President Donald Trump discussed the Common Core State Standards during a town hall with different company CEOs. This is the first time since he took office that he reiterated his campaign promise to end Common Core and make education local.
““Common Core, I mean, we have to bring education more local. We can’t be managing education from Washington. When I go out to Iowa, when I go out to the different states and I talk, they want to run their school programs locally and they’ll do a much better job… And I like the fact of getting rid of Common Core. You know, Common Core, to me, we have to end it. We have to bring education local, to me. I’ve always said it, I’ve been saying it during the campaign, and we’re doing it. Betsy DeVos is doing a terrific job, highly respected, tremendous track record, but she’s got one of the toughest job of any of our secretaries, to me, she’s got one of the toughest jobs.” Trump said at the White House’s CEO Town Hall for the American Business Climate.
Trump during the election frequently denounced Common Core and he promised a return to local control in education.
Since taking office Trump has paused new ESSA accountability regulations from taking effect, he appointed Betsy DeVos as his Secretary of Education who has said some questionable things about Every Student Succeeds Act. The lesser known appointments for the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration are ones that seem like they would have come from former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, not Donald Trump. There was no mention of returning local control of education in his speech before a joint session of Congress.
He did, however, propose to cut the U.S. Department of Education’s budget by 13 percent.
There has been no mention of Common Core until today and it appeared his focus was on school choice proposals.
His comments on Common Core were welcome.
“More than any other President — or even presidential candidate — ever, Donald Trump has empathized with our citizens, particularly parents, who have seen firsthand the damage done by federal efforts to shape and dictate education policy,” Emmett McGroarty, senior fellow at American Principles Project, said in a statement responding to Trump’s comments.
“Today’s comments show that President Trump has not forgotten his promise to end Common Core and return to local control of education. He is taking seriously the assurance he made in his Inaugural Address, ‘Today… we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American people,'” he added. “Every Swamp creature will unite to fight against the President on this, so his leadership will be critical. We look forward to seeing what steps the Trump Administration will take in the coming months to take power away from Washington D.C. and return it to parents.”
Activists will have to wait to see if his words are backed up with action.