A Tucson teacher who says he suffered retaliation from state Department of Education staffers because his opposed Arizona's new Common Core standards is suing the state.

The lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute in Maricopa County Superior Court Tuesday seeks to have teacher Brad McQueen reinstated to state testing committees and notes placed in his state file removed.

The suit says McQueen was removed from his committee roles earlier this year after he spoke out against Common Core and its accompanying tests in a newspaper story. Goldwater attorney Kurt Altman says the removal and notes placed in his file violate McQueen's free speech rights.

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An education department spokeswoman said neither the department nor Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal could comment on the lawsuit.