Localize Education- get rid of the Department of Education and Common Core

Thanks, Pro- Pro has argued that as implemented by the Dept of Education, the Common Core initiative represents a complete appropriation of State and Local authority over classroom standards, policy, and curricula in violation of the 10th Ammendment. At present, Pro insists, there is only one (Federal) educational standard where there ought to be 50 State standards, inhibiting dynamism in educational policy. Pro recommends the elimination of the Dept of the Education and the discontinuation of Common Core as the only corrections necessary to empower a diversity of State education plans. Note that Pro does not qualify these statements. Pro flatly states that the Department of Education has "complete control," that Common Core is a universal requirement, that Federal law issues fines against non-compliant states. Con's counter argument is that Pro's characterization of the US Education system is profoundly inaccurate, that most decision-making about schools is made at the level of school boards and therefore already far more diversified than Pro's 50 state solution. If there were only 50 curricula in 50 state, schools would be less diverse and therefore less dynamic than the status quo. Con's argument has no merit because that argument is predicated on the notion of a National conformity that simply does not exist. Did the Dept. of Education implement Common Core? No. "Myth: The Common Core State Standards are a federally mandated curriculum- The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act forbids the Federal government from intervening in school curriculum development. States independently adopted the Common Core, a set of math and English Language Arts standards for K-12 students to reach by the end of each grade level. School districts design the curricula, and teachers create their own methods for instruction, selecting the resources best tailored to their lessons." [1] Does Common Core amount to a National Curriculum? No. "The Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. Local teachers, principals, superintendents, and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms." [2] In essence, Common Core is just a new State standard achievement test, which every State required long before Common Core. The difference is that 45 States decided to use the same test for math and English for the purposes of efficiency and improved inter-comparability. Does that imply greater educational conformity in those 2 subjects among those 45 states? Probably, but States benefit by conformity in all kinds of public services without necessarily surrendering their capacity for innovation and competition. Does the Department of Education require Common Core or fine States that don't adopt? No, that's against the law. "The Every Student Succeeds Act allows states to adopt Common Core but does not require it. In fact, it requires the Education Department to remain neutral: "The Secretary shall not attempt to influence, incentivize, or coerce State adoption of the Common Core State Standards developed under the Common Core State Standards Initiative or any other academic standards common to a significant number of States, or assessments tied to such standard." [3] A number of States like Virginia and Texas never adopted Common Core, while others like Indiana and Oklahoma gave up Common Core. Federal Education disbursements to non-Common Core States consistent before and after rejecting Common Core and certainly no fines have been levied for failure to adopt Common Core. Furthermore, the continued diversity and autonomy of school curricula across the country serves as proof that the kind of localized education Pro hopes to one day attain, in fact, already exists and to a greater degree than merely 50 plans for 50 states. Some examples: Although letter grading remains the norm, many school systems are experimenting with different scales. M.S. 442 in Brooklyn uses a green/yellow/red scale. Schools in Kentucky, Oregon, Kansas, and Hawaii are shifting to standards based grading as are the 3 largest cities in California. [4] About 20% of public school require school uniforms, although there are no State level mandates. [5] Although yoga has become a popular Phys Ed elective in many West Coast school districts, some Southern schools have banned yoga from the curriculum [6] Chicago Public Schools require sex ed. for every grade K-12 while only 40% of schools nationwide require at least some sex education before graduation. [7] When it comes to teaching controversial political topics like religion, gender, labor, climate change, evolution the range of regional education practices is quite diverse and well demonstrates the independent authority of local school boards. How could such polarity exist if a single national standard were anything close to true? To the extent that Con has demonstrated that the American Education system is today significantly localized, with State and local govts retaining far more significant control over school policy, budgets, and curriculum than ant Federal authority Pro's characterization of American Education is shown to be inaccurate. His recommendations to dispose of Common Core and the Department of Education are not only unnecessary remedies but likewise based on inaccurate assessments of those institutions' functions and jurisdictions. Pro's case must be found to be without merit. My thanks again to Pro for raising this topic. Please vote CON. [1] http://www.usnews.com... [2] http://www.corestandards.org... [3] http://www.usatoday.com... [4]http://www.slate.com... [5] http://school-uniforms.procon.org... [6] https://www.google.com...