Two Wisconsin state Senators publicly voiced displeasure Thursday over State Superintendent Tony Evers’ disapproval of legislation aimed to revamp the state’s educational standards.
The bill mandates the creation of a Model Academic Standards Board, co-chaired by the state superintendent and consisting of members from different backgrounds.
The board would submit proposals for standards in subjects such as reading, math and science to the state superintendent, who would then submit recommendations to a joint legislative committee. In addition, the bill would eliminate the Common Core State Standards that are currently in use.
Wisconsin adopted the Common Core three years ago to raise academic standards and promote uniformity across Wisconsin public schools.
Evers said he fears the bill would undo a set of nationwide academic standards being implemented in Wisconsin.
“As soon as I saw this, I gasped,” he said, in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
State Sens. Paul Farrow, R-Pewaukee, and Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, dismissed Evers’ claim the bills adoption would further politicize a system fraught with conflicting policies.
Farrow wrote an open letter saying under Evers’ guidance, the education system has spent eight years ignoring standards, drafting new standards for three years then discarding them in favor of the Common Core.
“He appoints members to the Board and gets a chance to revise and review the standards after the Board approves them,” Vukmir said. “He needs to understand that he is not the only person in this state who should be involved in this process.”
Gov. Scott Walker, who supports the bill, dismissed Evers’ criticism by saying the panel would be working on the bill for the next year, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
