Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he was filing a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Obama administration over alleged manipulation of grant money to force states to accept Common Core as their school standards.
Mr. Jindal is also accusing the White House of manipulating the regulatory process to compel states to take the much-disputed educational program, The Associated Press reported.
The U.S. Department of Education used its $4.3 billion grant program and waiver policy to press states into accepting the same educational testing and standards program. Mr. Jindal said that action “effectively forces states down a path toward a national curriculum,” which violates the 10th Amendment of the Constitution — state sovereignty, AP said.
Mr. Jindal also alleged the action breaks federal laws that ban the federal government from taking control of school and educational content.
He was planning to file the complaint in federal court in Baton Rouge.
AP was provided a draft copy of the suit.
“The federal government has hijacked and destroyed the Common Core initiative,” Mr. Jindal said in a statement reported by AP. “Common Core is the latest effort by big government disciples to strip away state rights and put Washington, D.C., in control of everything.”
Common Core puts forth benchmarks to show what students should know in math and English after each grade. Some educators, parents and students have complained the teaching style is fuzzy and confusing, and often does more harm than good.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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