a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 1 The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's repeal of the Comm
on Core State Standards was constitutional. Now, officials said, the state w
ill begin to craft its own rigorous standards for students.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/state-supreme-court-fi
re-repeal-constitutional/article_7d64eabe-3b0f-5ecf-8146-f5f9f91cf2e4.html
OKLAHOMA CITY — Only a few hours after hearing oral arguments, the Oklahoma
Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon ruled a bill repealing Common Core stand
ards constitutional.
The court’s ruling, which is available on its website, states that House Bi
ll 3399 does not violate the Oklahoma Constitution and “having found HB 339
9 constitutional, there is no need to address the issue of severability.”
The court record states that Justice Noma Gurich “concurs in part and disse
nts in part,” while all of the others were in total concurrence.
Robert McCampbell, attorney for the plaintiffs, reacted to the swift ruling
by saying, “Although we are disappointed with the result, we of course resp
ect the court’s decision.”
The plaintiffs had contended that HB 3399 was an “unprecedented expansion o
f the power of the legislative branch and interference with the executive br
anch.” The court disagreed.
Gov. Mary Fallin praised the court’s decision.
“This bill has now been passed with large legislative majorities, signed by
the governor, and reviewed by the courts. It is now time for parents, teach
ers, school administrators and lawmakers to work cooperatively to implement
this law,” she said in a statement.
“Working together, I know that we can design Oklahoma standards that live u
p to a level of excellence our parents and students expect and deserve.”
House Speaker Jeff Hickman said: “I am pleased the Supreme Court ruled in f
avor of the legislative body closest to the people. I look forward to the ad
option of new standards for education in Oklahoma which will challenge our s
tudents and prepare them for the future.”
The court had expedited the case to limit any uncertainty for educators prep
aring for the next school year.
The plaintiffs — five school teachers, three parents of public school stude
nts and four members of the state Board of Education — claimed HB 3399 woul
d have the Legislature “encroach upon the constitutional authority given to
the Board of Education” for “supervision of instruction in the public sch
ools.”
The lawsuit also claimed the bill violated the state constitution’s “princ
ipal of separation of powers” by giving the legislative branch controlling
influence over the state board, which was appointed by Fallin, and, as such,
is part of the executive branch.
In 2010, the Oklahoma Legislature adopted Common Core standards in math and
English, making it one of 45 states to ultimately do so. The National Govern
ors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers led the effor
t to create a common set of curriculum standards to ensure consistency acros
s the country, but the standards soon became controversial.
One of the co-authors of HB 3399, state Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City,
said he had been confident the court would rule the legislation constitution
al because those same issues raised in the lawsuit were raised by a national
association of state school boards early in the spring and studied carefull
y by his legal counsel.
“Anything the Legislature would do would have to be signed by the governor
and is subject to veto, so it’s not like the Legislature could go in with a
No. 2 pencil and start making changes,” Nelson said. “If the Legislature
starts to tinker with the standards in an inappropriate way, we can be check
ed by the public in a very direct way.”
Nelson added that the process for developing new academic standards to repla
ce Common Core standards will involve extensive input, including higher educ
ation experts, educators and parents statewide.
“I just don’t see them coming back with a product that we have any serious
issue with,” he said. “I think the process is robust and public enough to
prevent that from happening.”
Gurich and Justice Yvonne Kauger interrupted McCampell’s arguments early on
in the hearing with numerous questions.
Gurich asked him how he defines “supervision of instruction in public schoo
ls.”
He responded by citing previous rulings by the court in which he said it fou
nd the Legislature could not take over control or duties vested in the state
Board of Education.
Kauger said authority granted to the Board of Education does not limit the p
ower of the Legislature, adding, “That gives me real pause.”
McCampbell also said the court had previously “protected the power” of the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, although he noted that their p
ower is defined differently than the state Board of Education’s.
Gurich asked: “The board of education is mentioned in the constitution — w
ould that not elevate it in stature? … If the board of education is in our
constitution, the founders clearly thought it was important for someone with
expertise to supervise instruction — most legislators are not educators.”
Kauger said, “Replete in our constitution is this theme … that the Legisla
ture was intentionally given more power than the other branches because of t
erritorial abuses.”
McCampbell responded, “I’m not arguing the Legislature is not the most pow
erful branch. I’m asking the court to keep them in their own lanes,” to wh
ich Kauger quipped, “We’ve had a lot of merging of lanes in Oklahoma.”
Justices Steven Taylor and James Winchester were absent.
Patrick Wyrick, solicitor general for the state of Oklahoma, argued that bec
ause the state Board of Education has no constitutionally granted powers, HB
3399 does not infringe upon any constitutional power vested in the board.
He noted one of the central issues in the lawsuit — the requirement that th
e new standards be subject to legislative review — also applied to Oklahoma
’s previous standards, called Priority Academic Student Skills, which publi
c schools are set to return to until new standards can be developed.
“This is more of a policy issue than a legal issue,” he said.
Wyrick added that the argument that HB 3399 was “unprecedented” is not sup
ported by previous rulings of the Supreme Court.
He suggested that if there is a problem with one paragraph in one section of
HB 3399, or “50 words total out of an 18,000-word bill,” then “you strik
e that clause — the rest of that section can stand.”
After the hearing, state Board of Education member Amy Ford said she joined
the lawsuit because of her concerns that legislators would have the power to
change the standards.
“It all comes down to the question of whether we are charged with developin
g the standards,” said Ford, a Fallin appointee from Durant. “There are hu
ndreds and thousands of people involved in the standards process, so it is a
vetted, consensus document that’s brought to us for approval. That gives m
e comfort, and that comfort is no longer there because 3399 can change that
consensus document.
“This is not about Common Core yes or Common Core no to me. It’s about tha
t one issue.”
Jenni White, president of Restore Oklahoma Public Education, one of the earl
iest grass-roots advocacy groups to form in opposition to the Common Core in
Oklahoma, said the question raised by the lawsuit in her mind is whether st
andards should be set “by people or by bureaucracy.”
“While I understand McCampbell’s argument that the board is overseen by el
ected officials, it is not the same thing as representatives directly superv
ised by the people,” White said.
Nikki Fate of Yukon brought two of the only children inside the packed court
room — her two young daughters, 9-year-old Chloe and 7-year-old Lacey.
“This is really important because Common Core is developmentally inappropri
ate. It’s cognitive abuse on our children,” Fate said. “They’re learning
way too much at a fast pace. Chloe was doing division and multiplication in
the third grade, and Lacey was doing fractions at the end of first grade.”
Fate said she advocated for the passage of HB 3399 in emails to lawmakers an
d even one to Fallin, when the governor was considering whether to sign it i
nto law.
“I tried everything,” she said. “As parents, we all need to be aware of w
hat our children are learning.” | a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 2 美国式大锅饭民主废掉了孩子的近１０年最宝贵的时间
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【在 a*****g 的大作中提到】
: The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's repeal of the Comm
: on Core State Standards was constitutional. Now, officials said, the state w
: ill begin to craft its own rigorous standards for students.
: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/state-supreme-court-fi
: re-repeal-constitutional/article_7d64eabe-3b0f-5ecf-8146-f5f9f91cf2e4.html
: OKLAHOMA CITY — Only a few hours after hearing oral arguments, the Oklahoma
: Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon ruled a bill repealing Common Core stand
: ards constitutional.
: The court’s ruling, which is available on its website, states that House Bi
: ll 3399 does not violate the Oklahoma Constitution and “having found HB 339
|
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