as new assessment practices that follow behind those standards.

 

Calls to state board member Jeff Newman, who represents northwest Alabama, were not returned Wednesday.

Calls to state board member Cynthia McCarty, whose district includes Morgan and Etowah counties, were not returned Wednesday.

Alabama Daily News reporter Mary Sell contributed to this report. 

This story has been updated to reflect an amendment and Senate passage Thursday.

 

This coverage of the 2019 session of the Alabama Legislature is provided by the Capitol News Service of Alabama Daily News, based in Montgomery. BirminghamWatch is publishing reporters’ news and analysis but not commentary, from this new partner.