Lt. Governor Tate Reeves says Mississippi needs to stop efforts to implement new common core education standards. This is a reversal of his previous position on Common Core.
Speaking at a press lunch in Jackson, the Lt. Governor says the common core standards are no longer being developed and controlled at the state level.
"It's clear that the US department of Education has, in fact, hi-jacked these standards and I don't believe that is what is best for Mississippi kids," Reeves said.
When lawmakers meet in January, Reeves says he will support legislation to end common core.
He wants the Legislature to appoint a task force to devise new standards, bypassing the state Board of Education.
This is a shocking change for public education advocates like Nancy Loome of the Parents Campaign.
Loome says the state has been working to implement Common Core for years.
"They have worked so hard on the new standards. They have got a new teacher evaluation system. They have too few resources because schools have been so dramatically underfunded. I don't think that this is going to be particularly welcome news," Loome said.
At the end of this school year for the first time, Mississippi students will take annual tests aligned with the new standards.
lt. governor Reeves says he still supports state Superintendent Carey Wright, a staunch defender of Common Core.
